BBC sacks Margaret Thatcher’s daughter for ‘racist’ remark
February 4th, 2009 - 8:18 pm ICT by IANSLondon, Feb 4 (IANS) The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has dropped journalist Carol Thatcher, daughter of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, from a popular television show after she referred to a tennis player as a “golliwog”.The reference was said to have been made during an off-air conversation with “The One Show” presenter Adrian Chiles and comedienne Jo Brand.
They are said to have challenged her about the comment, which then filtered out to the rest of the production team, newspapers reported.
The three were talking about the Australian Open tennis tournament, which ended in Melbourne at the weekend, when Thatcher referred to a black tennis player, understood to be Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, as a “golliwog”.
Reports said the BBC had hoped that Carol Thatcher would issue an unconditional apology to those who she had offended, but that she declined to do so.
A BBC spokesperson said: “We will no longer be working with Carol Thatcher on ‘The One Show’.”
A spokesperson for Thatcher, 55, said the word was used in an off-the-cuff remark intended as a joke.
- BBC apologises for new racial faux pas - Jul 05, 2009
- Margaret Thatcher distressed over BBC's treatment of daughter Carol - Feb 06, 2009
- BBC suspends Sikh comedian for 'acting inappropriately' - Jul 13, 2009
- BBC sacked Carol Thatcher to get even with `Mom'' Thatcher - Feb 05, 2009
- Nadal overcomes Tsonga, faces Murray in semis - Mar 29, 2012
- Carol Thatcher banned from BBC''s The One Show for ''golliwog'' comment - Feb 04, 2009
- Race row after British TV star calls part-Indian actress 'Paki' - Oct 04, 2009
- Golliwog dolls withdrawn from British Queen's shop - Feb 05, 2009
- Roger Federer Once Again Into The Finals Of The Australian Open After Defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - Jan 29, 2010
- Berdych ends 29-month title drought with China Open - Oct 09, 2011
- Federer, Tsonga chase history in ATP World Tour Finals - Nov 27, 2011
- Indian Wells: Paes-Stepanek advance, Bhupathi-Bopanna knocked out - Mar 11, 2012
- Djokovic reaches Wimbledon final, claims No.1 ranking - Jul 02, 2011
- I paid for watching Wimbledon, nothing wrong in it: Krishna - Jul 05, 2011
- Australian Open: Nishikori eliminates Tsonga, Makarova stuns Serena - Jan 23, 2012
Tags: adrian chiles, apology, australian open, australian open tennis, australian open tennis tournament, british broadcasting corporation, carol thatcher, comedienne, former prime minister, golliwog, jo wilfried tsonga, london feb, margaret thatcher, open tennis tournament, racist remark, sacks, spokesperson, television show, tennis player, wilfried