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Sinead Butler
Jun 06, 2022
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The BBC has apologised for Len Goodman's comment where shared how his nan described curry powder as "foreign muck" when he was on the channel's Platinum Jubilee coverage.
During the formerStrictly Come Dancing judge's appearance, he chatted with host Kirsty Young and Masterchef presenter John Torode where the trio sampled jubilee pudding, a lemon swiss roll and amaretti trifle created by Jemma Melvin.
Soon, the discussion turned to what food the guest made for the occasion as Young asked: "Everyone is serving up different dishes at their street parties, are you a cook, Len?"
"No, I’m hopeless, honestly. My wife did Coronation chicken yesterday for our tea and I've never had it before," the 78-year-old said.
"I've never had curry and curry powder, you know, my nan used to call it all 'foreign muck',
"I was always worried about it. But I must say, it was ridiculous. It was really tasty," he added.
Since Goodman made this remark, people have shared their outrage on Twitter - with some describing it as "casual racism" and "old fashioned British Empire xenophobia."
\u201cA dollop of old fashioned British Empire xenophobia from Len Goodman on the BBC's Jubilee coverage:\n\n"Curry and curry power... my nan used to call it all foreign muck".\u201d— Adam Schwarz (@Adam Schwarz) 1654435719
\u201cLen Goodman demonstrating another 'British tradition ' casual racism and they all laughed!\nThe arrogance and perceived superiority over other nations is truly sickening! He should apologise!\u201d— Star \ud83d\udca5\ud83d\udca5 (@Star \ud83d\udca5\ud83d\udca5) 1654439871
\u201cA bit in shock about #lengoodman calling curry powder foreign muck. Genuinely cant believe I just heard that on BBC 1\u201d— Chad \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 \ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\udde6 (@Chad \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 \ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\udde6) 1654434736
\u201cSomeone should tell Len Goodman that Coronation Chicken is a British recipe, created for the coronation by two English chefs. It\u2019s based on a dish created for George V in 1935 called Jubilee Chicken. Curry has been an accepted part of our national diet for over 200 years\ud83e\udd37\ud83c\udffb\u200d\u2640\ufe0f\u201d— Esjay (@Esjay) 1654437283
\u201cLen Goodman's gran might have taken her driving test in a horse and carriage. But racism is racism, it really doesn't become acceptable because it comes from the older generations\u201d— Colin Burnett (@Colin Burnett) 1654462933
\u201cLen Goodman on BBC1 talking about how his gran called curry powder 'foreign muck' with a laugh. It's casual, just normal, to talk this way. Not a shred of self-awareness.\u201d— Liz Tray (@Liz Tray) 1654434389
\u201cLen Goodman just called coronation chicken \u201cforeign muck\u201d on BBC One so this time-filling before the Platinum Pageant is going well.\u201d— josh (@josh) 1654434356
While others defended Goodman's comment, saying that he was quoting his nan, adding how she was from a different time and that people from this generation described food they were unfamiliar with in this way.
\u201cIf you were as old as Len Goodman then your nan probably called it foreign muck as well. Different generation, different times. Stop trying to out today's values on yesterday's people.\u201d— East Leeds Lass (@East Leeds Lass) 1654436764
\u201cLen Goodman did NOT call Coronation Chicken \u201cforeign muck\u201d. He said his Nan referred to it as that. Given the time that she was around, that was probably a kinder version in comparison to what others would have called it by the way\u2026 #PlatinumJubilee #PlatinumJubileePageant\u201d— The Droyver (@The Droyver) 1654434859
\u201cI'm sorry, but why has the BBC said sorry over Len Goodman's comment? Alot of old ppl call any kind of food from another country "foreign muck" as it was totally diff to foods they were used to. My grandad even referred to pizza as foreign muck....\u201d— The Bearded Vampyr \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@The Bearded Vampyr \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1654494987
\u201cLen Goodman saying his Nan didn\u2019t like curry or curry powder calling it foreign muck you got to chuckle remember Len\u2019s Nan was raised in a time of empire xenophobia and racism hopefully times have moved on from Len\u2019s Nan\u2019s day \u2026\u201d— You Lazy \u2b55\ufe0f (@You Lazy \u2b55\ufe0f) 1654439416
\u201c@petronious Seeing as Len Goodman is 78 years old, it's fair to say that his Nan would be at least 120 years old if she were alive today. That comment could easily have been made 40 years ago!! \nI best not tell anyone what my Grandad (RIP) used to say!!\u201d— Tanzanian Terrier \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7\ud83c\uddf9\ud83c\uddff\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Tanzanian Terrier \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7\ud83c\uddf9\ud83c\uddff\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1654490785
Elsewhere, some imagined how the comments when down behind the scenes.
\u201cLen Goodman\u2019s curry quote must have sent the BBC producer into meltdown #bbc #JubileePageant\u201d— JO \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 (@JO \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7) 1654434647
\u201cWhen the BBC producers hear Len Goodman call curry \u2018foreign muck\u2019!\ud83e\udd26\ud83c\udffc\u200d\u2642\ufe0f\ud83d\ude02 #PlatinumJubileePageant\u201d— Thomas Baldwin (@Thomas Baldwin) 1654434659
\u201cKirsty Young when Len Goodman called coronation chicken \u201cforeign muck\u201d.\u201d— Bushra Siddiq (@Bushra Siddiq) 1654435040
Later on in the programme, presenter Clare Balding issued an apology for comments made earlier on in the coverage.
Balding’s apology was “related to remarks made during the section of the show” when Goodman was on, a BBC spokesman told The Telegraph.
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