Sir David Jason managed to get himself into a spot of trouble in this ever PC-dominated society after making what was considered an ‘inappropriate’ remark during a radio interview.
Sir David was appearing on Christian O’Connnell’s Breakfast Show on Absolute Radio when, asked to think of a question for listeners, said:
What do you call a Pakistani cloakroom attendant?
After a short pause, he delivered the puchline:
Me hat, me coat.
However, there were apparently no complaints received by the radio station and even Britain’s first Muslim minister, Shahid Malik, who is of Pakistani origin, said he did not see the joke as racist, adding:
I’m a big fan of David Jason. The only thing is he’s let me down because it’s not very funny.
Sir David, accused of being ‘out of touch with reality’, was surprised that he had caused offence and has apologised. He believed he had made a joke which he thought was quite funny and did not see it as a racist anymore than if it had been about an English person or a Scottish person.
Mahatma Gandhi, of course, was from India and not Pakistan.