Andi Peters has broken his silence after Miriam Margolyes directed a racial slur at him during a live interview.
The This Morning presenter, 56, responded to fellow UK host Jeremy Vine after Vine praised Peters’ handling of the incident on Instagram. Peters wrote back: “Thanks JV. As you know we have to be ready for ANYTHING!!!”
The exchange occurred Thursday, September 3, when Margolyes, 83, appeared on the London-based morning program to promote her book Miriam’s Full English: A Grand Tour of All Our Best Bits. The Harry Potter actress was seated alongside Peters and co-host Christine Lampard for the live broadcast.
During a segment about accents, Margolyes turned to Peters and asked: “What accent would be normal for you. What are you?”
Peters, visibly taken aback, replied: “I’m me.”
Margolyes pressed further: “Well, you’re a mix, aren’t you? So you’ve got a Black daddy and a white mummy.”
Peters clarified that both his parents were of black origin, then attempted to defuse the tension by jokingly asking whether the makeup artist had “used a lighter shade than normal.”
It was then that Margolyes used a dated, offensive slur to describe Peters’ skin color.
After the remark, Peters pointed to his earpiece and noted that producers were “getting nervous.”
“Don’t be nervous,” Margolyes responded. “We welcome everybody and that’s what I want to write about in my book, it’s about inclusion. Not that there are people who need to be pushed out. And I’m not going to say who they are.”
Because This Morning airs live, the exchange could not be edited from the broadcast. However, the clip has since been removed from ITV’s streaming platform, ITVX.
Peters’ “ANYTHING!!!” reply to Vine drew praise from viewers, with one commenting: “Legendary professional. Handled the situation with such grace,” Another wrote: “You were the most amazingly gracious human.”
Peters began his television career in 1989 presenting children’s programming and rose to mainstream fame co-hosting the BBC Saturday morning show Live & Kicking from 1993 to 1996. He now regularly appears on ITV morning programs including This Morning and Good Morning Britain.
Margolyes is best known for portraying Professor Pomona Sprout in the Harry Potter film series. Her book, released the same day as her This Morning appearance, carries a description stating: “It’s time to make Britain great again, and let’s do it together, one story at a time.”
Representatives for Margolyes and ITV had not commented at the time of reporting.