The 'Chop: Britain's Top Woodworker' show has been called off following controversy after one of the contestants was seen sporting what looked like a neo-Nazi tattoo.
- October 31, 2020
AceShowbiz - Woodworking TV show "The Chop: Britain's Top Woodworker" has been cancelled after a contestant was alleged to have neo-Nazi symbols tattooed on his face.
The Sky HISTORY channel's carpentry contest, hosted by comedian Lee Mack, hit the headlines earlier this month (Oct20) after a promotional clip was posted online of a contestant, Darren Lumsden, who had skin art featuring an '88' on his face.
The numerals commonly used by neo-Nazis to represent their Adolf Hitler salute 'Heil Hitler' as H is the eighth letter of the alphabet.
After initially defending Darren, who denies his body art is a reference to Neo-Nazism, and then suspending the show, channel chiefs announced they would cancel the programme on Friday (30Oct20).
A statement tweeted out by the channel reads, "A contestant's tattoos included symbols that could be connected to far-right ideologies and could cause offence; we sincerely apologise for that and we are sorry that our processes did not prompt further investigation at an earlier stage."
"The contestant continues to strenuously deny that he has, or ever had, far-right leanings. We are thoroughly reviewing our internal processes following the investigation. (production company) AETN UK and Sky History stand against racism and hate speech of all kinds."
Sky HISTORY bosses initially claimed to have looked into Darren's inkings and found that the number 88 was the year of his father's death. However, viewers pointed out other tattoos with white supremacist connotations and later it emerged his dad was alive and well and living near Bristol, England.
