Big Brother sponsor suspends deal
Carphone Warehouse has suspended sponsorship of Celebrity Big Brother following allegations of racism toward actress Shilpa Shetty on the C4 show.
The company said its sponsorship would be removed from the current series "with immediate effect".
The move follows media watchdog Ofcom's demand that C4 must respond to complaints about 'racist' comments.
"Clearly what is happening is very serious," said Ofcom's chief executive Ed Richards.
A record 30,000 complaints have been made over alleged racist remarks towards Indian actress and Big Brother contestant Shetty.
Three of her fellow housemates have been accused of racist behaviour, with Jade Goody receiving the brunt of the public criticism.
However a spokeswoman for Goody, 25, who had an explosive row with Shetty on Wednesday, has denied she is a racist.
Shetty, 31 is award-winning Bollywood actress
"I would urge anyone who says that Jade is a racist to produce the evidence to support the claim," she said on Thursday.
"I have not heard Jade say anything that could be interpreted as a racist remark."
Ofcom chairman Ed Richards said that "any allegation of racism is very serious".
He said Ofcom will write to Channel 4 shortly but "in the meantime, it is Channel 4's responsibility to respond to very significant viewer concerns."
He added that the watchdog was "taking the matter very seriously and monitoring the situation very, very carefully".
"One can think of other circumstances where people have rushed to judgment and repented at leisure," he added.
He told a media conference in Oxford that the watchdog would not conduct a "kangaroo court".
'Victim'
Shetty spoke for the first time of fears that she is a victim of racism on Wednesday.
She told housemate Cleo Rocos that she feared she was being targeted because of her race.
Rocos, comforting the Bollywood actress following the row over stock cubes, told Shetty: "I don't think there's anything racist in it."
But Shetty said: "It is, I'm telling you."
Reports say Shetty and Goody are to go head-to-head in the next Celebrity Big Brother evictions on Friday, with Goody 1-5 favourite to get the boot.
'Go home'
Contestant Danielle Lloyd has also hit out at the Bollywood star, saying Shetty should just "go home" , adding that "she can't even speak English properly".
In a statement, Channel 4 said there had been "no overt racial abuse or racist behaviour," despite more than 27,000 complaints from the public to media regulator Ofcom and 3,000 directly to the channel.
"Unambiguous racist behaviour and language is not tolerated under any circumstances in the Big Brother house. Housemates are constantly monitored and Channel 4 would intervene if a clear instance of this arose," it said.
However, Channel 4 admitted there had "undoubtedly been a cultural and class clash between her and three of the British females in the house."
Shilpa Shetty is being victimised for being different, be it by colour, class or culture
However, the explosion of media coverage has seen audience figures rise, with 3.5 million viewers tuning in on Monday, 4.5 million on Tuesday and 5.2 million on Wednesday - equalling the highest figure for this series since the live launch.
Jackiey, Jade and Jack have made it clear they do not like Shilpa
The story has made the headlines in India, and a small-scale protest in the eastern Indian city of Patna saw the burning of an effigy of the show's organisers.
Politicians have entered the row, with Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Jack Straw among those commenting on the programme.
The leader of Unison, the UK's biggest trade union, has attacked Channel 4 over the Big Brother controversy, accusing the station of promoting a "circus of racism" and giving publicity to "louts".
Former England batsman, Geoff Boycott, a friend of Shetty, told the BBC Asian Network that he was not impressed by what he had seen so far.
"It is totally alien to most Asian girls, in particular Shilpa Shetty, who's known in India for being a really nice girl; she's not up her own self; she's not full of herself," he said.
And the National Bullying helpline has reported a rise in phonecalls since the alleged bullying on Celebrity Big Brother.
jade is a disgrace to britain
jade goody needs to be ashamed of herself her behaviour is disgustin can you imagine what her kids are gonna turn out like with the foul racist coments she says in public let alone in the privacy of her own home. There is good and bad in every creed and colour but to be honest im ashamed to say im british with the likes of goody !!!!!
