Ken Morley apologises to Celebrity Big Brother viewers after removal, but denies being racist: 'It was banter in an odd situation'

The Coronation Street actor was kicked out of the house for repeatedly using the word 'negro'

Ken Morley has apologised “unreservedly” following his removal from the Celebrity Big Brother house for using racist terminology.

The actor clashed with his housemates several times, but was evicted from the show yesterday for using “unacceptable language”.

This included repeated use of the word “negro”.

Appearing on ITV show Loose Women, Morley admitted the expression he had used was “outdated”, but he denied being a racist.

“I apologise unreservedly to everybody who watched that programme,” he said.

“It was banter in an odd situation, but I understand entirely I've upset a lot of people.”

The star said the show had been “edited” so viewers had not seen everything and defended his housemate, Jeremy Jackson, who was also kicked off the show after former Page Three girl Chloe Goodman, 21, claimed he drunkenly tried to look at her breasts while the pair were alone in the toilet.

Morley said: “He was a very nice person and he did a stupid thing.”

Jackson was given a police caution for common assault after the incident which was not shown on screen.

Hundreds of viewers have complained to watchdog Ofcom about the pair's behaviour, with the vast majority upset by Morley.

The show has a history of causing controversy and last year's series was the second most complained-about show of the year, with 1,874 people contacting the watchdog about it.

The only programme with a worse record was the main Big Brother series which received 3,784 complaints, many of them centred on the behaviour of its eventual winner, Helen Wood, who was accused of bullying other contestants.

Additional reporting by PA