Shilpa Shetty

This years' Celebrity Big Brother didn't start off well with the odd collection of celebs. Last years was mandatory viewing but this year? Not really. I caught a couple of episodes and turned over through boredom. Then Jade Goody went in with her odd mother and vacuous toyboy - I heard about it but didn't watch. Then I caught the eviction episode last Friday and an episode earlier in the week which was full of Jade and the girls ganging up on Shilpa Shetty and bullying her endlessly for no obvious reason. I couldn't work out what the problem was meant to be. Then I realised there was no problem. This was the politics of the schoolyard and the mentality of the gang. No more and no less. Plain old-fashioned bullying but with disturbing overtones of race. It was deeply uncomfortable to watch and yet I watched it. What does that say about me?

Jade, of course, got her come-uppence last night and was evicted in favour of Shilpa staying in. That is perfectly right and proper, but Jade only had 82% of the vote - it should have been over 90% of the vote. She seemed genuinely upset and apologetic when she saw some of the footage of what she was saying and her often aggressive actions. There now seems to be a gang mentality to get at Jade and pull her down, the same bullying tactics she's being vilified for. I can't be bothered with that. Jade has no impact on my life other than seeing her on the covers of trashy celeb-magazines I wouldn't dream of picking up let alone reading. I don't really care about Jade but part of me thinks she doesn't dererve to be let off the hook after the hell she put Shilpa through for a week - some things shouldn't be forgiven or glossed over. What kind of message does that send to others of her ilk and the 'get away with it' mentality? There are consequences to our actions and that's what Jade's seeing right now. No doubt the other two girls in the gang will feel the pain as well when they're evicted.

What I found quite odd throughout was that it happened at all. These are adults we're talking about here, not 'Lord of the Flies'. Jermaine Jackson intervened once that I saw but Dirk Benedict didn't seem to get involved at all - for both of them, why should they care? They'll be back home in a week or two and will never see or hear the celebs again. Cleo Roccas tried to intervene and be a go-between but wasn't strong enough, and neither was Ian 'H', but at least he supported Shilpa. It all seemed a very odd set-up with poison flowing through the house and no-one doing or saying anything. That's a wierd dynamic.

Throughout it all, the one I felt sorry for and admired was Shilpa. Admired for her restraint and her control, not responding to all the petty little jibes and actions. Admired for her grace and poise and elegance - which, along with her obvious beauty, is possibly why the girls ganged up her - she effortlessly outshines them all. She gave Jade the benefit of the doubt and even apologised in the diary room for -once only - saying she felt the actions were racially motivated and withdrew the comment. And this was all well before Jade knew something was up and went to apologise. I don't think I would've been so magnanimous.

Shilpa is an admirable woman and it'll be interesting to see what happens to her when she leaves the house, hopefully as the winner if there's any justice. Obviously there'll be more Bollywood films - there are always more Bollywood films. But where will her career go next? Hollywood?