Carol Thatcher banned from BBC's The One Show for 'golliwog' comment

London, Feb.4 (ANI): British journalist and daughter of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Carol Thatcher, has been banned from BBC's The One Show after referring to a tennis player as a "golliwog". According to The Telegraph, Carol Thatcher made the remark during an off-camera conversation with The One Show presenter Adrian Chiles.

Although the conversation took place in the green room and not on air, several members of the production team, as well as Chiles, who were described as "shocked", heard her remark.

It is understood the BBC wanted a formal apology from Thatcher but she had declined to do so.

Despite being barred from the show, Thatcher will not be banned from the BBC as a whole.

Thatcher, 55, was one of the programme's "roving reporters" and was discussing one of the male competitors in the Australian Open last week. The show's website praised "her dry, self-deprecating wit and tenacious spirit".

A BBC source said: "There were a number of complaints from people in the room about this particular remark, it did cause offence. A number of people were quite taken aback by the language."

A BBC spokesman said: "The BBC considers any language of a racist nature wholly unacceptable. We have raised the issue with the individual concerned and are discussing it as a matter or urgency."

Thatcher's spokesman told The Times that her client never intended to cause any offence and it was "meant as a joke".

"She made a light aside about this tennis player and his similarity to the golliwog on the jampot when she was growing up. There's no way, obviously, that she would condone any racist comment - we would refute that entirely. It would not be in her nature to do anything like that.It is disgusting that we've had a leak of private conversations in the green room - the BBC has more leaks than Thames Water, he said.

Thatcher, a journalist and writer, made a name for herself by winning the ITV reality programme I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in 2005. (ANI)