Celebrity bigot brother

And it is hard to see the vicious bullying of Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty as anything else,

from Jade Goody's "Shilpa Poppadom" to Danielle Lloyd's "Why doesn't she just go back to where she f****** came from? She can't even speak English properly." Shetty was also asked if she lived in a shack or a house and was repeatedly referred to by ex-contestant (and Goody's mother) Jackiey Budden as "The Indian", while other housemates speculated about putting "bogeys" in her curry.

When, following one blazing row with Goody, the put-upon actress wondered out loud whether these attitudes were representative of what goes on in today's UK, many of us were asking ourselves the same question. Politicians lined up to condemn the show, newspapers labelled it "The Beauty versus The Bigot", while Trevor Philips, chair of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, described it as "the dark heart of private prejudice". The British viewing public voted with their dialling fingers, evicting Goody from the Big Brother house on Friday evening.

My own reaction was probably not unlike that of many other British Asians. I was unsurprised by the comments, having heard them, or something like them, many times. As comedian Meera Syal and author Hari Kunzru have already commented, watching Big Brother has not been unlike taking a rather unpleasant, but familiar trip down memory lane.

Shetty's treatment reminded me of all the times people have asked, in a friendly and interested tone, whether the man and woman in the local newsagent are my mum and dad. Her treatment reminded me of the times I've been approached by men with the chat-up line about how attractive they find "sub-continentals". It reminded me of the daily frustration of having to spell or pronounce my name over and over again, only for people, no matter how well-meaning, to still get it wrong.

I remember a brief moment of glory when I made it into my local newspaper as an A-Level graduate and, after spelling my name out three times to the journalist, was referred to as "Chris Ramsway" in the article - not only a misspelling, but a gender change to boot. Then there are the times people have casually said that they're off to get a "chinky" or to the "Pakis" to get a paper, leaving me feeling uncomfortable, but usually silent, not wanting to be seen as having a colony-sized chip on my shoulder.

That Shetty at first claimed she was a victim of racist abuse and then later retracted it and accepted apologies from Goody and Lloyd is unsurprising and may be due to more than behind-the-scenes damage limitation work by Big Brother's producers: there's a deep-rooted embarrassment in admitting you feel you've been the victim of racist abuse.

And many have argued that the ugly scenes broadcast to the nation by Channel 4 were more about ignorance and cultural difference than racism. But where does racism begin, if not with a clash of cultures and with a fear of something which is different to you? These easy jibes can be more hurtful than an outright and unambiguous racist comment because they are more unexpected, more surprising and betray a lurking complacency. Repeatedly mimicking an accent may not be as boldly offensive as being called a 'Paki', but it can be just as hurtful if you're on the receiving end.

Shammi Kohli, the fashion designer wife of comedian Hardeep Singh Kohli and a distant relation of Shilpa Shetty, is one who does not think that what she has seen on Celebrity Big Brother constitutes racism. "It's complete ignorance and it's manifesting itself in a way that suggests racism, but I don't think it's meant that way," she said. "If there was an Asian from this country in the Big Brother house, it would be different. These people would never meet in the real world, they're completely different and they've got nothing to talk about. Those girls have never seen an Asian woman like Shilpa before and when they think of Asian women they don't think of women like her. Shilpa is modern, she's educated and she knows what she wants - she represents Mumbai today.

"I think the fact that she can handle herself is a huge shock, not just for people in the house, but for British people, because they aren't used to Asians, and particularly Asian women, being so confident."

Kohli adds: "It's Middle England's view of Indians. People still aren't aware of other cultures and races, so that's why they think: 'Oh they all eat with their hands.' It is irritating, but I prefer to take the stance of just being amused."

Kohli grew up in Grangemouth, Edinburgh and Glasgow, but moved to London 14 years ago. Despite Scotland's image as a more tolerant place, she says that she and her husband experience more racism here than they do down south.

Despite Jack McConnell's flagship 'One Scotland, Many Cultures' campaign, which has cost more than 3.5m in four years, a 2006 Executive survey showed that 42% of people had been exposed to racism, either as a victim, witness or perpetrator. More alarmingly, 11% of Scots thought that attacking people from ethnic backgrounds was not racist, and only 7% strongly agreed that racism was a problem in Scotland, the lowest ever level. A poll conducted by this newspaper in 2002 found some Scots would support moves to return migrants to their country of origin. Across the country nearly 4,000 racist incidents are reported each year.

