The 31-year-old Indian star won the public's support after a fellow contestant hurled racially tinged insults at her in an episode that led to a record 40,000 complaints to media regulators.

    "It's truly been a roller coaster ride," Shetty said. "The highs, the lows, each one has taught me so much."

    Shetty garnered 63 percent of viewers telephone votes Sunday, host Davina McCall said. She did not give the number of votes cast.

    British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Treasury chief Gordon Brown and Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaram have commented on the incident, which South Asian and anti-racist groups said revealed the face of racism in Britain.

    Shetty defended fellow contestant Jade Goody, who repeatedly reduced the Indian actress to tears by shouting at her, calling her cooking untrustworthy, mocking her accent and calling her "Shilpa Poppadum."

    Ironic, because Goody was the object of taunts because she was obese when appearing on the non-celebrity version of "Big Brother." She won that contest on what many called a "sympathy vote" and has earned an estimated 16 million U.S. dollars through television and magazine appearances, an autobiography and an exercise video -- a livelihood endangered by her behavior in the house.

    Contestants on the show are locked in a house for about three weeks and are evicted one by one until someone is chosen as the winner of a cash prize for charity.

    "She is a little aggressive and hot tempered, but she's not a racist," Shetty said of Geddy.

    "I don't want people here feeling they welcomed an Indian here and she created so much trouble. I want to thank the whole of Great Britain for giving me this fantastic opportunity to make my whole country proud."

    Shetty has hired British celebrity publicist Max Clifford to help develop her career in Britain. He estimated Sunday that she could earn 2 million dollars in the next year from new contracts after appearing on the show.

    "It's been a huge success for her because of how she's handled these nasty attacks with dignity," Clifford said on British Broadcasting Corp. television.

    The program made front-page news for days in both Britain and India, where the show's producers were burned in effigy. More than 8.8 million people tuned into the show following the racism controversy.

    Other participants on the show included former Jackson Five leader Jermaine Jackson and "A-Team" actor Dirk Benedict. Model Danielle Lloyd and singer Jo O¡¯Meara were also seen by the British public as tormenting Shetty.

    (Agencies)