British channel to review Big Brother

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LONDON, Jan 23 (Reuters) British broadcaster Channel Four today announced a review of its Big Brother reality show after alleged bullying and racist remarks by contestants sparked an international furore and a deluge of viewer complaints.

Speaking after a board meeting of Channel 4 directors, chairman Luke Johnson regretted any offence caused by the show but doused speculation that it could be pulled off the air.

The Celebrity Big Brother series grabbed headlines in Britain and India last week after former dental nurse Jade Goody and other contestants ganged up on Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, calling her ''the Indian'' and ''Poppadom''.

Britain's media watchdog received a record 40,000 complaints from viewers, top politicians weighed into the row and a major sponsor of the programme withdrew its backing.

''Clearly many people were worried and offended by what they saw,'' Johnson said in a statement. ''I want to reassure them that we take the views of our audience very seriously and profoundly regret any offence that may have been caused.'' Channel 4 has been criticised for not acting sooner to stop the alleged racist bullying of Shetty on the show during which contestants are sealed off from the outside world in a house where cameras follow their every move 24 hours a day.

Johnson said the number of complaints indicated the programme had ''triggered an important debate'' but said he had commissioned a report to identify any lessons that could be learned for the future.

Channel 4, which saw viewing figures peak at 8.8 million on Friday evening compared with around 3.5 million before the controversy began, had been under pressure to act.

Evicted from the show after a public vote on Friday, Goody acknowledged over the weekend that some of her comments to Shetty had been racist.

''I'm not a racist, but I accept I made racist comments,'' she said.