Controversial Bollywood actress Monica Bedi has been confirmed as one of the fourteen contestants starring in the reality TV show 'Bigg Boss 2'.

Monica was the companion of gangster Abu Salem and was arrested with him when trying to enter Portugal on false documents in 2002. After a lengthy three-year battle, they were deported to India and Monica served a further year in jail.

The Indian 'Big Brother' series, which started in India at the weekend has been in the news over the last few days after it was announced Jade Goody was also lined up for it.

Other contestants confirmed for season two are politicians Rahul Mahajan, Congress member Sanjay Nirupam, Ketki Dave, Rakhi Vijayan, item girl Sambhavna Seth, actors Payal Rohatgi and non-celebrity Elina. Model-actor Zulfi Syed, music reality show winner Debojit Saha, MTV Roadies 5.0 winner Ashutosh Kaushik, Raja Chaudhry and famous comedian Ehsaan Qureshi.

'Bigg Boss' is being shown on channel Colors in India. There are no plans to telecast the show in the UK, despite the pairing between Shilpa Shetty (host of the show) and Jade Goody, who had a topsy turvy relationship on 'Celebrity Big Brother' last year.

Related links:
Jade Goody to join Indian 'Big Brother'
Shilpa Shetty to host India 'Big Brother 2'
Max Clifford drops Shilpa; Sterling to promote
Shilpa Shetty wins 'Celebrity Big Brother'
Shilpa accused of racism in TV show
Big Brother's Jade Goody: "I'm not racist"
Big Brother's Jade evicted; nation backs Shilpa
Conflicting views on Shilpa from Channel 4?