Pressure grows for BBC to sack Strictly's Anton Du Beke over 'racist' joke

The BBC today came under pressure to sack Strictly Come Dancing star Anton Du Beke following a racist remark he made to his dance partner.

Apology accepted: Du Beke and Laila

He called actress Laila Rouass a "Paki" when she showed up to rehearsals with a spray-tan. Du Beke, 43, denied being racist but apologised "unreservedly" for the slur which he said was made "in jest". Rouass, 38, accepted his apology and the couple have "moved on".

But a religious charity today accused the BBC of double standards after Carol Thatcher was sacked from The One Show for calling a black tennis star a "golliwog" off-camera. The Pakistan Welfare Association said: "If someone at the BBC got the sack for using a racist term and another person seems to go unpunished for saying something similar, then where is the justice?"

But a BBC spokesman said: "Carol never apologised for her comment and Anton has."