It was no different from a Miss Universe pageant. For Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty, it was disbelief first and then tears of happiness as she was declared winner of the Celebrity Big Brother House 2007. And like every Miss Universe, Shetty was all compassion and forgiveness, hugging runner-up Germaine Jackson, whose shoulder she had cried on after the nasty showdown with Jade Goody.

Wearing an embroidered red flowing gown and trousers the Bollywood belle came out of the House, caressing her fluffy hair. The crowd started chanting “Shilpa, Shilpa, Shilpa” even as someone shouted: “Shilpa we love you.”

It was a huge victory. She got 63 per cent of the votes cast during the final programme. For many British NRIs this was a gratifying moment. Never before an Indian was so endearingly adopted by the British public. Shilpa’s housemate the former A Team star Dirk Benedict summed it up as “she has been sweet, elegant and adaptable”.

In her post-event interview with host Davina McCall, Shilpa described her victory as “incredible, overwhelming” as someone from the invited audience interrupted “chicken”. It was indeed chicken that caused the conflict. So what was the biggest shock while incarcerated in the House, asked McCall. “To cook,” Shilpa replied.

On the question of racism she was sombre and dignified. Only a few days ago her words — “if this is today’s UK, it’s scary” — had generated one of the biggest debates on bullying and racism in the country. More than 45,000 people complained to the national media regulator, Ofcom. Prime Minister Blair and Chancellor Gordon Brown had to intervene to pacify an international storm and most commentators agreed that Goody and her gang’s racist outbursts damaged the image of Britain as a fair and just society.

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