The BBC issued an immediate apology after ex-EastEnders star John Altman, famed for his role as Nick Cotton, made a controversial remark during a radio interview.
John, who portrayed Dot Cotton's notorious son Nick from the very first episode in 1985 until his character was killed off in 2015 during the 30th-anniversary episodes, reminisced about his time on the show.
In conversation with host Sarah Montague and scriptwriter Ann Marie di Mambro, John was quizzed on whether he had the freedom to ad-lib any of his lines during his infamous spats with various characters over the years.
Reflecting on his return to EastEnders in the 2010, John noted how things had changed, noting that the production team altered a racially insensitive term in the script to "illegal immigrant".
John countered: "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.".
