Receiving 67 per cent of viewers' votes, Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty has been crowned the winner of British reality television show Celebrity Big Brother. She crushed 13 other housemates to become the first non-white winner of Big Brother in the UK.
Shilpa was also the first Indian to feature in the British Celebrity show. She reportedly received Rs. 31.5 million for her participation.
After storming to victory on "Celebrity Big Brother" on Sunday, the 31 year old Indian actress profusely thanked the public for a "fantastic opportunity to make my country proud".
The series lasted for about three weeks, with contestants locked in a house under 24-hour surveillance. Their activities were monitored to track down as to how well they handle the frictions of daily life and get their fellow housemates' votes of confidence.
Contestants were evicted one by one until someone is chosen as the winner of a cash prize for charity.
Stepping into the ‘Big Brother’ house on January 2nd, Shetty soon became the firm favorite to win the contest.
On day 7 in the house, Shilpa became a victim to alleged racism when she was branded a "dog" and referred as "the Indian” by some housemates.
The allegations of racist slur against the four-time Filmfare Award-nominated Bollywood actress had outraged viewers and set in motion a series of protests in London and India. A record 50,000 complaints were received by media regulator OfCom about the program.
Based on the Big Brother series produced by Brighter Pictures, Big Brother is a reality TV show broadcast on Channel 4. The current series is scheduled to be aired in May 2007.
Born in South India, Shilpa did her schooling from St. Anthony Girls' High School, Chembur. She later attended Podar College for her graduation.
She took to the glamor world with modeling for Limca in 1991. She made her film debut in Baazigar in 1993. Currently she has over 50 films to her credit. Shilpa is also an AIDS activist and PETA supporter.