Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty and publicist Max Clifford have parted ways.

Clifford was signed up to promote Shilpa's career on the back of her success in 'Celebrity Big Brother' earlier this year.

According to reports, the split was down to a "serious breakdown of communication" between his company, Max Clifford Associates, and Shilpa's representatives.

Shilpa was recently spotted in London with an Asian PR person, which erupted rumours that Clifford had dropped her. He was quick to respond to the media speculation, "It was becoming impossible! We had a six month contract and it came to an end.

"But I will say that it was a waste of our time. We had the opportunity to do a lot. I was hoping to make her the first real international Bollywood celebrity. There were great plans and meetings on the cards but..Well, the biggest problem was one of communication and reciprocation. Considering we were her official representatives, we found it incredibly difficult to get in touch with her! When we did, the response time was as long as a week."

Clifford narrated, "She had a bunch of three or four people around her who invariably came back with conflicting answers.

"We tried hard to build her profile but I think her priorities were different. It was hard enough persuading her to go on the Jonathan Ross show. I had set up a meeting for her with Simon Cowell, which she didn't seem interested in either. And yet she had the time to make routine appearances in a Leicester, Uxbridge and Southall. It was a real pity. Anyway, she is a nice girl and I wish her the best."

London PR agency Sterling Media will handle Shilpa's publicity in the UK. Sterling Media are also responsible for PR work of Western Union, Mobo Awards and STAR Network (including IIFA awards), to name a few.

Natasha Mudhar, Managing Director of Sterling Media said, "We are delighted to have won the account, and look forward to propelling Shilpa across an international and mainstream platform. Shilpa has some very interesting projects lined up which we are sure will generate extensive talk ability."