Celebrity Stats

Celebrity Big Brother winner Shilpa Shetty is to be the new face of Marks & Spencer.

The Bollywood beauty, who was the victim of alleged racial abuse during the Channel Four show in January, attended a shoot for the high street giant's Autumn/Winter 2007 collection on Tuesday in west London.

Shilpa was spotted going to the studio on Kensal Road with television presenter Gaby Roslin, who will also be launching the new range later this year. The pair met up with three other models.

A source said: "Shilpa spent the day at a shoot, she spent the morning having lots of clothes fitted on her so that they look amazing for the advertising campaigns.

"She is perfect for the role. She is gorgeous and has a great personality but, above all, the British public love her."

The contract is thought to be worth in the region of £150,000 in the first instance but if she increases sales significantly she maybe re-signed for the next campaign.

"Shilpa is delighted, she went into the Big Brother house to get herself some exposure in Britain, so she couldn't have asked for things to have turned out better for her," our source said.

"She is still talking to a number of film producers about acting roles, but to be the face of such a popular store is an amazing gig for her."

M&S, which has an outlet on practically every high street in Britain, two years ago signed up Sixties model Twiggy to front their campaign.

Bosses have since watched their sales go up and up, and they are thought to want to keep her but bring in Shilpa alongside to appeal to the younger market.

Erin O'Connor, Laura Bailey and Lizzie Jagger also took part in the most recent advertising drive.

Shilpa, 31, arrived in the UK in January to take part in reality TV series Celebrity Big Brother along with a number of low-rent celebrities.

However, things didn't go quite to plan. She found herself at the centre of a bullying campaign, with Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and singer Jo O'Meara all ganging up on her.

But - as the careers of Jade, Dani and Jo are going down the pan - it looks like Shilpa's the one laughing now.