Campaigners urge Coronation Street bosses to stamp out ‘casual racism’ amid calls for a huge policy change over shocking race row
TV chiefs have urged to review their equality policies after Corrie racism storm
CORONATION Street bosses have been urged to clamp down on "casual racism" by campaigners who have branded producers "completely ignorant" for featuring a slavery reference in the show.
The soap has become embroiled in a storm of controversy over a scene in Monday's episode, and activists are now urging TV chiefs to take action.
Fans were infuriated by the reference to US TV show Roots, which is about the slave trade, and they flooded broadcasting watchdog Ofcom with complaints.
Activists at top campaign group Mediawatch-UK have now told The Sun Online exclusively that the joke was "completely ignorant" and they want a review of ITV's anti-racism policies.
A spokesman told us: "The fact that an off-colour comment like this made it on to the air shows that Coronation Street producers are either culturally insensitive or completely ignorant...
"Either way, this sort of casual racism shouldn't be happening and Ofcom needs to find out whether ITV has the right procedures in place."
The race row hit headlines this week as fans took to social media to express their outrage over a scene featuring Catherine Tyldesley’s character Eva.
She made an ill-judged comment about US TV show Roots when referring to her hair dye job.
She said: “I’ve got more roots than Kunta Kinte!” in reference to the central character, a Ghanaian man who is sold into slavery.
The race row sparked a slew of complaints to the broadcasting watchdog, which registered 278 official grievances today.
Ofcom bosses told The Sun Online they are now considering launching an investigation into the Corrie row.
A spokesman told us: "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."
The outrage prompted an apology from ITV bosses, who said sorry in a brief statement.
It declared: "We apologise if this dialogue has caused offence."