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Article

18 Jan 2007

Author:
Paul Majendie & Marc Jones, Reuters

Sponsor pulls plug on Big Brother [UK]

Europe's biggest mobile phone retailer pulled its sponsorship on Thursday of a reality TV show dogged by accusations of racism after Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty faced a tirade of abuse from fellow contestants. Carphone Warehouse said it did not want its name associated with claims of racist bullying, and was pulling out of this series but saw no reason not to sponsor in future...Broadcaster Channel Four stood by the controversial show whose ratings have soared since the row. "We are not going to pull the plug," said chief executive Andy Duncan. "We cannot say with certainty that the comments directed at Shilpa have been racially motivated."