Carphone Warehouse suspends sponsorship of Big Brother

Carphone Warehouse has suspended sponsorship of Celebrity Big Brother following allegations of racism toward actress Shilpa Shetty on the C4 show. The company said its sponsorship would be removed from the current series "with immediate effect".

The move follows media watchdog Ofcom's demand that C4 must respond to complaints about 'racist' comments.

"Clearly what is happening is very serious," said Ofcom's chief executive Ed Richards.

A record 30,000 complaints have been made over alleged racist remarks towards Indian actress and Big Brother contestant Shetty. Carphone Warehouse chief executive Charles Dunstone said in a statement: “Our concern has rapidly mounted about the broadcast behaviour of individuals within the Big Brother house.

“We are totally against all forms of racism and bullying and indeed this behaviour is entirely at odds with the brand values of The Carphone Warehouse.

“As a result, we feel that as long as this continues we are unable to associate our brand with the programme.

“We had already made it clear to Channel 4 that were this to continue we would have to consider our position.

“Nothing we saw last night gave us any comfort. Accordingly, we have instructed Channel 4 to remove our sponsorship name and branding with immediate effect.”