The BBC has defended a word used by Danny Dyer’s character on EastEnders after it sparked criticism from viewers.
Pub landlord Mick Carter using the term “Eyetie”, to mean Italian, on the BBC One soap.
“Talking about this, you know, Eyetie night we’re meant to be having,” his character said of the Italian-themed night at the Queen Vic.
Maybe it's just me, but I thought 'Eyetie' was a fairly taboo term these days?! #Eastenders
— Matt Van-Der-Vord (@MatthewV_ENG) January 10, 2017
@bbceastenders why have you used the derogatory term Eyetie? #Eastenders
— Lauren Fitzgerald (@LFitz3) January 10, 2017
@eastenders Italian here NOT offended by #eyetie .
— martaghermandi (@martaghermandi) January 12, 2017
A BBC spokesman said: “The character is well-known for using slang – or in this case an old-fashioned term that has fallen out of general use – but it was not aimed at anyone and never intended to offend.”
