I was abused on TV

British actress-model on her recent exit from 'Big Brother' and being the most hated inmate on the show

After Shilpa Shetty, British actress-model Deana Uppal became the second person of Indian origin to be a part of the Big Brother TV show in UK. Deana talks exclusively to HitList about coming a close third on the show and her subsequent exit.

After Shilpa Shetty, you are the only other person of Indian-origin on Big Brother...
The reception was not great. I came into the house wearing a saree as I wanted to show off our beautiful Indian clothing and my Indian origin. However, I felt most of the housemates where intimidated by this. On the first night, a lot of the contestants backed away from me and avoided conversation.

Apparently you were the most hated inmate in the house!
Yes! No matter how hard I tried to create relationships with the other housemates nothing would work.
There were reports of racial discrimination towards you...
Yes. Scott Maison was particularly nasty towards me and would constantly verbally abuse me. Another male contestant made comments about me eating with my hands. 

I have not yet received an apology from any contestant about their comments and I feel very disappointed that Big Brother let the abuse. Instead, one of the housemates, Conor Mcintyre who was abusing me the most, won a task in the house and was rewarded Pound 50,000 in cash.

You finished third although you were the favourite to win the show...
Yes, apparently I was on the top of the polls. As I didn't have many friends inside the house, I presumed I would have been unpopular on the outside too. So now to see the huge support that I have is very overwhelming.

You broke down on quite a few instances...
Yes, the first few weeks were very hard for me. However, I became stronger. I am glad I have shown people that no matter what you are up against in life, if you believe in your self, believe in God and be strong you can get through anything.
Back here in India, could this translate into offers from the film industry?
I hope so as I love India and I do feel more comfortable living in India. If the offers do come up, I would love that. I am returning to India soon.

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Deana Uppal accused of playing 'race card' in UK's Big Brother!

Deana Uppal is facing a similar situation which made Shilpa Shetty an international icon with reality show Big Brother.

But while the public and media speculate racism, ex-Playboy bunny girl and the show’s contestant Shievonne Robinson has accused Deana of “playing the race card” to garner sympathy.

After another Housemate Conor McIntyre used expletives for Deana and called her “a piece of shit”, UK television watchdog Ofcom ordered an investigation. Now Shievonne has gone ahead and had a spat with the 23- year-old Miss India UK.

Deana is often shown in tears after tiffs with the show’s Housemates. But when we asked Shilpa Shetty’s ex-publicist Dale Bhagwagar who handled her through the thick and thin of Big Brother controversies, he almost dismissed the racial abuse allegations.

“Since Deana is the next Indian after Shilpa on the show; similarities are bound to be drawn up. Nothing more; nothing less, ” quipped the PR guru. But he added, “It’s unfair to compare the two cases as both Shilpa and Deana have different personalities.”

Meanwhile, Shievonne is nominated for eviction from Big Brother this week alongside Conor McIntyre.

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Racism row again hits an Indian on Big Brother

In 2007 actress Shilpa Shetty was the victim of racial remarks on "Celebrity Big Brother". Five years later, Indian British model Deana Uppal faced similar "insults" from a fellow contestant on the British reality show.

Upal, winner of 2012 Miss India UK crown, hails from Birmingham and had done modelling assignments in India and Britain. On the show, she has been adderesed as a "piece of shit" by one of the housemates - Conor McIntyre.

After watching the show, 1, 200-plus viewers filed complaints against the racits remarks to Ofcom, Britain's television regulator and it has mounted a probe.

The incident occurred on June 25 episode and many viewers thought that McIntyr's behaviour amounted to bullying, reports hollywoodreporter.com.

McIntyre has been warned about his behaviour by Big Brother producers after he used a string of expletives.

In another episode, aired on June 28, a female housemate called a black contestant "ridiculous gorilla" with "no sanitation" and Ofcom said it registered 114 complaints from viewers about the remark, which was perceived as racist.

A Channel 5 spokesman said the broadcaster is committed to complying with Ofcom's broadcasting code and "will help to facilitate a speedy investigation into this particular episode of 'Big Brother'."

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Deana Uppal compared to Shilpa Shetty with Big Brother!

Asians as well as Britons are expecting a lot out of Deana Uppal; the new desi in UK’s reality show Big Brother since Indian actress Shilpa Shetty.

But Bollywood PR guru Dale Bhagwagar, who happens to be Shilpa’s ex-publicist, feels Deana and Shilpa are two different personalities which many are trying to mix.

According to the public relations expert, Deana has hit some right and similar chords on the show. He points out that Conor McIntyre, Deana’s co-participant on Big Brother, ranted to his fellow housemates about Deana after she failed to finish eating her chosen dish in the Confusing Cusine task.

“If you remember, Jade Goody’s argument with Shilpa too, began over food, when Jade refused to eat the chicken Shilpa had made, ” Dale reminds. True! Both Conor and Jade's arguments also resulted in a huge number of complaints to the British Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom.

By comparing Deana with Shilpa, the publicity expert feels, people are missing the bigger picture. “Shilpa was an epitome of goodness and a great forgiver. At the same time, in Big Brother she was the righteous fighter and a survivor beyond comparison, ” he remarks.

The 23-year-old Deana, who lives in Mumbai now, is basically a model from Birmingham, and also the reigning Miss India UK.

Considering the volatile situation most Housemates face in Big Brother, no doubt, it will be an extremely uphill task for her to match that charisma and what Dale terms as “the Shilpa-effect”. “Though anyone would be happy if she does, ” he adds on a positive note.

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Indian girl Deana Uppal fakes sexuality on Big Brother

Asians all over the United Kingdom have a lot of hopes and expectations from Deana Uppal; the new Indian after Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty in the UK reality show Big Brother. But by the looks of it, as the show progresses, Deana is quite regularly crashing their hopes.

After a huge argument with a Housemate on Big Brother last week, Deana was seen ‘faking’ her sexuality on the show this week, pretending she was born a man and had an operation to remove her manhood.

Playing a prank on Housemate Becky Hannon, Deana told her, “I used to be a man. I thought you knew! Thought you’d read up on me. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, I thought you knew!”

But Deana’s joke about a ‘sex-change surgery’ didn’t go well on another Housemate Luke Anderson, who was born a woman, and is still making the transformation from a woman to a man. Luke ended up blasting Deana for being “insensitive”, after which she apologized and confessed she was joking.

Bollywood PR guru Dale Bhagwagar, who also happens to be Shilpa Shetty’s ex-publicist and a specialist with handling publicity for participants on Bigg Boss (the Indian version of Big Brother), said, “one can’t compare Deana to Shilpa.”

Refusing to comment on Deana Uppal’s goof-ups in Big Brother, the publicist noted, “When Shilpa participated on the show, she’d conducted herself with a lot of cultural ethics and dignity. It was this class and finesse that won her the hearts of Asians and Britons alike and made her the show’s winner and an icon in UK.”

“Deana seems to be a nice person, but it won’t be easy for anyone to emulate that Shilpa-effect on a show which thrives on scandal,” concluded the public relations expert. For the record, 23-year-old Deana, who lives in Mumbai now, is basically a model from Birmingham, and also the reigning Miss India UK.

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