/> At the end of the month Shilpa Shetty leaves for an undisclosed part of UK to be part of the biggest reality show Big Brother UK. Though the actress has been forbidden from talking about it, it's most reliably learnt that Shilpa has been paid the equivalent of a whopping Rs 3 crores to be the only Bollywood participant on the show.

Shilpa joins Big Brother from Jan 1 and spends the next 25 days on the show.

Says the source, "When Shilpa was approached she was taken completely by surprise. She had made no overtures to Endemol (the company that produces Big Brother internationally) to let them know she was interested in their show at all. But Big Brother made inquiries.

They wanted their first Bollywood entry into the show and they needed someone with a smart sexy look and attitude, someone who could converse fluently in English. Asians make up about 80 percent of viewers on the show."

Shilpa who had other plans for Christmas and the New Years has quickly cancelled them all to accommodate the month-long stint away from home.

Says a very close friend of the actress, " Shilpa is basically a home bird and she's dreading this long stay with strangers. But she's also excited because it's a huge honour to be on Big Brother....

Not like its Indian counterpart Bigg Boss where any and every wannabe was a contestant. Big Brother UK has the biggest celebrities in the world."

Before signing the super-lucrative contract Shilpa found out how voyeuristic the show is expected to be. There will be no cameras in the bathroom and the celebrities on the show won't be required to act sleazy at all.