Celebrity Big Brother winner, Shilpa Shetty, appeared in Leicester yesterday to launch a charitable foundation for raising awareness of the AIDS virus in India.

Speaking to visitors who had each paid £5 to see the star, Shetty said of her foundation: “It is a cause that has been very, very close to my heart. Not just now but for the last four years.

“India is the second largest affected country in the world with the AIDS. So I think it`s important to do something about it and it`s every person`s right to live with dignity in our country, even it`s a person who is HIV positive.

“It`s very difficult to do that only because there`s no awareness and I am going to do my bit to support that and I think starting this organisation is really going to help us try a new beginning.”