Trevor McDonald blasts Mrs Brown's Boys racist 'joke' - but says show should not be cancelled

Sir Trevor McDonald has called a made by Mrs Brown's Boys 'crude', 'offensive' and 'insulting' – but held off on saying the show should be cancelled.

The TV presenter instead urged the to have 'harsh words' with the leading actor, who allegedly 'implied' a racist remark during a read-through of the special with cast and crew last Wednesday, MailOnline reports.

Earlier this week, Brendan told the : “At a read-through of the Mrs. Brown’s Boys Christmas specials, there was a clumsy attempt at a joke, in the character of Agnes, where a racial term was implied. It backfired and caused offence which I deeply regret and for which I have apologised.”

The reportedly investigated what had happened immediately, before resuming rehearsals in Glasgow's Pacific Quay Studios.

The broadcaster said in a statement: “Whilst we don’t comment on individuals, the BBC is against all forms of racism and we have robust processes in place should issues ever arise.”

An inside TV source told The Sun that one member of production staff was so taken aback by the 'joke' that they decided not to come back to work on the BBC sitcom.

TV presenter Sir Trevor, 85, who was ITN's first black reporter, told the Mail: "I find it in every way crude and offensive and insulting. It couldn't have been said without a desire to hurt and insult really. It's not even funny." He added an insult was "always" on "the receiving end".

Asked how the BBC should deal with the incident, he said: "I would probably have very harsh words with the person who said that. And said the society and the community in which we live regards that sort of stuff as unnecessarily crude and offensive." But he did not suggest cancelling the production.

The member of staff who quit after the offensive remark said: "Virtually everyone in the room on the day that the outburst happened were shocked, but the reading continued for some time without anyone saying or doing anything as they were so stunned," they shared.

“One member of the production team in particular was upset by what came out of his mouth and it was quickly reported to the bosses. There was no excuses for what he said or any kind of context or mitigation he could provide for making the slur, he just seemed to think it was amusing," the source added.

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