Yahoo News Viewers blast Marc Anwar’s appearance on Coronation Street
We’re not entirely sure what soap bosses could’ve done at such short notice, but some Coronation Street fans were very unimpressed to see disgraced star Marc Anwar’s mug popping up on their TV sets last night.
The 45-year-old actor, who plays Sharif Nazir in the ITV soap, was sacked from his role after making a series of racist jibes on Twitter last Friday.
But that was too late to write him out of last night’s episode, which one critic dubbed ‘The Sharif Show’ on account of the copious amount of airtime he was given.
“Ouch, really painful watching Marc Anwar on Corrie tonight,” said one viewer, while another said: ‘Not impressed by #corrie attempts to ‘minimise Marc Anwar’s screen time so far’.
Another fan simply added: “@itvcorrie I thought Marc Anwar had been fired??”
I see #Corrie are doing well by limiting the screen time of Marc Anwar after his anti India rant .. it’s like the Sharif show ..
— Maxine Smyth (@maxine_smyth) September 26, 2016
If Sharif (Marc Anwar)is keeping a low profile why are we seeing more of him than ever. He’s gone viral #Corrie
— eileen cumiskey (@eileencum55) September 26, 2016
Sharif Nazir being central in tonight’s #Corrie double bill is awkward timing. He’d finally got a plot away from his chickens.
— Ryan Love (@RyanJL) September 26, 2016
Still, short of cutting last night’s episode down to about five minutes and leaving a gaping hole in the plot, there wasn’t a great deal ITV could do. As it is, they’re frantically trying to rewrite scripts all the way up to Christmas.
In the offending expletive-laden tweets, Anwar referred to Indians as “killers” and suggested that Pakistanis should refuse to work in their country. Police have confirmed the actor, who has also appeared in Emmerdale and Holby City, is being investigated for hate crime.
Despite posting a apologetic video, he insists the anger he feels towards the situation in Kashmir which prompted the outburst is sincere.
“The language was unacceptable,” he said in a filmed apology. “I feel I have let a lot of people down. My family, my friends and my former colleagues. This I sincerely apologise for.
“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. This upset me very deeply and in a moment of madness I ranted out and vented my anger.
“My feelings were very sincere for the people of Kashmir and I hope that everyone that everyone I have offended can find it in their hearts to forgive me”.
