Winner Shilpa has the last laugh on the Big Brother bullies

It was the perfect result for the channel after the furore over Miss Shetty suffering "racist" bullying during the show at the hands of celebrity housemates Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O'Meara.

Bosses had been accused of cashing in on the storm and last night's vote will allow them to claim they had been right to continue running the show in the face of fierce criticism.

Miss Shetty, 31, won enormous public support for her magnanimous approach to the race row, which saw Miss Goody evicted earlier in the series by a massive public vote.

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During last night's final, Miss Lloyd, a model, and Miss Goody's boyfriend Jack Tweedy were the first two housemates to be evicted from the house.

They were given a gentle interview about their behaviour towards Miss Shetty by host Davina McCall, who has faced accusations of "going easy" on those involved in the alleged bullying.

Miss Lloyd, a former Miss Great Britain, immediately apologised and said she had learned "not to be such a bitch".

Former Steps singer Ian Watkins and A-Team actor Dirk Benedict followed them out to cheers and applause.

Minutes later Miss Shetty was declared the winner ahead of singer Jermaine Jackson.

Miss Shetty called out "thank you" to the crowds as she left the house to rapturous applause and cheers.

When shown a compilation of clips from the series, including Miss Goody's insults, she looked close to tears.

But she was forgiving to her fellow housemates, saying: "People make mistakes and we are all human beings and all fallible. Jade didn't mean to be racist. She may be short-tempered but she is not a racist.

"I really don't want to leave England having put anyone in trouble. I am so happy I took up this opportunity.

"I want to thank the whole of Great Britain for giving me this fantastic opportunity to make my country proud."

Bookmakers had given the Indian actress odds of 1/6 – making her favourite to win.

Miss Goody caused an international race row when she called Miss Shetty "Shilpa Poppadom" during days of arguments in the house, at Elstree Studios, in Hertfordshire.

Her mother Jackiey claimed she could not pronounce the star's name and referred to her as "the Indian" while Miss O'Meara and Miss Lloyd mocked her accent and background.

The events even led to a discussion during Prime Minister's Questions and protesters burning effigies of the show's producers in the streets of Mumbai. It also overshadowed Chancellor Gordon Brown's tour of India, where he said voting Miss Goody out of the house was a vote "for tolerance".

Show sponsors pulled their support during the furore, Ofcom registered 40,000 complaints and Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell even suggested Channel 4's sluggish response to the controversy might lead to the broadcaster losing future public funding.

But Channel 4 remained defiant despite being accused of shamelessly milking the row and manipulating a phoney rapprochement between the two main protagonists in order to temper the backlash.

Bosses said later that the race row saved the show from being "the most boring in years".

Miss O'Meara told a tabloid newspaper yesterday that she had no regrets.

"I've been accused of mocking Shilpa's accent, but that is not racist," she said.

"My cousin married an Indian and I make fun of their kids' voices. Then they make funny Cockney noises back at me. It's just a big game.

"I can't say I am sorry for something I am not guilty of. If I went back in there then I'd say it all again."

Miss Goody's career went into freefall when she was evicted from the house under tight security more than a week ago.

In a bizarre twist, her agent John Noel is understood to have signed up Miss Shetty in a deal which is bound to net millions of pounds.