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Zack from Saved by the Bell apologises for racist episode

It’s been a long, long time since ‘90s sitcom Saved by the Bell was a fixture of the TV schedules.

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But one ill-advised episode has clearly been playing on Mark-Paul Gosselaar’s mind for over 25 years.

In fact, the actor, who played teen heartthrob Zack Morris in the show, has even made a very belated apology for an episode called Running Zack, in which his character discovers he has Native American ancestry.

What happens next is just a wee bit racist. Over to you, Mark-Paul: “He gives a – I’m doing this in air quotes – ‘presentation’ that consists of putting war paint on Screech (Dustin Diamond) and giving him a toy tomahawk,” Gosselaar told Entertainment Weekly.

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“He has Screech stagger around and grunt at people. Zack doesn’t get in trouble for this completely racist presentation, and the only punishment is he’ll have to skip the big track meet if he doesn’t take the project seriously.

"His teacher introduces him to Chief Henry, who appears to live in someone’s garage and bestows wisdom onto Zack before he drops dead without explanation at the end of the episode.

"On the plus side, Zack takes his ancestry seriously and gives another 'presentation’. Of course, he gets into full Native American costume with face paint and a headdress.

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"That’s another 'I’m Sorry’ moment… Actually there’s a picture of me online I found as well. So, uh, yeah… good stuff. I hope the kids don’t catch that episode.”

Hmm, well they probably will now, Zack!