''Kilroy'' was a BBC One daytime chat show hosted by

Robert Kilroy-Silk Robert Michael Kilroy-Silk (born Robert Michael Silk; 19 May 1942) is an English former politician and broadcaster. After a decade as a university lecturer, he served as a Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) from 1974 to 1986. He left the H ...

that began on 24 November 1986 and finished on 29 January 2004 after 17 years. The series was originally called ''Day to Day'' for the first two series, and renamed to ''Kilroy'' in September 1987.

Controversy and cancellation

The show was taken off the air in 2004 after Kilroy made allegedly

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race over another. It may also mean prejudice, d ...

remarks. Kilroy questioned what contribution Arabs have made to civilisation beyond oil. He stated other views that made matters worse. He ridiculed Scots, the

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, the

Iraqis Iraqis ( ar, العراقيون, ku, گه‌لی عیراق, gelê Iraqê) are people who originate from the country of Iraq. Iraq consists largely of most of ancient Mesopotamia, the native land of the indigenous Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, ...

Black people Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

is, the French and

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

. The

Commission for Racial Equality The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom which aimed to address racial discrimination and promote racial equality. The commission was established in 1976, and disbanded in 2007 when its ...

reported him to the police. The BBC cancelled the show, stating that his views were a threat to the network's impartiality. Kilroy claimed afterwards on the BBC's ''

Question Time A question time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers (including the prime minister), which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be c ...

'' that he had been under a six-month investigation when this happened. He stated that his show was cancelled because he was anti-religion, rather than racist. However panelist

Shappi Khorsandi Shaparak Khorsandi ( fa, شاپرک خرسندی, born 8 June 1973), formerly known as Shappi Khorsandi, is an Iranian-born British comedian and author. She is the daughter of the Iranian political satirist and poet Hadi Khorsandi. Her family l ...

claimed that his views were about Arabs as a people rather than their religion. Kilroy had previously claimed to have apologised in 2004. It was rejected primarily because Kilroy himself twisted his words.

Iqbal Sacranie Sir Iqbal Abdul Karim Mussa Sacranie, OBE (born 6 September 1951 in Malawi) served as Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) until June 2006. He arrived in the UK in 1969. He was the founding Secretary General of the Muslim Counci ...

(secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain) claimed that Kilroy had not retracted his views but skimmed over the apology and changed a few words. The programme was replaced by ''Now You're Talking!'', which followed a similar format and was presented by

Nicky Campbell Nicholas Andrew Argyll Campbell, OBE (born Nicholas Lackey, 10 April 1961) is a Scottish broadcaster and journalist. He has worked in television and radio since 1981 and as a network presenter with BBC Radio since 1987. Early life Campbell wa ...

and

Nadia Sawalha Nadia Sawalha (; born 18 November 1964) is a British actress, television personality and YouTuber. She played the role of Annie Palmer on the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 1997 to 1999 and Gina in ITV comedy Second Thoughts from 1992 t ...

. The show was also produced by Kilroy-Silk's production company.

References

External links

* 1986 British television series debuts 2004 British television series endings 1980s British television talk shows 1990s British television talk shows 2000s British television talk shows BBC television talk shows English-language television shows Television shows shot at BBC Elstree Centre {{BBC-tv-prog-stub