BBC drops Carol Thatcher from One Show after 'golliwog' remark

The BBC confirmed tonight it had dropped Carol Thatcher as a presenter on The One Show after she referred to a professional tennis player as a "golliwog" in a private conversation.

Thatcher, who won the ITV1 reality show I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! in 2005, made the comment following the recording of an edition of the lifestyle programme on Thursday night in a conversation about the Australian Open with the show's host, Adrian Chiles, and comedian Jo Brand.

BBC insiders said Chiles was "outraged" by the remark about the unnamed male player, made in the BBC green room, and both he and Brand challenged Thatcher. The incident was subsequently reported to the show's executive producer Tessa Finch, who asked Thatcher to explain herself.

Thatcher, the daughter of former prime minister Lady Thatcher, wrote a letter of apology, but her spokeswoman said she denied that the comment was racist, saying it was an "off-the-cuff remark made in jest".

However, the apology was not enough. A BBC spokesman said tonight: "We will no longer be working with Carol Thatcher on The One Show."

It is understood that Thatcher was employed on the programme on a short-term contract, which will now not be renewed. The decision was made by Finch with the backing of the BBC director of Vision, Jana Bennett, and the BBC1 controller, Jay Hunt.

Thatcher, 55, acts as a roving reporter for the show. On its website, she is described as having a "dry, self-deprecating wit and tenacious spirit".

As well as being a contracted contributor on The One Show, Thatcher regularly appears as a guest on a range of other BBC programmes including the Andrew Marr Show, Question Time, the Daily Politics, This Week and Woman's Hour. Even though the BBC has made clear she is not banned from the rest of its programmes, it is thought unlikely that she will be invited on to these shows in the future.

Insiders on The One Show said there had been a strong reaction among staff to Thatcher's comment.

"The remark made by Carol caused great offence to those who heard it at the time and to those members of the production team who heard it later on," an insider said.

"Carol's job as a roving reporter requires her to report on a wide variety of issues and to meet a diverse range of people throughout the country, many of whom are unlikely to agree that her comment was acceptable even as a joke."

It is thought Thatcher was given the opportunity to make an unconditional apology, but declined to do so.

Earlier today, Thatcher's spokeswoman said her client was angry at how the remark had been leaked to the media and that Thatcher wanted an apology from the BBC.

"There has been a massive breach of trust as far as she is concerned," her spokeswoman said. "This was a private conversation, none of which has been verified by the BBC. Carol has given the BBC an apology and as far as we are concerned we have had no apology back over this breach of confidentiality.

"Carol has been an incredibly loyal servant to The One Show and they have paid her back very shabbily."

The One Show, which airs on weeknights on BBC1 at 7pm, has become one of the channel's biggest consistent hits, regularly pulling in 5 million viewers with its mix of celebrity interviews and reports on a range of topics from around the country.

Thatcher was recruited to present regular reports around the theme of "community" alongside Gyles Brandreth, Hardeep Singh Kohli, John Sergeant and Phil Tufnell.

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