A BBC presenter has issued an apology after former EastEnders star John Altman used a racial slur on air.
The star, who played Nick Cotton on the soap on and off before his exit in 2015, appeared on BBC Radio 4's World at One yesterday to talk about the show's 40th anniversary.
However, during an exchange about improvising lines, he said an offensive term, which was immediately countered by presenter Sarah Montague.
Related: EastEnders star "blown away" as Angie Watts comeback was kept secret
At the end of the programme, Montague told listeners: "Can I apologise. It wasn't appropriate in the old days, and it wasn't appropriate now, for what John Altman said."
Speaking beforehand, the actor reflected on non-scripted lines, recalling: "During the early days with June [Brown] it was really flexible. You didn't have to ask permission to have a cigarette. You could just do it.
What to Read Next
"June and I used to improvise… Because we knew our characters so well, we wouldn't change it drastically. We'd put in words or a line here and something comical. Just to liven it up a bit."
Speaking about his return in the 2010s, Altman then used an offensive term as he said (via Manchester Evening News): "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'," he added as Montague interjected: "No, I don't think we can."
After Altman then claimed that "people do unfortunately still say it these days", Montague told the actor that "they don't".
Related: EastEnders airs emotional conclusion to Phil Mitchell story
"They changed it to illegal immigrant so this is just an example of what happened with the script," Altman added. "They just went with that line rather than the previous one."
Montague went on to stress the importance of removing offensive language from scripts as it can be responsible for "influencing behaviour".
"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," Altman then replied.
Following the broadcast, the BBC has since edited out the offensive word and some of the exchange in its iPlayer release.
Digital Spy has reached out to the BBC for comment.
EastEnders airs on Mondays-Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.
