BBC in racism row over 'disgraceful' Harry Enfield maid sketch

Published on Tuesday 7 October 2008 22:20

A COMEDY sketch in which a man urges his neighbour to "mount" a Filipina maid has been attacked by the Philippines government and community groups in Britain.

An online petition condemning the skit, on BBC show Harry and Paul, starring Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse, as "disgraceful", "distasteful" and "tantamount to racism" attracted hundreds of signatures yesterday. Calls were growing last night for the BBC to apologise.

The Philippines government has already protested over the sketch, which was aired on Friday, 26 September.

Its embassy in London has sent a letter of protest to the BBC, the Secretary of State for Women and the Press Complaints Commission.

The plight of millions of Filipinos working overseas is a sensitive issue for the Philippines, whose economy is kept afloat by the billions they send home from abroad.

During the sketch, a man urges his lethargic neighbour to have sex with a Filipina maid, who is wriggling provocatively. He encourages the neighbour to "mount her", telling the maid, wearing a grey uniform and apron, to "present your rear".

The petition, attributed to the Philippine Foundation, calls for the "re-education" of the BBC.

There are also plans for a silent protest vigil at the BBC building at White City in London.

Other Filipinos in the UK said the BBC comedy scene was worse than the script of an episode of the American TV series Desperate Housewives, which questioned the ability of Filipino medical graduates.

A BBC spokeswoman said: "We have not received any formal complaint."

A spokesman for Tiger Aspect Productions, which makes the show, said it had not meant to cause offence.

"Harry and Paul is a post- watershed comedy sketch series and as such tackles many situations in a comedic way," he said.

"Set in this context, the sketch in question is so far beyond the realms of reality as to be absurd and in no way is intended to demean or upset any viewer."

In the Philippines, the foreign secretary, Alberto Romulo, summoned the British ambassador, Peter Beckingham, to discuss the matter.

The British Embassy in Manila was forced to issue a statement saying the BBC had editorial independence and the views portrayed by the network "are completely independent" from the government.

ANALYSIS

ANDREW Jones, a former senior BBC manager and head of journalism at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, said comedy makers deliberately courted controversy.

"The Filipinos are absolutely within their rights to protest, but the reality is that satire is often disguised to challenge people's thinking," he said.

"It doesn't automatically mean this sketch was meant to stereotype Filipinas.

"Comedy is under a lot of pressure to do something new – to push the boundaries of taste and decency and challenge the world we live in.

"But performers need to realise people are more tolerant about issues such as religion and less tolerant of others such as racism."