Millions of Indian viewers will today be able to watch the moment when Jade Goody, the loud-mouthed British reality TV star, is told by her doctor that she is suffering from cervical cancer.

Goody, 27, received the diagnosis while appearing on Bigg Boss, the Indian version of Big Brother. After speaking to her consultant in the UK by telephone in the Diary Room, she reportedly burst into tears and told her housemates: "I have cancer".

She immediately quit the show - hosted by her old Celebrity Big Brother rival Shilpa Shetty - and flew home for more tests and to see her two children.

There was some confusion about whether the Diary Room footage would be aired but a source at Endemol, the show's creators, said today that Goody had given her consent for it to be broadcast.

Goody's appearance on the Indian show came 18 months after she was accused of racism when she taunted Shetty, a Bollywood actress, who went on to win the British version of the show. The race row saw effigies of her and other housemates burnt on the streets of India.

Goody, who is said to have earned £100,000 for her appearance on Bigg Boss, had said before appearing on the show she was "not proud" of her behaviour towards Shetty and that she had come to India determined to "win everyone's heart."

Ofcom received more than 50,000 complaints about Goody, Danielle Lloyd and former S Club singer Jo O'Meara's alleged racist bullying, with Goody referring to Shetty as "Shilpa Poppadom".

It is understood that Goody had been having tests for some time due to concerns about her health following a series of mystery collapses but doctors had, until now, been unable to find the cause.

Max Clifford, the celebrity publicist, told GMTV: "The most important thing is to get her back with people who care for her. It is dreadful but the irony of it is that Shilpa Shetty was instrumental in inviting Jade on the show, it was a great oppportunity and something she was really looking forward to."

Bigg Boss made further headlines in India today when Ramdas Athavale, who is an MP and leads the Republican Party of India, said he would sue the show's producers for not choosing him to appear on the programme. He claimed he had been overlooked because he is a dalit - one of the low-caste community formerly known as untouchables.

His supporters attacked the Bombay offices of Colours, the channel broadcasting Bigg Boss, smashing windows and blocking the road outside.

"I had my bags packed on August 16 and have told thousands of friends, followers, partymen to vote for me. I am the big boss in my party and I have told everyone that I will also be the Bigg Boss in the show. They dropped me just because I am a dalit. I will be filing a case under the atrocity act that I was dropped out because of my caste," he said.

The debut episode of Bigg Boss was watched by more than 4 million people on Sunday evening, no mean feat in a country with several hundred channels. The figures made the show the winner of India's fiercely-contested prime-time ratings war.

Read Jade Goody's autobiography, 'Catch a falling Star.'

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