Chris Evans ignites race storm
BBC presenter Chris Evans has become embroiled in a race row after telling a black guest that he could “barely see” her under the dim studio lights of The One Show.
Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock had agreed to come on the show to discuss her work as ascientist, space expert and government adviser.
Sitting next to Tom Jones on the sofa Pocock was asked a question about whether lunar eclipses – before “There’s plenty out there to see, unfortunately not tonight,” to which Evans replied: “It’s terrible tonight, I can barely see you, to be honest.”
Evans had already put his foot in it when musing on the scientists name: “It’s Welsh, but you’re Caribbean”, to which Pocock replied: “No, no. I’m Nigerian.”
Viewers complained after Evans uttered the comment, contending that the statement amounted to a racist joke.
A BBC spokesman said: “This was a quip in reference to the lights being specifically dimmed in the studio. It was absolutely not a racist remark and the guest did not draw any inference from the comment.”