Read the transcript on our Big Brother blog

A contestant from the Big Brother house was evicted today for using a racist epithet, in the latest scandal to hit the Channel 4 reality show.

Emily Parr, a 19-year-old student from Bristol, was ejected from the reality show for saying the word “n*****” to fellow contestant Charley Uchea, who is black.

Still smarting from the race row which blighted the most recent series of Celebrity Big Brother, Channel 4 and Endemol, the programme's producers, reacted quickly to remove her from the show.

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Would it be too cynical for even Channel 4 to prime her to make a racist comment?

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Emily and Charley were dancing together in the living room when Emily used the word in an apparently light-hearted manner. Rather than react angrily, Charley responded by pointing out that her actions were likely to get her in trouble.

Emily was called into the diary room at 3.30am this morning and told to leave the reality show immediately.

The television programme generated negative publicity across the world when three contestants on the celebrity version of the show, Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O’Meara, were accused of racially bullying the Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty.

Ofcom censured the channel and Endemol for not intervening as the abuse escalated and Channel 4 was ordered to broadcast the Ofcom judgement during the current series.

Angela Jain, who heads the Big Brother commissioning team at Channel 4, said the word was used “carelessly rather than maliciously” but that after the Shetty row the channel only had one choice.

Ms Jain said: “I think people watching the show tonight will agree that Emily spoke carelessly rather than maliciously, certainly Charley and Nicky, the two housemates most directly involved in the conversation with her, seem to accept that she did.

“In the wake of Celebrity Big Brother, we must consider the potential offence to viewers regardless of Emily’s intentions and her housemates’ response.

“The word n***** 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.”

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