The Coronation Street star sacked for an online racist rant against Indians has publicly apologised for his behaviour.
Marc Anwar was dramatically dropped from the show this week after he wrote a series of tweets that were racist towards Indian people.
The star, who plays Sharif Nazir on the soap, has now issued a video apology for his actions, saying he acted in a “moment of madness.”
“I’d like to offer my sincerest apologies to anyone I may have offended with my tweets on Friday evening – and especially people from India,” Marc tells the camera.
“This was never my intention. The language was unacceptable. I feel I’ve let a lot of people down – my family, my friends, and my former colleagues.
“This, I again very sincerely apologise for.”
Anwar was born in Pakistan before making his home in the UK.
On Friday, he called Indians several obscene names during a Twitter rant, which came just days after 17 soldiers were killed at a Kashmir airbase.
Kashmir is a region in South Asia currently disputed between Pakistan and India. There have been three wars over the territory and problems are still going on in the region.
Anwar explained that the recent killings in the area had upset him, and that prompted his emotional outburst.
“On Friday evening, I saw on the news children being pulled out of rubble, people being pelted with pellets, women mourning their dead in Kashmir,” he said in his video apology.
“This upset me very deeply, and in a moment of madness, I ranted out, I vented my anger. Again, the language that I used, I sincerely apologise for.”
The actor was sacked hours after Coro bosses found out about the rant, with British network ITV saying in a statement: “We are deeply shocked by the entirely unacceptable, racially offensive comments made on Twitter by Marc Anwar.
“We have talked to Marc and, as a consequence of his comments, he will not be returning to Coronation Street with immediate effect.”
This has caused difficulty at the soap, as over in the UK he is currently involved in one of the biggest storylines.
