A Channel 4 spokesman, supposedly with a straight face, said: “Big Brother does not tolerate bullying or racist abuse. We are monitoring all the housemates and will take appropriate measures to reprimand such behaviour where necessary.” Perhaps they should have added “but don’t hold your breath”.

The racism row that is raging over Celebrity Big Brother, and which has provoked about 10,000 complaints to Ofcom, is manna from heaven for Channel 4. Until this week the show was dying on its backside but now, thanks to a bit of Asian-baiting, it is back in the news.

It is unpleasant watching a woman being taunted for being “different” (Jade Goody’s mother, Jackiey, referred to Shetty, a Bollywood actress, as “the Indian” and refused to pronounce her name properly; Danielle Lloyd asked: “They eat with their hands in India, don’t they — or is that China?”) but not as unpalatable as hearing the crocodile concern being voiced by Channel 4.

Far from “not tolerating” bullying, the brains at Endemol have deliberately caused it. And it is not just Shetty who is the victim.

Unable or unwilling to pay for names such as we saw last year (Michael Barrymore, George Galloway), Endemol has gone for the lowest common denominator — pit bull versus pedigree. It may have seemed like a public-school wheeze to throw the uneducated, loud Goody family — real, live Untermensch! — in the cage with the refined Ken Russell and make people wait likes slaves on belligerent pikey Jackiey but it has backfired. Russell walked out and the show increasingly relies for entertainment on the boorishness of Goody and her coterie.

Big Brother has paraded Jade Goody like a circus act before, encouraging us to snigger at her stupidity. Now it is happening again (note Davina McCall’s initial patronising, finger-wagging greeting to Jackiey — “Is that alcohol I can smell on your breath!?” — something she failed to say to any other contestant despite some of them being three sheets to the wind).

We should feel ashamed, actually, laughing at someone like Jade (herself mixed-race) who suffered the most underprivileged upbringing and was rolling her mother’s spliffs by the age of 5. For what it’s worth I doubt she and her gang are even particularly racist. I think they are jealous — of Shetty’s beauty, poise, talent and, yes, her class.

Their reaction is just what Channel 4 wanted. Though my sympathy for anyone entering the Big Brother house is usually zero, this time I feel sorry they have taken the bait.

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