Student Emily Parr, 19, was removed from the house in the early hours after she was heard to say, 'Are you pushing it out, you nigger?' to a black contestant.
LONDON: A contestant on the latest series of Big Brother was thrown off the show on Thursday for using a racially offensive word, just days after bosses were forced to apologise for a racist row on the show's celebrity version.
Student Emily Parr, 19, was removed from the house in the early hours after she was heard to say, 'Are you pushing it out, you nigger?' to black contestant Charley Uchea, 21, Channel 4 said in a statement.
Parr said she did not mean the comment to be offensive and Uchea, who listed racism as one her dislikes on her Big Brother profile, said she had not taken it personally but was shocked at the language used.
Channel 4 said the exchange was not screened live and was immediately reported to senior production staff who took the decision to remove Parr from the camera-filled house on the grounds that she had broken the rules governing behaviour.
Angela Jain, who heads Channel 4's Big Brother commissioning team, said viewers would agree that the comments were careless rather than malicious.
"She (Parr) understands why her involvement in Big Brother has had to come an end and she very much regrets what she said," Jain said in a statement.
Parr had been up for eviction from the house after being chosen to be one of two housemates who would have to face a public vote.
The incident comes after this year's 'Celebrity Big Brother' was overshadowed when eventual winner, Indian actress Shilpa Shetty, was racially abused by other housemates.
"Intolerance of any form has to be debunked. For a change, Channel 4, has done some good," Shetty said at the International Indian Film Academy awards in Sheffield.
Channel 4 was ordered by the TV regulator Ofcom to issue an apology for its handling of Shetty row before the current, eighth series of the popular reality show started nine days ago.
"In the wake of Celebrity Big Brother, we must consider the potential offence to viewers regardless of Emily's intentions and her housemates' response," Jain said.
"The word 'nigger' is clearly racially offensive and there was no justification for its use. We have removed Emily from the house to once again make it clear to all housemates and the viewers at home that such behaviour won't be tolerated."
The Commission for Racial Equality said it welcomed Channel 4's swift action.
""Whichever way you look at it, the 'N' word is clearly offensive," the CRE said in a statement.
"This will show everyone that racism must never be tolerated in any way, shape or form. We can see from this incident that there is no stereotype of a racist, they come from all walks of life, education and social background."
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}