Actress Shilpa Shetty won Celebrity Big Brother earlier this year

Producers Endemol said remarks directed at actress Shilpa Shetty were never "an appropriate matter" for police.

The row attracted 45,000 complaints, as well as criticism from watchdog Ofcom.

The Hertfordshire Police Authority, which issued the �15,000 bill, said it would raise the issue when discussing security for the show's next series.

We do not believe that Endemol or Channel 4 should bear responsibility for costs incurred by this investigation Endemol statement

A statement issued by Endemol claimed that the decision to investigate Celebrity Big Brother "was made solely by Hertfordshire Police and no charges were ever brought".

"Endemol and Channel 4 made it clear from the outset they did not believe this was an appropriate matter for police investigation, a view later confirmed by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

"As such we do not believe that Endemol or Channel 4 should bear responsibility for costs incurred by this investigation."

We're obviously negotiating the contract for providing police services for the next series of Big Brother so we will be discussing that then Hertfordshire Police Authority spokeswoman

A spokeswoman for the Authority, which monitors the spending of the Hertfordshire Police force, conceded that it had "no legal standing" to recover the money.

"But we're obviously negotiating the contract for providing police services for the next series of Big Brother, so we will be discussing that then."

And she added that the CPS did not advise on whether the police should investigate a matter.

"Once the police have completed their investigation and have a case ready to go to court, it goes to the CPS, who decide whether it is prosecuted," she said.

Goody was among those who recited an offensive limerick about Shetty

The inquiry was conducted by Hertfordshire Police because of the location of the Big Brother compound, in Elstree.

In May, Ofcom found that Channel 4 had made "serious editorial misjudgements" in its handling of the race row, and ordered the broadcaster to make a high-profile on-air apology at the start of the present series.

The channel apologised and said it accepted Ofcom's ruling, as did Endemol, which said it "sincerely regretted the level of offence caused".