Sky History pulls woodwork show ‘The Chop’ over contestant’s ‘Nazi’ tattoo
TV channel launches investigation into reported far-right symbol on Darren 'The Woodman's' face, despite saying 'extensive background checks' were conducted beforehand
Sky History has dropped woodworking show ‘The Chop’ as it investigates allegedly Nazi tattoos on a contestant.
Twitter users accused participant Darren of having a far-right symbol on his face after the channel shared a promotional clip from the show online.
The contestant, who says his nickname is The Woodman, has the number 88 inked on his cheek, which is reportedly white supremacist numerical code for Heil Hitler.
Sky History said the show was being pulled, in a statement posted on Twitter: “While we investigate the nature & meaning of Darren’s tattoos we have removed the video featuring him from our social media, & will not be broadcasting any eps of The Chop until we have concluded that investigation. Sky HISTORY stands against racism & hate speech of all kinds.”
The channel initially stood by airing the show, claiming “Darren’s tattoos denote significant events in his life and have no political or ideological meaning whatsoever”, adding that “amongst the various numerical tattoos on his body, 1988 is the year of his father’s death.”
It also claimed that “the production team carried out extensive background checks” on contestants and “confirmed Darren has no affiliations or links to racist groups, views or comments.”
“Sky History is intolerant of racism and all forms of hatred and any use of symbols or numbers is entirely incidental and not meant to cause harm or offence.”
After the show was pulled pending investigation, Karen Pollock, Chief Executive, Holocaust Educational Trust said: “Neo-Nazi symbols of hate can often be hidden in plain sight, as may have been the case on ‘The Chop’. We are glad that this programme has been pulled and that Sky History appear to be investigating.”
The Chop: Britain’s Top Woodworker, which was a competition show for carpenters and woodworkers in the style of The Great British Bake Off, was due to be hosted by Lee Mack and Rick Edwards.
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