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Sir Trevor McDonald has hit out at the cast of Mrs Brown Boys for a “crude, offensive, and insulting” joke reportedly made during filming.
Earlier this week it was reported that work on the episodes were “halted” after Brendan O’Carroll made a “clumsy” joke where a “racial term was implied” during rehearsals. The term has not been officially disclosed.
A Black crew member on the show has reportedly resigned following the incident.
The 69-year-old Irish writer and actor told PA: “At a read-through of the Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas specials, there was a clumsy attempt at a joke, in the character of Agnes, where a racial term was implied.
“It backfired and caused offence which I deeply regret and for which I have apologised.”
McDonald said that the joke “couldn’t have been said without a desire to hurt and insult, really. It’s not even funny” in an interview with the Daily Mail.
One of the most familiar faces on TV, the broadcaster became ITN’s first Black reporter in 1973.
“I would probably have very harsh words with the person who said that,” he said when asked how he would handled the situation.
“And said the society and the community in which we live regards that sort of stuff as unnecessarily crude and offensive.”
However, he said he wouldn’t cancel the production, which has split audiences with its presence on the annual Christmas schedule for years.
The Independent’s Nick Hilton gave the previous New Year’s Day special a zero-star review, writing: “Observing that it’s unfunny is like observing that the sea is wet.”
The show is still popular, with more than four million tuning in last Christmas, but there have still been calls to reassess the programming in recent years, since critics say it is outdated, nauseating and unfunny.
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A BBC spokesperson said: “While we don’t comment on individuals, the BBC is against all forms of racism, and we have robust processes in place should issues ever arise.”
It comes as a resurfaced clip from O’Carroll’s interaction with Tyler Perry from 2018 was branded “racist”.
While appearing on The One Show in 2022 alongside Perry, O’Carroll said that Mrs Brown’s Boys had never had anyone of Perry’s “colour” feature on the show before.
