Sky History has denied the tattoos on a contestant on woodworking show The Chop have any “political or ideological meaning”.
Twitter users accused participant Darren of having a Nazi symbol on his face after the channel shared a promotional clip from the show online.
The contestant, who says his nickname is The Woodman, has the number 88 inked on his cheek, which is reportedly white supremacist numerical code for Heil Hitler.
Meet the Woodman, the Bloke-With-All-The-Tattoos or Darren as we like to call him. #TheChop pic.twitter.com/uLdSRPr1S8
— Sky HISTORY (@HISTORYUK) October 19, 2020
The channel tweeted: “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.
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.
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— Sky HISTORY (@HISTORYUK) October 20, 2020
“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.
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.
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— Sky HISTORY (@HISTORYUK) October 20, 2020
“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.”
The Chop: Britain’s Top Woodworker, which is a competition show for carpenters and woodworkers in the style of The Great British Bake Off, is hosted by Lee Mack and Rick Edwards.