Shilpa Shetty was called to the diary room yesterday when Big Brother asked her if she thought Jade Goody and her pals had been displaying racist behaviour towards her. The conversation went something like this:


Big Brother: Shilpa, you mentioned you were not happy 2 days ago, BB noticed that you had a conversation with Cleo in the bedroom following an argument with Jade. You implied that you thought the differences between the two of you could be racially motivated?

Shilpa: No actually I take that back. I thought it was cos everybody was having an argument with me and I take that back. I don’t think that is true, you know people say things in a fit of anger and erm, I stand corrected so, I don’t want people to think and feel that way and I continue to feel that way. So even if I said it I would like you to please clarify and put this as a statement from my side if you can. That I don’t feel there was any racial discrimination happening from Jade’s end. Erm, I don’t think that is true. That’s it. I think that there are a lot of insecurities from her end but it’s definitely not racial. So yeah, that’s the way I feel.

So there you go Big Brother has cleared its name…or has it? Did they inform Shilpa of the snide and racist comments made behind her back? Does she now know that Jade has been calling her Shilpa Poppadom? Does she know that Danielle wishes that she would “f*** off home” and sneered that “she can’t even speak English properly”. Is Shilpa aware that Jo OMeara has mimicked her Indian accent, refused to eat food Shilpa has touched and claimed Indians are skinny because they get sick through eating undercooked food.

No, Shilpa is blissfully unaware off most of the nastiness that has been going on behind her back. She is in no position to decide whether or not their is racist behaviour being displayed in the Big Brother house as she is not privy to all the information. This was Channle 4’s way of weaseling out of their responsibility to put an end to the atrocious racism that is rife in the Big Brother house. Hopefully with the departure of Jade Goody from the house tonight, the problem will be taken out of their hands.

This article was written by Evelyn Lewis.

Let us put an end to all this nonsense.

As I am neither British nor Indian and not a racist, I feel free to write from the heart without having to tip toe around… A lot has been said about three girls in the BB house, who have offended Shilpa (were they supposed to keep quiet and let her treat them any way she liked, as she did her fair share of screaming insults, swearing and abusing and over trivial things like chicken cubes).

It has been pointed out that Shilpa Shetty and Jermaine Jackson are guests and from foreign countries (earning a lot of money and by going into BB, agreeing to be ‘just another housemate’ with the advantage of being famous for something they have achieved in their lives) then surely their behaviour should be better towards their British inmates who are representing the host country, the country that has kindly invited them and as I have said, allowed them to make a lot of money, which they will be taking out of the country.

Instead they have as good as called the British subjects in the Big Brother house, white trash and beneath their class. Because you are a celebrity it does not make you any better than the next person it just means you have been fortunate enough to have a gift which has worked for you. Now here we have three British subjects having their reputations and futures destroyed, in their own country, for playing the BB game as they have seen it played in the past.

Be fair it is a BB production where anything goes to win (look at past episodes) with some playing harder than others. India must be complimented for their loyalty but it would be nice if they could look at both sides of the coin. As I have said before, I would not like any of the five involved in all the unpleasant goings on in the house, to win, as they have all behaved very badly but there are some well behaved people left in the house, for example Dirk Benedict and especially Chloe Rocus who has not had a bad word to say about anyone.

On the issue of racist behaviour. It goes both ways. There are whites who have been murdered for their religious beliefs in some non-white countries, well it has not come to that in BB but three young British women have had their reputations and future ‘murdered.’ Forget colour and culture and see this for what it is JUST ANOTHER BIG BROTHER COMPETITION AND PLEASE BE FAIR TO ALL.

It seems as though the world is divided into two camps today. Those who believe that Shilpa Shetty is not a victim of bullying or racism, and those who would like are disgusted and disappointed by the antics of three girls who should know better.

