The comments featured during an episode on Bank Holiday Monday
Coronation Street has been forced to apologise after complaints over a comment made on the show earlier this week that was deemed racist by many viewers.
The episode in question aired on Bank Holiday Monday (August 29) and saw the character of Eva Price, played by Catherine Tyldesley, say that she had “more roots than Kunta Kinte” whilst visiting the hair salon, referring to the enslaved character from the novel and TV mini-series Roots.
The character then adds: “No idea who that is, by the way, just something my mum used to say.” Watch in the clip below.
Yo @ITV So what's up with the cultural insensitivity on #Coronationstreet? "I got more Roots than Kunta Kinte" That's kinda racist…
— Epic Mase RCG (@RedCloudGawd) August 29, 2016
@itvcorrie why would you allow such a racist comment about Roots and Kunte Kinte? Shame on you.
— Vanessa (@van_essa66) August 30, 2016
@itvcorrie WOW!
"More roots than Kunte Kinte"
I'm actually stunned that you think that is acceptable broadcast something so racist.— SHILOH (@shilohmusicldn) August 30, 2016
While many on Twitter pointed out what they saw as the offensiveness of the remarks, nearly 300 viewers also complained to Ofcom, who have said in response: “Ofcom has received 278 complaints about Coronation Street, which aired on Monday. We will assess these complaints before we decide whether to investigate or not.”
A spokeswoman for Coronation Street has since responded, saying: “We apologise if this dialogue has caused offence.”