Shilpa gets a work permit ... with a little help from her friend Mr Vaz
Big Brother winner Shilpa Shetty is to be allowed to cash in on her new fame after being granted a Home Office work permit with the help of Labour MP Keith Vaz.
The Bollywood star might have been forced to quit Britain because the original document allowing her to earn money in the UK had expired when the Channel 4 reality show came to an end two weeks ago.
But the Government has now granted Miss Shetty an extension, enabling her to make money from lucrative personal appearances and media interviews.
Former Minister Mr Vaz, who has championed the Indian actress's cause in the Jade Goody racism scandal, wrote a covering letter for the permit application.
No one predicted Miss Shetty would emerge as the surprise star of Celebrity Big Brother. Although an established figure in her home country, she entered the house unknown in Britain except to a few Bollywood film fans.
Now, after surviving alleged racist bullying from Miss Goody and other housemates, Miss Shetty, 31, has become one of Britain's most recognised faces.
But without a permit she would have been unable legally to receive payments for the countless offers of work she has received.
Mr Vaz, the Leicester East MP who last week introduced her to Tony Blair, said he hoped she would stay to see the result of the investigation by watchdog Ofcom into the racism row.
He added: "Having originally raised this issue in Parliament and having met her, I am delighted to support her application to stay longer in the UK."
Miss Shetty's agent, Farhath Hussain, insisted Mr Vaz's intervention did nothing to speed up the application.
"A work permit normally takes two days. This one took two days," he said.
Mr Vaz was forced to quit as Europe Minister in 2001 after a scandal over British passports for the Indian billionaire Hinduja brothers, who had given money to the Millennium Dome.
