New Delhi: The racial abuse of Indian actress Shilpa Shetty on reality show Celebrity Big Brother has cost UK’s Channel 4 loss of business.
Carphone Warehouse, Europe's largest mobile phone retail chain, has stopped its sponsorship of the show because of the “behaviour of participants”.
In a press statement, the company said: “Our concern has rapidly mounted about the behaviour of individuals within the Big Brother house. We are totally against all forms of racism and bullying and this behaviour is at odds with our brand values. Nothing we saw last night gave us any comfort. We have instructed Channel 4 to remove our sponsorship name and branding with immediate effect."
The company has been sponsoring the show since 2005.
Shilpa and eight others are locked up in a house since January 2 and are being filmed on how well they handle the frictions of daily life and get their fellow housemates' votes of confidence, as part of the show.
Shilpa, for the first time on the show, on Thursday complained that she was facing racist abuse " which she does not deserve".
Channel 4 has denied racist abuse on the show and had guaranteed Carphone Warehouse that participants would be removed for offensive behaviour.
The Guardian reports that Carphone Warehouse founder and chief executive Charles Dunstone has spoken to the Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan.
UK media regulator Ofcom has received around 19,300 complaints, but Channel 4 says "to date there has been no overt racial abuse or racist behaviour directed against Shilpa Shetty."
"However there has undoubtedly been a cultural and class clash between her and three of the British females in the house," the channel said in a statement.
The show has triggered a major controversy in Britain with Prime Minister Tony Blair saying in the House of Commons on Wednesday that he was opposed to racism in all its forms.
Meanwhile, the show drew its third-largest audience of the series on Wednesday evening with the main highlights averaging 4.5 million viewers, up from 3.5 million on Monday. Bookmaker William Hills made Shilpa favourite to win the series.
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