Announcing the pull out, Carphone Warehouse chief executive Chris Dunstone said: “Our concerns has rapidly mounted about the broadcast behaviour of individuals within the Big Brother house... As a result, we feel that as long as this continues, we are unable to associate our brand with the programme.”

The decision to suspend the deal came soon after the media regulator, Ofcom, announced an investigation into the racism row. Ofcom has so far received more than 27,000 complaints, three times the previous record held by the controversial Jerry Springer — The Opera.

The show has also stoked a debate if the abusive Gang of Three represents modern Britain? Is Blair’s much-publicised vision of a multicultural society is a sham? Does Britain have a fourth class that is overtly racist and xenophobic?

On various radio, many Britons said they felt ashamed and one of them described the Big Brother as “a clash between a beauty and three beasts”.