Shilpa had "no idea" of extent of abuse

Shilpa said she had "no idea" of the extent of the hate against her after watching Celebrity Big Brother tapes.

The series champion - who was subject to alleged racist bullying from Jade, Jo and Danielle - said she was shaken by footage of the girls' private chatter. She expressed disbelief that they could have been so nasty.

"I didn't know all that had gone on," she told the Daily Mirror. "They are so mean. Why didn't someone stop them? It hurts me deeply.

"Watching this now, I can understand why people complained so much. It isn't just one or two attacks - it's incessant. I still can't figure out what I did wrong."

However, in the face of remarks including Danielle's "She can't even speak English properly," the Bollywood star maintains the insults were not racist.

"What those girls did was wrong but I would not like to say they are racist," she declared. "I forgive them because I must. We are all human beings, we all make mistakes.

"Jade has had a tough upbringing but because she made her name on Big Brother she was perhaps jealous that I was diverting some of the attention away from her."

Shilpa continued: "Jo is perhaps driven by jealousy because she has self-esteem issues. Danielle, well, she is just young and more stupid than racist.

"I'm not excusing what they did. Not for a minute. I can see why people felt they had to stick up for me and am grateful for that. And I am proud that Asian people, Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims have come together."