Ray Winstone calls Scots ‘tramps’ on TV quiz show

ACTOR Ray Winstone has drawn around 100 complaints after calling Scots “tramps” on television panel show Have I Got News For You.

Ray Winstone: Guest presenter was accused of racism. Picture: Getty

• Actor Ray Winstone draws around 100 complaints after ‘anti-Scottish’ jibes

• Have I Got News For You accused of racism over hosts’ remarks

Winstone was a guest presenter alongside regular team captains Ian Hislop and Paul Merton when the show was broadcast last Friday.

Viewers complained about a section of the show addressing Scottish independence in which Hislop joked that the Scottish Government would make Mars bars the nation’s new currency.

Guest host Winstone, best known for films such as Sexy Beast and for appearing in betting firm bet365’s advertising campaign also said: “To be fair the Scottish ecnoomy has its strengths - its chief exports being oil, whisky, tartan and tramps.”

He then asked the audience if “we should just tell the Scots to bugger off.”

Unamused viewers contacted the BBC and Ofcom, while also accusing the show of racism on Twitter.

“Pathetic blast of anti-Scottish racism. Dumb-founded and saddened,” said one Twitter user.

A BBC spokesman said 81 complaints had been received over the episode, while Ofcom also confirmed complaints had been registered.