LONDON: Jade Goody, who was at the centre of an alleged racism row involving Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty in the reality TV show Celebrity Big Brother, was overwhelmingly evicted from the controversial show by viewers.

Goody, 25, was voted out of the show late on Friday by 82 per cent of callers giving their verdict in a phone vote, following a turbulent week of protests over the alleged racist bullying of Shetty. Channel 4, the TV station broadcasting the programme, decided in the last minute to bar the public from a post-eviction event.

Goody, a Briton, who together with two other participants had allegedly branded the Indian actress a “dog” and told her “to go back to the slums”, had rapidly lost support with the public and media.

Meanwhile, Shetty, who was praised by the media for the cool sophistication with which she handled the attacks on her, appeared to be taken aback by the row and its political fallout.

The furore over the alleged racist remarks caused uproar in India and prompted

comments from top politicians, including Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair and Chancellor Gordon Brown.