[Red Moon]

Shilpa crowned Celebrity BB queen
By Davinder Kaur and agencies

The 31-year-old Indian actress was the firm favourite to win the contest, considered the most controversial in the show's history after she became the victim of alleged racist bullying by fellow contestant Jade Goody.

She beat the other last remaining contestant singer Jermaine Jackson, the 52-year-old brother of Michael Jackson.

Shilpa let out a lengthy scream when host Davina McCall announced the vote, saying: "I can't believe it."

Bookies had the Indian actress as 1/6 odds-on favourite to win. A Big Brother spokesman said Shilpa won 63 per cent of the public vote.

Shilpa mouthed "thank you" to the crowd outside as she left the house.

She told McCall immediately afterwards: "I don't want to sound cliched but it's truly been quite a rollercoaster...the highs, the lows, and each one has taught me so much." She initially played down the rows, saying her biggest shock in the house was "to cook".

he looked shocked when McCall told her the fighting in the house had caused a furore in the outside world.

But then she said: "I kind of had an inkling but I'd love to hear about some news."

She then watched footage from the house, including Jade's diary room entries. But in a short speech, she said she didn't want Jade to be branded a racist.

She said: "Things happen, people make mistakes and we all learn from them.

"But I can say one thing for sure. Jade didn't mean to be racist. She isn't a racist. I really don't want to leave England putting anyone in trouble. This country has given me so much.

"I just want to thank all of Great Britain for giving me this fantastic opportunity to make my country proud."

Her response drew cheers and clapping from the audience.

When asked what it would take for US television star Dirk Benedict to win her over, she said: "He would need to be at least 38 years younger and start eating chicken curry."

McCall asked her finally to sum up her experience in three words, to which the actress replied: "Incredible, overwhelming and..." and then following an interjection from the audience, added: "chicken curry rules."

Source: The Daily Telegraph