As the British reality show Celebrity Big Brother reached new heights of controversy at the end of this week, the spotlight is now shifting to the Indian reaction which, if unchecked, could threaten to erode the support the country has shown to Shilpa Shetty.

A testimony to that support came Friday evening when the public was offered the vote to choose between Shetty and Jade Goody, the 25-year-old loudmouth, considered Shetty’s tormentor-in-chief. Over 5 million viewers watched the programme at its peak and the figure was believed to be higher for Friday’s episode. An overwhelming 82% of the votes cast were against Goody who was, therefore, ordered to leave the house where the other inmates are on camera 24 hours a day. She hugged Shetty and the other contestants before leaving.

But given the threats Goody received, police have had to ensure Goody’s safety and so there was no public audience when she emerged from the Big Brother house — the first time that the public and press have been kept away from the location. An indicator that things might have got out of hand as in normal circumstances, a crowd would greet the celebrity with boos or cheers.

Big Brother presenter Davina McCall said live on air: “Due to the extraordinary circumstances of the past week, we cannot have members of the public here, so I will now be taking Jade to a studio location to discuss her eviction.”

It was in the studio in Elstree, Hertfordshire, that Goody — who was on the show five years ago — was shown video footage of her behaviour in the house, including the scene where she refers to Shetty as “Shilpa f***walla or Shilpa Poppadom” and clips from Wednesday’s overly aggressive argument which resulted in Shetty later breaking down in tears.

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