Strictly host defended judge in huge race row
Strictly Come Dancing was embroiled in a huge race row, when Anton du Beke said a celebrity looked like a "P***i". Anton was paired with actress Laila Rouass on the show 15 year ago, and made the comment after she'd undergone a spray tan. At the time, the late Sir Bruce Forsyth was hosting the show alongside Tess Daly.
Speaking on the matter to TalkSport in 2009, Bruce said it was a ‘terrible shame’. "You go back 25, 30, 40 years and there has always been a bit of humour about the whole thing,” he said. “At one time the Americans used to call us 'limeys' which doesn't sound very nice, but we used to laugh about it. Everybody has a nickname. And Anton is such a sweet guy, it's such a terrible shame."
Bruce then went on to tell the radio station that Anton was a ‘lovely, sensitive guy’. "OK, he can be a bit mouthy and can say quick things off-the-cuff like I do. If someone says something to me then I'm straight back. Quick reflex of the tongue is what we've got,” he continued.
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“But when you're like that you can slip up every now and again. You can say something that you don't mean.” Bruce then said he was sure ‘there was nothing vindictive’ about Anton’s remarks and said Anton’s apology should be accepted, and the page should be closed.
The late Strictly host then went on to call the ordeal a ‘damn shame’ before saying he feels sorry for both Anton and Laila. The dancer issued an apology after a newspaper revealed he had used the offensive term to describe Laila.
Anton said: "I must say immediately and categorically that I am not a racist and that I do not use racist language. "During the course of rehearsals Laila and I have exchanged a great deal of banter entirely in jest, and two weeks ago there was an occasion when this term was used between the two of us.
"There was no racist intent whatsoever but I accept that it is a term which causes offence and I regret my use of it, which was done without thought or consideration of how others would react.I apologise unreservedly for any offence my actions might have caused."
Laila, who has an Indian mother and Moroccan father, accepted the apology. However, after Bruce’s comments on TalkSport, the BBC released a statement claiming that his views were not those of the corporation. "Racially offensive language in the workplace is entirely unacceptable," they said. "Anton was right to apologise quickly and without reservation and Laila has wholly accepted his apology. Everyone is very clear that there can be no repetition of this behaviour."
After his interview with TalkSport, in which he was contributing to a debate surrounding VAR, Bruce released another statement, explaining that he had been asked by a number of journalists to clarify what he meant.
"What Anton said to Laila was wrong and he has apologised unreservedly for this. Nor do I in any way excuse or condone the use of such language,” The Generation Game host said. "To be absolutely clear, the use of racially offensive language is never either funny or acceptable. However, there is a major difference between this and racist comments which are malicious in intent and whilst I accept that we live in a world of extraordinary political correctness, we should keep things in perspective."
Bruce Forstyth presented the hit BBC show with Tess Daly from 2004 to 2013, ending four years before his sad death.
