Bollywood star speaks of racist attacks on TV

LONDON, Jan 18 (Reuters) Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty has said for the first time she is being racially abused in a British reality TV show which has sparked protests in London and New Delhi and damaged Britain's image of tolerance.

Shetty and her fellow contestants on ''Celebrity Big Brother'' are oblivious to the international row that has erupted over her treatment as they are cut off from the outside world while on the show, where their antics can be watched 24 hours a day.

So while India has asked Britain to check whether race laws have been broken and Shetty's admirers burned effigies of her alleged abusers -- fellow celebrities incarcerated in a house and garden together -- Shetty herself had not mentioned race.

The issue surfaced yesterday night after a row over stock cubes used in their communal cooking.

British actress and fellow housemate Cleo Rocos, seeking to comfort Shetty, said of the clashes: ''I don't think there's anything racist in it.'' But Shetty replied: ''It is, I'm telling you.'' Clearly shocked, the 31-year-old actress said: ''I am representing my country. Is that what today's UK is? It's scary.'' The programme's broadcaster Channel 4 had earlier issued a statement insisting Shetty was not suffering racial abuse but saying there had been a ''cultural and class clash''.

The show has been a huge ratings success story, but has also provoked 27,000 complaints to Britain's media watchdog.

LEADERS DEFEND BRITAIN British Prime Minister Tony Blair was dragged into the row in parliament and his successor-in-waiting Gordon Brown was forced to defend Britain's image on a trade visit to India.

The show was front-page news in Britain and India as both cultures contemplated their shortcomings.

''A reality TV show has shamed our country in the eyes of the world,'' concluded the Daily Express.

The Independent said Britain's ethnic minorities ''are more likely to be expelled from school, jailed, unemployed, poorly paid, living in sub-standard houses and victims of crime.'' REUTERS SHB HS1827