I have to say that while our contributor Evelyn falls into the first camp, I really believe that Danielle Lloyd, Jo O’Meara and Jade Goody are completely in the wrong on this occasion. In a small way I do pity them, I can only imagine how they will be received by the public when they exit from the house. I can see this episode damaging their careers for years to come.

The only people that seem to be staying quiet on this issue are The Big Brother team themselves. It is obvious that both Russell Brand and Dermot O’Leary have been warned to avoid the topic at all costs…..not an easy task when John McCririck is a guest on your show. Channel 4 have issued very bland and non-committal statements saying that they believe the girls behaviour is not racist but just female bitchiness…or words to that effect. But anyone can clearly see that if not being racist, then the girls are definitely bullying Shilpa out of envy or jealousy. Either way they need to be warned that it is not acceptable.

Shilpa may not have many friends in the Big Brother house, but her popularity has soared out in the real world. There have been protests held in India today by her fans, who burned effigies of Big Brother bosses, and slightly more frighteningly, the show’s producers, received two emails that made threats towards a number of the housemates and police have confirmed that they are investigating. Thousands of people have complained to OFCOM about the racist behaviour they have witnessed and many more thousands have also been signing petitions aimed at Channel 4.

Shilpas plight even made it into the world of politics today when Prime Minister, Tony Blair, spoke out against racism in the House Of Commons. Chancellor Gordon Brown also spoke made a statement about the racism row whilst in India today.

I predict that Shilpa Shetty will no doubt have the last laugh in this whole saga. We are backing her to win, but even if she doesn’t, her fame has now spread worldwide. She will be known for her maturity and her dignity, while the other three would be well advised to creep away and hide for a few months until people forget how hateful they really were.

OFCOM have revealed that they have received more then 200 complaints against alleged racist remarks and attitudes displayed against Shilpa Shetty in the Big Brother house.

Here at Unreality TV we pointed out some of the housemates racist attitudes on our forum almost a week ago, and we have also given our opinion on the bullying of Shilpa Shetty by Danielle Lloyd and Jade Goody.

The treatment of Shilpa in the Celebrity Big Brother house has often been horrendous. Jackiey started the trend by constantly speaking down to Shilpa and by calling her “Indian”. Not one other housemate who heard Jackiey using this term told her it was unacceptable.

Danielle, Jade and even Jo have continued where Jackiey left off, often bitching about Shilpa, using every excuse to snipe at and criticise her. Over the weekend, former beauty queen Danielle Lloyd and ex-S Club 7 star Jo O’Meara poked fun at Shilpa’s accent. Yet not one has been able to give a justifiable reason for their grudge against the Bollywood beauty.

Other housemates have noticed the treatment that Shilpa has been receiving, ex-Steps star Ian claimed: “It’s turning into that film – Lord Of The Flies.”

“Were they bullying Shilpa last night?” asked Jermaine Jackson today.

“Yeah,” Ian replied. “I’m not playing those games. I’m not going to be part of it.”

OFCOM are currently wading through the complaints that continue to bombard them. An Ofcom spokeswoman said: “We have had approximately 200 complaints of racism.

“Quite a lot of websites have been discussing the issue and urging people to get in contact with us. We will look into each individual complaint.”

I hope that this whole episode will spell the end of both Jade’s and Danielle’s celebrity careers, they are a pair of venomous young women, with no backbone or individuality. They are the Big Brother equivalent of the school yard bullies. Jo I think has fallen in with the wrong crowd. She often realises that things have gone too far, and she certainly thought that Danielle had been excessive in her treatment of Shilpa last Friday, but so far Jo has been unable to speak out against Jade or Danielle. If she remains affiliated with the pair, they will be her downfall.

The task that caused two housemates to walk out has finally ended and the class divide has been removed.

There are no longer any servants or masters and our celebrities can join together as one big happy family once more.

Its not all dandy in the Big Brother house though, as two of the servants failed the task and therefore didn’t get any pay…that’s harsh!

