A TV woodworking show has been axed pending the outcome of an investigation after viewers accused one contestant of sporting “Nazi” tattoos on his face.

A clip of an interview with joiner Darren Lumsden, a contestant on Sky History’s carpentry competition The Chop: Britain’s Top Woodworker, sparked an online backlash when Twitter users pointed out that he had the number ‘88’ inked on his cheek — widely recognised as a code for Heil Hitler used by white supremacists.

It was also claimed that Mr Lumsden had the numbers 23 and 16 — a numeric symbol commonly used to signify white power — visible on his face. 

Substituting letters for numbers, the 23/16 can be understood to equate to W/P or “White Power”, according to US racism watchdog the Anti-Defamation League. 

A spokesperson for the company initially responded that “Darren’s tattoos denote significant events in his life and have no political or ideological meaning whatsoever. Amongst the various numerical tattoos on his body, 1988 is the year of his father’s death.”

However, Mr Lumsden’s father, 66-year-old Trevor Lumsden, told the Daily Mail on Wednesday he was indeed alive and had not seen his son “for some years”.

The spokesperson had also claimed that “the production team carried out extensive background checks on all the woodworkers taking part in the show, that confirmed Darren has no affiliations or links to racist groups, views or comments”.

They added: “Sky History is intolerant of racism and all forms of hatred and any use of symbols or numbers is entirely incidental and not meant to cause harm or offence.”

But the company later said it would not broadcast any further episodes while it carries out an investigation.

“While we further investigate the nature, and meaning, of Darren’s tattoos, we have removed the video featuring him from our social media pages, and will not be broadcasting any episodes of The Chop: Britain’s Top Woodworker until we have concluded that investigation.

“Sky History stands against racism and hate speech of all kinds,” read a statement issued on Tuesday evening.

The show is hosted by comedian Lee Mack, TV presenter Rick Edwards and carpenter William Hardie. Participants are asked to build furniture inspired by a particular historical era to furnish an empty cabin in Epping Forest.