MUMBAI: Bollywood contestant Shilpa Shetty emerged as the winner of Channel 4's reality show Big Brother on Sunday. Following a heated controversy sparked by alleged racial comments hurled at Shetty by inmates of the Big Brother house, earned her a lions share of the public vote of 67 per cent.

In the last leg of the show Shetty beat MJ's big brother Jermaine Jackson and was reportedly paid in excess of 40,000 pounds for her participation. Touted as the 'hot favourite' by bookies, the win seemed to have been an expected outcome for the Bollywood star.

The racial slurs did not only have repercussions for the professional careers of those in question, namely Jade Goody, but also cost the show the withdrawal of one its biggest sponsors Carphone Warehouse, which said it did notwant bto e associated with claims of racist bullying.

Both the broadcaster Channel 4 and television regulator Ofcom were said to have received more than 21,000 complaints in support of Shetty. The matter was further taken to the House of Commons by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, in response to NRI MP Keith Vaz statements.

As opposed to this, the Indian adaptation of Endemol's reality format Bigg Boss crowned Rahul Roy as victor awarding him Rs 5,000,000. However, Shilpa's teary eyed incidents seemed to have over-shadowed the 'drama' in the celebrity enclosure back home.