When Carole was given the pay packets to deliver to the servants, both Jo’s and Leo’s was missing. It was revealed that Jo faile the task as she allowed Ken to prepare his own snack and leo fell asleep when he was supposed to be on night duty.

The group still got a decent prize though, Big Brother rewarded the 12 with a luxury shopping budget of £4 per person for the next six days – a total of £333.

They will also get a takeaway of their choice this evening.

Things are beginning to hot up in the Celebrity Big Brother house, and this year it looks like the first crush is occurring between Jackiey and S Club 7 singer JoO’Meara.

In the servants kitchen tonight, Jo admitted that when she was waiting on Jade’s mum in the main Big Brother house Jackiey told her, she has a “thing for her!”

Scary!

Donny Tourette: Loud mouthed prat or frightened little boy hiding behind his stage persona?

I know that Mr Tourette’s whole point of being is being debated on the forum, but I’m hoping its all an act. If he can just tone it all down a bit, he could end up being very entertaining.. and its worth hearing his foul mouthed outbursts just to see the look on Danielle Lloyd’s face.

He’s already rubbing his fellow contestants up the wrong way – I don’t care what they say in the Diary Room (its not like the real Big Brother – at this point they’re still very aware that they have to project and protect their public personas) Jermaine Jackson MUST be horrified at Donny’s antics – gobbing in the hot tub, feet on the counters, stubbing out his fags wherever he wants too (including on previously mentioned food preparation areas), weeing in the shower. Leo wasn’t overly impressed at Donny’s nakedness in bed. Danielle isn’t impressed full stop. Jo O’Meara declaring she’d sleep on the floor rather than share a bed with ’someone like that’. Ken Russell having his hair ruffled on a permanent basis.

Donny could go one of two ways. He could irritate the life out of the viewing public – and be voted out just after the vacuous Danielle.. or find his own little niche in the GBP’s heart, and be in there til the end.

But who is impressing me so far in the house? You can see all my initial feelings about them at Dreamy’s Blog.. but here’s a brief run down. Jo seems down to earth… Dirk ‘Face’ Benedict (Donny used the wrong f word there, I think) is my early winner (Ok, ok, so thats a hang over from all those pre-pubescent fantasies I used to have about him, when he was in Battlestar Galactica and the A-Team)… Leo Sayer and Ian Watkins need to chill and stop trying so hard… Cleo is marvellous – my other half shared Dirk’s sentiments about it being worth jumping in the hot tub fully clothed to have her look after him, Ken may be too quirky to come across well on the telly, which will be a shame. The rest need a little time to find their niche and settle into things.

I’m really looking forward to seeing how they get on when the initial ‘euphoria’ wears off

Well it’s started! Celebrity Big Brother is now underway and for once the tabloids seemed to be pretty spot on in their predictions this year.

The Celebrity Big Brother housemates of 2007 are as follows (click on their names to read their full profiles and biographies!):

Jermaine Jackson: Jermaine made a big deal of the fact that he is hyper clean, hyper germ conscious and doesn’t know if he can survive without his servants and cook…A bit of the David Gest in him then!

Danielle Lloyd: Danielle was crowned Miss Great Britain earlier this year, only to be stripped of her crown and title when it emerged that she was dating one of the contests judges Teddy Sheringham.

Ken Russell: A famous British Film Director, Ken has received 3 BAFTA’s for his work and directed films such as ‘Tommy’ and ‘Women In Love’ in his heyday! Ken emerged from his car singing a rather out of tune version of ‘Singin In The Rain’. He had to be helped both up and down the staircases by Davina, at one point I wondered if he would make it as far as the living room. I have heard some cruel people comment (though it definitely wasn’t me!) that Ken could be the first person to die on Big Brother. But that would be a step too far wouldn’t it!

Jo O’Meara: Jo is best known for her time as lead singer of pop group S Club 7. She also appeared last year on BBC’s Just The Two Of Us as the professional half of a singing duo. Jo declared that she was absolutely terrified of entering the house and didn’t want to meet anyone “horrible”.

