London socialite quits US after claims of racism on reality TV

She is a 38-year-old London socialite who once claimed to have shared a passionate kiss with Prince Harry.

But after moving to Washington DC to build a new life with her award-winning White House photographer husband, Catherine Ommanney has found herself a figure of hate in the US after falling foul of reality TV.

The interior designer signed up to appear in The Real Housewives Of DC, the fifth instalment of a series which follows the lives of affluent housewives and professional women in America.

It was filmed last year and went on air this month, but Ms Ommanney complains she has been made to look like a "stuck-up cow" and a racist.

In a scene at the home of Stacie Scott Turner, a black estate agent, Ms Ommanney impersonated model Tyra Banks and claimed to be disappointed that President Barack Obama did not attend a ceremony at which her husband won a photography prize.

She was not directly accused of racism in the episode, but Ms Turner's black friend Erika Hughes said her comments were "rude, abrasive and neck rolling".

After splitting from her husband, Ms Ommanney has now returned to London. She said: "I have been portrayed as a racist. The fact that I was putting Tyra Banks down and mildly disappointed with Obama, it has nothing to do with colour. I despise racism and sexism.

"People were giving me grief on the streets. I don't see colour. I'm just not a big fan of Tyra Banks. There was so much reverse racism going on, I found it astonishing."

Even Ms Turner feels the Briton was treated unfairly by editors of the Bravo programme. She said: "I thought the scene with Cat and I was a little amplified and made to have a racial undertone to it, which really didn't exist."