PTI

LONDON, Mar 12: Actor Shilpa Shetty will be a star attraction at the Commonwealth Day celebrations in the British capital on Monday where Queen Elizabeth II, Prime Minister Tony Blair and representatives of more than 50 Commonwealth nations are expected to participate.

At the celebrations, Shetty, winner of the Celebrity Big Brother TV show recently, will give a 'personal testimony' in which she will talk about her experience of coping with ethnic differences.

It caps a meteoric rise for Shetty that is matched only by the plummet from favour of Jade Goody, the Big Brother contestant who racially abused her on the Channel 4 show.

Although Shetty, who is arriving here on Sunday, used to be better known for her sensual dancing than her political theorising, she now finds herself a sought-after ambassador for courtesy and tolerance.

After winning the reality TV show, she had visited the House of Commons and had a meeting with the Prime Minister and members of his cabinet.

Apart from the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, she will have in her audience Tory leader David Cameron and Liberal Democrats leader Sir Menzies Campbell.

In her speech, Shetty will talk about her childhood in Mumbai and her awareness of the vastness of India with its 'incredible diversity'.

A pre-recorded message by the Queen will be broadcast to the congregation and all over the Commonwealth. In the message, she is expected to emphasise the need for people to respect and understand each other better.

The Queen will call on the Commonwealth to "find our diversity a cause for celebration and a source of strength and unity."