The Apprentice spoilers follow.
The BBC has responded following controversy over allegedly antisemitic comments by The Apprentice candidate Asif Munaf.
The contestant is appearing on the current series of the BBC One show, though has faced a backlash after posting a series of apparent antisemitic comments on social media.
He was due to appear on tonight's (February 15) episode of spin-off The Apprentice: You're Fired for an interview with Tom Allen, though the broadcaster has now confirmed he has been cut amid the controversy.
Related: The Apprentice fires second candidate of 2024 series
“We can confirm that the individual concerned will not feature as a guest on any additional upcoming BBC content relating to The Apprentice," the BBC said in a statement (via Broadcast).
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In response, the president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews Marie van der Zyl said: “We are relieved that the BBC has significantly edited content relating to BBC2’s You’re Fired! concering Asif Munaf.
"We hope that the BBC will apologise publicly to the Jewish community for their handling of this sorry situation and send the people responsible for antisemitism awareness training.”
Van der Zyl previously wrote to the BBC's director general Tim Davie and incoming chair Samir Shah regarding Munaf, as she urged them not to give a platform to him on You're Fired.
Related: The Apprentice's Ollie addresses big premiere mistake
She also asked the corporation to apologise to the Jewish community for “failure to act appropriately”, and that all those involved in the “handling of this disgraceful exercise” should undertake antisemitism awareness training.
Following the emergence of Munaf's posts on social media, it was revealed last month that the BBC had arranged diversity and inclusion training for him.
Munaf initially apologised for the posts, saying (via The Telegraph): “I apologise for any offence caused by my online content/social media. It was not my intention to offend anyone, and I am of course open to all views. The beliefs I hold and have shared are based on the values that I was brought up with.”
However, since then Munaf has continued to share controversial comments on X (formerly Twitter) while the show has been broadcasting.
Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.
