The BBC has responded to reports that comedian David Walliams made two Nazi style salutes during a recording of the comedy panel show Would I Lie To You? earlier this week.
The incident reportedly occurred during a segment of the show in which Call the Midwife star Helen George discussed a story about injuring her wrist while waving, according to The Times.
Walliams allegedly joined in with increasingly vigorous waves, which ended with him holding out his arm in a Nazi style salute.
The broadcaster has condemned the actions of Walliams, with a BBC spokesperson telling Digital Spy: "The use of such an offensive gesture is completely unacceptable and we apologise to all at the recording for the offence caused."
Banijay UK, the team that owns Would I Lie To You? production company Zeppotron, also described the incident as "unacceptable".
"Any attempt at humour regarding this deeply offensive gesture, whether broadcast or not, is completely unacceptable in any context," a Banijay UK spokesperson said.
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Digital Spy has reached out to representatives of Walliams for comment.
Journalist Sebastian Topan, who was in the audience for the Pinewood Studios recording of the show, described what happened to the BBC.
"Some other panellist was talking when David Walliams started doing the Nazi salute," he told BBC News. "I was shocked at what I had seen."
Would I Lie To You? host Rob Brydon reportedly then told Walliams the show would be broadcast before the 9pm watershed, suggesting his behaviour was not suitable for a family TV audience.
However, Toban explained that as the discussion continued, Walliams made the gesture again, adding a sexual gesture with his other hand.
"The atmosphere was uncomfortable and weird," Topan said.
"I think Rob Brydon wanted to get past it as quickly as he could," the journalist continued. “David Walliams' team-mates looked unsure what to do and were not laughing...
"It was like an elephant in the room after that as the incident was early on in the recording and so the remainder of the show felt weird."
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Emma is an experienced entertainment news journalist with NCTJ accreditation and a First-Class Honours Degree in Journalism. Having started her career as a broadcast journalist, Emma’s voice has been heard on varying radio stations across the UK including Absolute, Magic, BBC Three Counties Radio, LBC London News and more.
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