[URL=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6272585.stm]Channel 4 Denies Big Brother Racism[/URL]

[quote]Channel 4 has denied claims that Celebrity Big Brother contestant Shilpa Shetty has suffered racist bullying.

There had been a "cultural and class clash" between three other housemates and the Indian star, the channel said.

This comes after politicians entered the row. Chancellor Gordon Brown, on a visit to India, condemned anything that went against British "tolerance".

Channel 4 and TV regulator Ofcom have had more than 21,000 complaints about treatment of Shetty.

The station said in a statement: "To date there has been no overt racial abuse or racist behaviour directed against Shilpa Shetty within the Big Brother house.

"However there has undoubtedly been a cultural and class clash between her and three of the British females in the house."

The statement added that housemates had constant access to support from Big Brother, and Shetty had "not voiced any concerns of racial abuse".[/quote]

There is a lot more on the news site. I know its a UK TV program and therefore most people won't care but the sheer impact this has had is fascinating. To sum up, Shilpa Shetty (Indian Bollywood actress) has been aggresively bullied in the house and been subjected to (certainly what I perceived as) racist comments.

Its got so out of hand that UK chancellor Gordon Brown (set to be our replacement PM...unfortunately) actually found his diplomatic trip to India derailed by protests and questions regarding the show.

Why do I think GP would care? Well there was a certain someone who brought it up in the House of Commons...a certain Keith Vaz. Good to see he's found another band wagon.

Seriously though, you have to realise a programs content is bad when:
[quote]The story featured on the front pages of several Indian newspapers on Wednesday, and a small-scale protest in the eastern Indian city of Patna saw the burning of an effigy.[/quote]