AN ONLINE petition has been submitted calling for communications watchdogs to investigate Helen Wood’s Big Brother victory.

It already has 3,270 signatures and has been handed to Ofcom and Channel Five after the 27-year-old won the reality show earlier this month.

The petition raises concerns about the Bolton hair and beauty salon owner’s behaviour in the Big Brother house and voting during the final.

It said: “Following a warning about her aggressive behaviour towards her fellow housemates, Miss Wood continued to act in a manner which could be perceived as lacking in basic civility and her pass to the final was not revoked despite pressure from the voting public.

“She left the house to heckles from the crowd, desperate to show their displeasure at her taking the title. There have been a number of concerns raised around the voting practices on the winning night; including the claim that many were unable to connect to their chosen housemates vote line.

“We demand an independent and impartial investigation into potential unethical practices that may have been employed.”

A spokesman for television regulator Ofcom said: “We are aware of this issue and the matter is currently under assessment.

“We have not reached a view as to whether we will open an investigation at this point.”

Following the mother-of-one’s win, Channel Five released a statement in response to complaints from viewers.

It said: “The behaviour of all housemates is regularly monitored by Big Brother and interventions are made whenever Big Brother considers it necessary.

“Some interventions are informal, some are formal — some result in serious warnings.

“Not all of these interventions are included in the material broadcast. In Helen’s case, the broadcasts twice showed her being reprimanded by Big Brother for her conduct.”

In terms of voting, Channel Five said: “All voting during Big Brother is independently verified as the voting occurs and when it ends.

“No votes were discarded because of voting irregularities in the period after lines were open for voting, in the final week of the last series, up until the lines were finally closed, when Helen and Ashleigh were the two remaining finalists.

“No voting irregularities were detected during that period.”

The channel also released figures for how the votes stood throughout the final day.

At 10.03pm on August 15, when voting lines closed for the final time during the live broadcast of the final, Miss Wood, from Bromley Cross, was 4,631 votes ahead of runner-up Ashleigh Coyle.

The statement also said Miss Wood auditioned for Big Brother in the same way as other applicants and did not have an agent, manager or connection with Channel Five owner Northern and Shell, or its founder Richard Desmond.

Helen Wood was unavailable for comment.