Appearing on the British reality show Celebrity Big Brother proved a challenging experience for Shilpa Shetty, but after three weeks of relentless media scrutiny the Indian star has emerged victorious. The pretty 31-year-old was overcome by emotion on Sunday night when host Davina McCall announced she had been voted winner by a landslide 63 per cent of the public vote.
Her moment of glory came after the Bollywood actress suffered allegedly racist bullying from her housemates Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O'Meara. The performer was gracious in her victory, though, insisting the comments aimed at her were not based on bigotry.
"Things happen and people make mistakes. And we are all human beings and we are all fallible," she said "I know one thing for sure, Jade really didn't mean to be racist."
Showbiz experts say Shilpa's newfound fame is set to give her acting career a major boost. Sanjeev Bhasker, creator of the BBC hit The Kumars At Number 42, has already been in contact with her agents to sign her up for a new show he is producing, while PR guru Max Clifford says he would expect her to earn over £1 million in the next year.
The woman at the centre of all the fuss wanted only to express her gratitude for the affection she has been shown by most British people, however. "I really don't want to leave England putting anyone in trouble," she said. "I just want to thank the whole of Great Britain for giving me this fantastic opportunity to make my country proud."
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
