A Malaysian reality show has shown that the claws can come out between contestants behind the scenes of a beauty pageant.

The 13-episode TV show, BeautyCamp: The Search for Miss Universe Malaysia 2012, follows 19 contestants as they compete for the opportunity to represent Malaysia in the Miss Universe pageant.

In a recent episode of the reality TV series broadcast last Thursday, one of the contestants, Miss Suchitra Kumar (right), was facing elimination, and blurted out the four-letter word after it was announced that another contestant, Miss Jascinta Kaur (left), had made it to the top eight finalists, reported Malaysia's The Star.

Foul word

Commenting on Internet forums, Malaysian viewers reported that Miss Suchitra could be seen mouthing the words "What the f***", even though a bleep was inserted over the audio track. The programme was aired over Astro's Hitz TV channel last week.

Immediately after the programme, Miss Suchitra, a tax accountant, approached Miss Jascinta and offered her apologies.

"There is absolutely no excuse for how I reacted and it was inappropriate. It was very harsh. I have apologised to Jascinta,'' she told gossip website Daily Chilli.

"I used the word and I don't usually blow up like that. I guess it was the stress (of the competition). Still, I should not have done so," said the 24-year-old.

During the episode, Miss Suchitra burst into tears when she found out that she was close to being voted off.

Miss Jascinta, 19, who has just completed her A-Levels, said she accepted Miss Suchitra's apology and was letting "bygones be bygones".

"There is no tension between us, and there is no point bearing grudges," said the student who is about to begin a degree course in accounting and finance.

Miss Suchitra said remaining in the Miss Universe Malaysia contest was important to her. "It's something that I always wanted to vie for but never had the confidence to do, until now," she said.

Miss Jascinta and Miss Suchitra were two of the 19 finalists who qualified for BeautyCamp. The series comprises six one-episodes, culminating in a two-hour grand final which will be broadcast live on Nov 10 from Selangor.

The Miss Universe Malaysia is part of the international Miss Universe franchise, owned and managed by real estate tycoon Donald Trump's Trump Organisation.

This article was first published in The New Paper.