Strictly Come Dancing was at the centre of a race row after it emerged that Anton Du Beke called his dancing partner a "Paki".
The dancer issued an apology after the News of the World revealed he had used the offensive term to describe the actor Laila Rouass, his partner on the BBC show.
Du Beke reportedly said Rouass, who is mixed race, "looked like a Paki" after she turned up to a rehearsal with a spray tan. Rouass is said to have stormed out of the rehearsal two weeks ago.
Du Beke said: "I must say immediately and categorically that I am not a racist and that I do not use racist language. "During the course of rehearsals Laila and I have exchanged a great deal of banter entirely in jest, and two weeks ago there was an occasion when this term was used between the two of us.
"There was no racist intent whatsoever but I accept that it is a term which causes offence and I regret my use of it, which was done without thought or consideration of how others would react.
"I apologise unreservedly for any offence my actions might have caused."
Rouass, who has an Indian mother and Moroccan father, accepted his apology.
"It was a situation which happened that we have moved on from and I accept his apology," she said.
"I'm really enjoying the show and dancing with Anton and hope we can go as far as possible in the competition."
A spokesman for the BBC said: "The BBC does not condone offensive language in the workplace."
Du Beke is one of the best known dancers on Strictly Come Dancing and also fronts the BBC game show Hole in the Wall.
The incident echoes the row that led to the BBC dropping Carol Thatcher from The One Show, after she used the word "golliwog" in a private conversation in the show's green room.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/05/strictly-come-dancing-race
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