The 5-minute Interview: Shilpa Shetty, Actress

'People have this misconception that I am prim and proper'

Perhaps best known in the UK for her stint on 'Celebrity Big Brother' which ended amid controversy in January 2007, Shilpa Shetty, 32, has also enjoyed a long and successful career in Bollywood. Hailing from Tamil Nadu in India, Shetty has appeared in more than 50 films and will be starring in the musical 'Miss Bollywood' from 3 November.

If I weren't talking to you right now I'd be...

Getting dressed for a photo-shoot, or be sleeping because I'm fed up of doing interviews.

A phrase I use far too often...

I think I say "Oh my gosh" quite a lot which is quite annoying.

I wish people would take more notice of...

My work, the fact that I belong to more than just Big Brother, that there is more to me than just that reality TV show.

The most surprising thing that happened to me was...

Winning Celebrity Big Brother. I did not expect that at all.

A common misconception of me is...

I'm not naughty and too prim and proper.

I am not a politician but...

I have no political views whatsoever, I am completely apolitical.

I'm good at...

Solving problems and handling sticky situations for other people, but I'm bad at handling sticky situations for myself.

I'm very bad at...

Losing. I'm a very bad loser.

The ideal night out is...

Watching a fantastic movie, maybe a comedy, and having a great dinner, then gorging on great desserts.

You know me as a Bollywood actress and reality TV star but in another life I would have been...

I would probably have been a bad businesswoman (my father was a businessman, and I would have followed in his footsteps).

The best age to be is...

I want to believe that it's 32.

In a nutshell, my philosophy is this:

Everything is pre-destined, and it all happens for the best. Oh – and work hard, party hard.

Izaac Sanderswood