BBC pulls Miriam Margolyes 'Fagin' radio comment

Actress described the character as 'Jewish and vile', causing much laughter from an Edinburgh audience. She continued: 'I didn’t know Jews like that then — sadly, I do now'

A comment by the actress Miriam Margolyes about the Dickens character, Fagin, as “Jewish and vile” has been removed from a recording of the BBC Radio 4’s Front Row arts programme.

Margolyes was being interviewed during the Edinburgh Festival by Kirsty Wark about her one-woman show on the works of Charles Dickens. In front of a live audience, the actress was asked who was “the first [Dickens] character who stuck in your head as a child?”

She swiftly responded: “Oh, Fagin. Without question. Jewish and vile”. Wark did not challenge her and there was laughter from the audience.

This apparently encouraged the 83-year-old actress to continue: “I didn’t know Jews like that then — sadly, I do now”.

The remark drew social media criticism as “plain and ugly racism” from a supposed “national treasure” who had secured “a free pass because she is Jewish”.

On Wednesday evening the BBC told Jewish News: “This was an unexpected comment made during a live broadcast which should have been challenged at the time. We have taken swift action to remove it from the programme and it is no longer available.”

The CST’s head of policy, Dave Rich, commented: “Two weeks of the whole country going on about how racism is evil and everyone is valued, and what do we get? Audiences laughing at antisemitic jokes on the BBC and at the Edinburgh Festival.

“Thanks, anyway — at least we Jews know where we stand.”