Bollywood's Shilpa Shetty wins Big Brother

Monday, January 29, 2007

Shipla Shetty, the 31 year old Indian actress at the center of the racism row that dominated Celebrity Big Brother has been named the winner.

Shetty broke into tears upon hearing that she had won the public vote, and called the Channel 4 reality show an "incredible and overwhelming experience".

When asked by Celebrity Big Brother's host Davina McCall about the race row, Shilpa insisted that ringleader Jade Goody "did not mean to be racist".

"People make mistakes and we're all human beings, we're all fallible," said Shetty, referring to Goody's behaviour. "She is a little aggressive. She may be hot-tempered... but she's not a racist."

Shetty won the public's support after an episode when Jade hurled racial remarks at her including calling her a 'Paki'.

British Media Regulators recieved a record 40,000 complaints after the airing of the episode, and in the height of the race row, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Treasury chief Gordon Brown and Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaram commented on the incident, which South Asian and anti-racist groups said revealed the face of racism in Britain.

Mobile Retailer Carphone Warehouse even pulled their sponsorship of the reality television show after the incident.