Satnam Virdee, professor in sociology at Glasgow University, recently examined community relations in the multicultural areas of Glasgow's south side and inner-city Bristol. He concluded that the nature of racism has changed in Britain, a view that he believes has been illustrated by Big Brother.

"The dominant mode of racism in Britain today is cultural racism," he says. "Outside the far right and fascist groupings, there are very few people today who would say that white people are better than non-white people. The big focus now is on notions of difference, the idea that certain groups are so different that they can't be accommodated within the national imagination."

Mona Siddiqui, professor of Islamic Studies at Glasgow University, warns against seeing racism as "a black and white issue". She remains unconvinced that Shetty's treatment is a straightforward case of racism and points the finger more squarely at reality TV. "There may be a level of racism, but it doesn't go one way," she said. "We can't overlook the fact that people of all colours and backgrounds can be intolerant of so many things. It's as much about who Shilpa is as it is about her colour, and what has happened here is not just an issue of racism. This is a situation that is contrived to bring this out and we shouldn't be measuring the levels of racism in our society by our reaction to Jade Goody."

A research study into race attitudes published last year by the Scottish Centre for Social Research found that 49% of those surveyed held negative views of Muslims and 22% said they would be unhappy if a close relative formed a long-term relationship with a Muslim, but Siddiqui argues these views don't necessarily point to racial prejudice.

"I always say the best test of measuring prejudice is who you would want your children to form relationships with," she says. "But this result doesn't make people bigoted, it makes them human. How many Muslims would want their children to marry outside Islamicists? We should be honest enough to say there are levels of racism on all sides and we need to be willing to tackle prejudice everywhere."

Glasgow author Suhayl Saadi claims that the best thing to come out of a week when The Sun printed the headline 'Big Brother: World In Crisis' is the opening up of discussion on racism. "Maybe we'll start really talking about different levels of racism," he said. "The form of racism shown in Big Brother is the most subtle and important kind. It's what affects people, in terms of their jobs and day to day lives. In a way it does hold up a mirror to the continuing racist attitudes in society that people thought were dead, just because they don't encounter them. I think there are still a lot of racist attitudes in Scotland, under the surface, and we need to be shaken out of our complacency."

Like Siddiqui, and the protesters in India who burned effigies of Big Brother producers, Saadi lays much of the blame at the programme makers' door. "If it hadn't been racism it would have been something else. Big Brother has a fascistic premise - it's a bit like porn - and all of this is inevitable," he says. "Like porn, it becomes progressively more extreme so today it's racism and tomorrow it might be rape. If what has happened results in the destruction of reality TV that can only be a good thing. I'd like to see Big Brother tossed into the flames."

The strife and times of reality television

Nasty Nick Bateman

In the first series 'nasty' Nick Bateman was kicked out of the Big Brother house for cheating after sneakily attempting to sway other housemates' votes. He reportedly went on to pocket more than the show's winner. Bateman later presented a TV series Trust Me and wrote a book entitled Nasty Nick: How to be a Right Bastard.

Fight Night

In 2004, BB's security men had to step in when tensions between contestants Emma Greenwood and Victor Ebuwa led to a mass brawl, which quickly became known as "fight night". Greenwood was removed permanently from the house in an effort to avoid a repeat of the bust-up.

Fathers 4 Justice

Police were called to the BB house in 2005 when a group of Fathers 4 Justice protesters tried to invade the celebrity Big Brother compound. Eleven members of the group were arrested for breaching the peace after trespassing inside the site and throwing fireworks.

George 'Pussy' Galloway

Last year's Celebrity Big Brother series was made memorable largely by George Galloway's feline behaviour. The MP for Bethnal Green and Bow pretended to be a cat lapping milk from the hands of Rula Lenska, and later dressed in an off-the-shoulder red Lycra outfit.

Chantelle Who?

Last year CBB launched the career of fake celebrity - and Paris Hilton look-alike - Chantelle Houghton, who had to pretend for the duration of her time in the house that she was part of a pop band. Houghton went on to win the show and later married fellow housemate Samuel Preston, lead singer with the Ordinary Boys.