BIG BROTHER - RACE ROW 'RESCUED' BORING CELEBRITY BB

RACE ROW 'RESCUED' BORING CELEBRITY BB

This year's Celebrity Big Brother was set to be the most boring series yet until the race row erupted on our screens, a Channel 4 boss has said.

Each show has had its saviour – George Galloway's antics, Vanessa Feltz's breakdown, to name but a few – and it seems that Jade Goody's allegedly racist bullying of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty was this year's.

"This was in danger of being the most boring BB that we'd had in many years, maybe ever," director of television Kevin Lygo told Broadcast magazine.

"We were thinking, 'Oh dear, what can we do?' And then suddenly… this argument erupted and was then taken on by the media and then erupted into this extraordinary story."

Comments made about Shetty included her being described as "the Indian" and "Shilpa Poppadom".

The broadcaster came in for criticism for allowing her treatment to be shown on television and for not stepping in sooner, but Mr Lygo has said that he stands by the decisions that were made at the time.

"I think we made the right decisions all the time," he said.

More than 40,000 complaints have been made to the media watchdog Ofcom about Shetty's treatment and the controversy stretched from the House of Commons to the Indian press.

Goody is now on a mission to salvage her career and is reported to be considering a tour of India.

Of the remaining eight housemates, Jo O'Meara, Ian "H" Watkins, Dirk Benedict, Cleo Rocos and Shilpa Shetty are nominated for a double eviction on Friday night.