Leo Sayer: Singing legend who produced hits like ‘When I Need You’. Leo thinks he will be especially good at cheering up the room in the Big Brother house.

Shilpa Shetty: Shilpa is a huge Indian, Bollywood actress and can’t travel anywhere in India without a huge entourage. She is recognised everywhere she goes and says that it would scare her if no one recognised her. She walked into the BB house and guess what….no one had a clue who she was!

Carole Malone: Carole is a columnist for The Mirror and is more used to slagging off people in reality TV shows than taking part in one. Carole says that she doesn’t approve of people who are famous just for being on reality shows….or of WAGS!

Donny Tourette: Donny is the lead singer from British rock band Tower Of London, though he is probably more famous for his fling with Peaches Geldof. Donny entered the house tonight to a chorus of boos, to which he replied “F**K OFF!”. When Davina tried to steer him into the house, he yanked himself away from her, leaving her a bit unsteady, at which point the security men stepped in and hurried him along. Davina revealed that he smelt like a brewery…..I hope he is first to be evicted.

Ian Watkins (AKA H): Ian is best known as H from 90s pop band Steps. He wanted to go on Celebrity Big Brother as he is aware that everyones perception of him is “that blonde knob from Steps” and he wants to show the public that he has grown up and is no longer blonde! He is most dreading the crotch shots in the house and wants to make some wicked new friends.

Cleo Rocos: Best known for her role in Kenny Everett’s BBC series and for her close friendship with Kenny. Cleo admits that she is always nauseatingly happy and that she likes her men “old, ill and loaded!”

Dirk Benedict: Most famous for his roles in Battlestar Galactica and as Face in the 80s series The A Team. Dirk commented “Women thre themselves at me and I got very adept at catching, but I’m not very good at keeping!” Dirk revealed that he would like to meet a special lady in the house, but not one young enough to be his daughter!

Joanne Valda O’Meara (born 29 April 1979 in Romford) is an English singer and actress. Formerly the lead singer of the group S Club 7, she launched a solo career after the group’s split in 2003. She also appeared as the fourth housemate to enter Celebrity Big Brother 2007.

Biography

Jo O’Meara was born to father Dave O’Meara and mother Barbara O’Meara and raised in Romford, East London.

S Club 7

In her teenage years, Jo O’Meara would sing in a Country Music pub by the name of Wild Jack Henry’s. It was there that someone from 19 Entertainment spotted her on stage. She was also in a group called 2-4 family. However, it was two years later before she got a call from them asking her to audition for a new pop group called S Club 7. O’Meara easily earned a spot in the band. She was a prominent member of the English group, singing most of the group’s lead vocals, as well as acting with the group in TV series such as Miami 7, LA 7, Hollywood 7 and Viva S Club, and S Club’s own movie, “Seeing Double.”

During the filming of the movie, Jo had an accident on set during one of the stunts which hurt her back, limiting S Club’s dance routines and leaving her out of the group for a brief period. Jo’s voice remained, however, her vocals were re-recorded by Rachel Stevens for use during live television performances. Jo eventually returned to continue performing with S Club and to promote the movie, but in June 2003, S Club announced during one of their concerts that they were to split, and performed together for the final time a few weeks later at the G-A-Y nightclub in London, England.

Solo Career

Many speculated when Jo would make her comeback, having been the voice of S Club 7, but instead it was Rachel Stevens who was the first member of the band to release solo material. Jo surprised many fans by taking a long hiatus from pop music, many thinking she was healing up her back injury. However, she revealed that she was taking time out from five years on the road with S Club 7, allowing her to spend time with his family and to indulge in her hobby of playing the slot machines in her home town of Romford.

In July 2005, Jo announced that she had signed a new solo recording deal with Sanctuary Records, the label behind acts such as Morrissey, KISS and Megadeth. Her debut single, “What Hurts the Most”, was released on 26 September 2005, followed a week later by her album, Relentless, getting disappointing charts results along the UK and Europe Charts, getting in the UK the #47 and in Ireland the #152. She has already performed at various roadshows in the UK alongside the likes of Lemar, Girls Aloud and her old bandmate Rachel Stevens.

