The BBC has apologised after ex-EastEnders actor John Altman made an “inappropriate” comment during a live broadcast.
The 72-year-old, famed for his portrayal of Nick Cotton in the long-running soap, was on Radio 4’s World At One discussing EastEnders’ 40th anniversary.
During the interview with host Sarah Montague, who also spoke to former writer Ann Marie di Mambro, they delved into the complexities of addressing sensitive issues in a pre-watershed show, the Liverpool Echo reports.
Altman, who frequently appeared alongside June Brown, who played his on-screen mother Dot, reminisced: “During the early days with June it was really flexible.”
He continued: “You didn’t have to ask permission to have a cigarette. You could just do it. June and I used to improvise.”
He noted that they would also add their own touches to the script without making major changes. However, he observed that the freedom to improvise was less when he returned to the show later.
Altman then recounted an incident where producers altered one comment to “illegal immigrant” in the script, saying: “I suppose I can say it on air, if you don’t mind, but Nick referred to someone who was living with Dot as a p***. They start filming and they said, ‘Oh I don’t think we can say that.”
During a heated exchange, Sarah said firmly: “No, I don’t think we can.”
The actor retorted: “People do unfortunately still say it these days though.” Sara quickly pointed out: “Not here they don’t, by the way John.”
The EastEnders star elaborated on script changes: “They changed it to illegal immigrant so this is just an example of what happened with the script. They just went with that line rather than the previous one.”
Sarah justified the modification, stating: “Of course, that’s no bad thing because it’s influencing behaviour.”
In response, the actor reflected: “At the time, I think Nick come across as an example of how people wouldn’t want to be and he always got his comeuppance.”
The conversation then steered away from the issue, and following the interview, the host offered her apologies: “Can I apologise. It wasn’t appropriate in the old days, and it wasn’t appropriate now, for what John Altman said.”