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Basil Brush is being investigated after a complaint was made about an alleged racist joke in the puppet's BBC series.
A complaint was received by the police following a recent screening of an old episode that features the fox telling jokes about gypsies, reports Metro.
The episode, which was originally shown six years ago, features a sketch where a gypsy woman tries to sell Basil some wooden pegs.
A police spokesperson said: "We can confirm we have received a complaint about a TV show featuring Basil Brush from a member of the public in February. The complaint was logged as an incident of a racist nature."
Joseph Jones, a spokesperson for the Romany, Gipsy and Irish Traveller Network, said: "Racist abuse of black people is quite rightly no longer deemed acceptable, but when a comedian makes a joke on TV about pikeys or gypos, there's no comeback."
Did you see the offending episode? Do you think Basil should be banished from our screens?
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User comments
its a puppet, has the world gone mad
Posted by: maria.roe1 on Tue Mar 18 03:25PM | Report abuseBasils mate has his hand where this fella's got his head
Posted by: glyndwilliams on Tue Mar 18 03:34PM | Report abusethis is insane, im losing all faith in the law, have they nothing more important to do, missing children to find, unsolved murders, patroling our streets
Posted by: webster322 on Tue Mar 18 03:47PM | Report abuseThis is mad, Basil is amazing
Posted by: angierun66 on Tue Mar 18 03:48PM | Report abuseI didn't know that Gipsies were a race! Where do the come from? Any way the police should use the resources that the British working people pay for in a more responsible manner. Leave our Basil alone!
Posted by: david.hunter64 on Tue Mar 18 04:03PM | Report abuseits stupid to think that people have not got anything better to do than complaine. They need to get out more and find a real life.big up basil (boom boom)
Posted by: bright926 on Tue Mar 18 04:16PM | Report abuseNO
Posted by: lyds.haddock on Tue Mar 18 04:20PM | Report abuseA pikey is another word for a gypsy!! I can't get my head round why people complain about hearing racist comments or a rude word being uttered on the TV. Walk down the streets and i guarantee you will hear a racist comment or some foul language. It's life and this is unfortunatly our culture. So stop pretending your perfect and you've never said anything racist or that you've never swore and get over yourself!!
Posted by: s_lewis88 on Tue Mar 18 04:31PM | Report abusewhoever reported basil brush for racism must have a pretty sad life if they've got nothing better to do with their time than lodge a complaint about a puppet that was shown on TV six years ago!
Posted by: massie532 on Tue Mar 18 04:42PM | Report abusei can see where the police and everyone against hem are coming from, but bazil brush has been entertaining us for over 40 years and has kept many generations VERY happy! from the age of 7 i have been watching the original bazil brush and the new eposodes, and at 12 i know i would want my children to whatch the show over and over again BBC- PLLEEAAASSE KEEP THE FOX ON THE BOX!
Posted by: katie.daisy on Tue Mar 18 04:44PM | Report abuse