In 2006 she took part in the BBC show Just the Two of Us. Her singing partner was Chris Fountain, who is an actor in Hollyoaks. The pair came third in the competition, failing to attract enough votes to make the final after their performance of “Never Had a Dream Come True.”

Courtesy of Wikipedia

There have been many travesties in the world of reality TV, take the eviction of Maria Lawson from the X Factor while The Conway Sisters remained….awful!

But tonight almost matched that for unfairness. ‘Just The Two Of Us’ on BBC1 saw the public vote to keep celebrity duos Mark Moraghan and Natasha Hamilton, and Russell Watson and Sian Reeves in the show for tomorrow nights final while Chris Fountain and Jo O’Meara were sent home.

I just wonder….were the public watching the same show as me? Sian is not only mentally unstable, but she can’t hold a note! Russell may have a technically good voice but he is soul-less. His duet with Curtis Stigers tonight was in tune, but while Curtis sang with passion and emotion, Russell looked like a big cold fish. He rarely smiles, when he does it looks fake and all Sian does is witter relentlessly. Then if she doesn’t cry she always looks like she’s about to.

I just can’t bear watching them in the final, I think that at the start of the show Vernon Kay and Tess Daly should declare Mark and Natasha the winners, end the show early and the BBC could then resort to some old re runs of ‘Only Fools And Horses’ to fill the gap. It would be a whole lot more entertaining than watching ‘The Voice’ and ‘The Nervous Wreck’ for another night!

Chris Fountain, Hollyoaks heart throb has denied claims that he is seeing his singing partner Jo O’Meara.

“I was a big fan of S Club. I grew up with them, they were legends to me. But I didn’t fancy Jo or even Rachel Stevens,” he told the Daily Record.

“To be honest I fancied Hannah. I told Jo and she’s going to try and arrange a meeting. But Hannah is still going out with Paul Cattermole who was also in the band so I don’t know what is going to happen.

“Jo and I are both single. We’re not dating. It’s complete nonsense. We get on well and have a laugh and have been out one night for a bit of a drink.”

Ex S Club 7 singer Jo O’Meara and hollyoaks hunk Chris Fountain are more than singing partners on the new series of BBC1s ‘Just The Two Of Us’ rumours have it that they are conducting a secret romance in real life!

At a rehearsal on Saturday they were said to be “all over each other� despite the age gap of 8 years (Jo is 26 and Chris is just 18)

A show insider told TV Biz: “They have certainly been getting close. While filming in Liverpool they had a romantic night out. During the pilot show they held hands and looked very happy. It really is a case of Lust The Two Of Us.�

The source added: “There’s nothing to stop them being together — they are both single. Everyone on set thinks it’s very cute.�

Jo was hired for the show to give Chris singing lesssons, seems like he got more than he bargained for! I dare say the chemistry between them will earn them afew more votes anyway!

Just The Two Of Us is the BBCs new show which pairs professional singers with familiar celebrities for a series of duets.

Singers include

*Beverley Knight
*Soul star Alexander O’Neal
*ABC singer Martin Fry
*Disco diva Jocelyn Brown,
*Jazz singer Curtis Stigers,
*Ex-S Club’s Jo O’Meara,
*Ex-Atomic Kitten Natasha Hamilton,
*Russell Watson

Celebrities Include

*Hollyoaks hunk Chris Fountain,
*Ex-Cutting It actress Sian Reeves,
*Actor Mark Moraghan
*Presenter Matt Allwright.
*GMTV Newsreader Penny Smith
*BBC Newsreader Fiona Bruce.
*Gaby Roslin, who recently starred in Chicago.
*Presenter Nicky Campbell

The show will be presented by Tess Daly and Vernon Kay