Celebrity Big Brother

I've just caught up with the Big Brother final on Youtube and yet again I think the programme has provided the nation with lessons it needs pitched at a tone it will understand and benefit from.

Housewife Hiral Chheda said it was all the publicity Shetty received after the racism controversy that helped her win the programme.

"Who knows Shilpa Shetty otherwise? We are not talking about a Kareena Kapoor or Rani Mukherjee here. In the end, however, so long as you are making a name and money out of it, any publicity is good," she said.

"I am happy that she has won but its not like she's got medals for the country, you know," she added.

The BJP today said it was keen on wooing Shilpa Shetty, whose popularity has soared following her appearance...


Shetty defended fellow contestant Jade Goody, who repeatedly reduced the Indian actress to tears by shouting at her, calling her cooking untrustworthy, mocking her accent and calling her "Shilpa Poppadum." ...

"She is a little aggressive and hot tempered, but she's not a racist," Shetty said.

I've learnt something myself a bit in that I usually hate Bombay princesses and the way they talk- but this one is pretty cool..

Following her victory on 'Celebrity Big Brother', actress Shilpa Shetty has appealed to the British public to forgive the three housemates who were accused of racist bullying towards her.

Speaking to the press after her win with 63% of the public vote, Shetty said of Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O'Meara: "They are young, but not racist."

During the press conference Lloyd appeared in the room to ask for Shetty's forgiveness.

The 23-year-old model said: "I would like to apologise for the words I have said, they were not meant to be racist, I am not racist."

Her apology was accepted by a tearful Shetty.

as for Channel 4

'One of the ironies of all of this is Channel 4 has done more than any other broadcaster to help push forward issues around race and multi-culturalism. It's part of our remit - to cater for minority audiences and promote diversity, and we're incredibly good at it. Our ambition is to portray a wide range of views and help build a more tolerant society ... where people have a better understanding of others with different views to their own.' Whether that is best achieved by placing Jade Goody and Danielle Lloyd in the same room as Shilpa Shetty is for others to decide.

as I said the other day, which government initiative would reach the heart of Bermondsey as well as this programme has?