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Theo’s car quip backfires

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Dragon’s Den judge Theo Paphitis is in hot water with viewers over a remark made on Sunday’s edition of Top Gear on BBC1.

The corporation has  received several complaints over Paphitis’s remark that fellow Dragon Peter Jones’s beige-coloured car was “Jewish racing gold”.

A Board of Deputies spokesman said: “The phrase ‘Jewish racing gold’ is known to us as a colloquial reference to a type of colour for a car; a phrase that has unfortunately leaked into mainstream usage.

“We don’t believe that Mr Paphitis meant to use the term in an offensive or aggressive way, rather that he had not fully considered that his use of the word ‘Jewish’ might cause offence to some Jewish viewers.”

Comedian David Baddiel also managed to attract criticism for a misjudged joke on the Channel 4 show 8 out of 10 Cats.

Asked what was the “world’s most disappointing tourist attraction” he quipped “Auschwitz”, adding: “The rides are terrible”.

Now we’ll go over to Bernard Manning.

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