Michelle Gayle "couldn’t wait to get out" of ‘EastEnders’ after overhearing a co-star call black actors "tokens".
The 49-year-old singer-and-actress portrayed Hattie Tavernier on the BBC One soap from 1990 to 1993, and claims she heard an actor make the racist remark without them realising she was there, and she "internalised it" rather than speak to the actor or complain to the show’s bosses.
She said: "Working on ‘EastEnders’ I heard an actor say black actors were ‘tokens’ without realising I was there.
"Again, I internalised it – I didn’t complain to the actor and I didn’t complain to the production team either.
"All I did was think, ‘If that’s how we’re thought of – I can’t wait to get out.’ "
Prior to starring on ‘EastEnders’, Michelle portrayed Fiona Wilson on ‘Grange Hill’ in the late 80s, and she also claims she heard racist remarks on the set.
In a piece for Grazia magazine, she wrote: "On ‘Grange Hill’, I was an extra before I was a main part – I was 10 years old when one of the chaperones said, ‘They’ve been working me like a n*****.’
"The black children on the show were seething at the time but I handled that with them, no one else – I didn’t even tell my parents, that’s how much I thought it was something I had to internalise or put up with.
"Another time, one of the boys said to me, ‘I’d never sell my house to a black man, ever.’ "
Michelle’s comments come after ‘Hollyoaks’ star Rachel Adedeji recently claimed she had experienced racism on the programme, including alleging she was once told "you’re all the same" by a make-up artist.
She wrote in a statement: "I am disappointed with Hollyoaks’ approach with showing solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement yesterday. Did black lives matter when I was told ‘you’re all the same’ via a make up artist you employed and remains in employment to this day? Did Black Lives Matter when a number of female black actors were forced to drastically change their hair, because if not, the viewers ‘would not be able to tell them apart’? Do Black Lives Matter when my fellow black castmates are deemed ‘angry, aggressive and too vocal?’ Did Black Lives Matter when referred to as ‘bl*****s’ by a senior member of the production team? Do Black Lives really matter to you if over the last four years at ‘Hollyoaks’, I have only worked with one black director? (sic)"
Lime Pictures have since issued a statement insisting they have "a zero tolerance of racism or any form of discrimination across all of its shows", and ‘Hollyoaks’ announced they are "investigating", and insisted they have "zero tolerance on racism".
A post on their social media channels read: "Hollyoaks has zero tolerance on racism. We are taking Rachel Adedeji’s comments extremely seriously and are investigating."