Coronation Street faces SECOND race scandal as Ofcom launches investigation into ‘Kunta Kinte’ outrage
Viewers were reeling after Cath Tyldesley's character Eva Price made reference to African character
OFCOM is investigating an episode of Coronation Street after viewers complained a character made a “racist” comment about her hair.
Fans were left reeling after the episode, broadcast in August, saw Catherine Tyldesley’s character Eva Price visiting Audrey’s hair salon, where she made the remark: “I have more roots than Kunta Kinte."
She added: "No idea who that is, by the way, just something my mum used to say."
Kunta Kinte was an African character in the novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family, which was adapted into the hit TV miniseries Roots in the US.
The story is based on a real-life ancestor of author Alex Haley who was taken from The Gambia and sold as a slave.
Eva's comment on Corrie sparked 472 complaints to media watchdog Ofcom.
One furious viewer wrote on Twitter: “Whoever wrote this and approved the script – shame on you! Comparing hair to a slave? Nasty!”
Another said: "That Kunta Kinte line was very distasteful. Not good at all."
Someone else added: "You wouldn't make a joke about Ann Frank, that would be in bad taste, but Kunta Kinte is okay? Who's [sic] bad idea was that?!"
Coronation Street responded to the criticism, telling fans: "We apologise if this dialogue has caused offence."
News of the Ofcom probe follows the launch of a police investigation into racist comments made by Corrie star Marc Anwar on Twitter.
Pakistani-born Marc was sacked from the soap after describing Indians as “b******s” and “p**s-drinking c***s”.
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