Father back from dead in TV ‘Nazi tattoo’ row
After contestant said inking was a tribute to late dad...
WHEN Darren Lumsden appeared in a trailer for a TV show, viewers were quick to point out that his head appeared to be covered in Nazi and racist tattoos.
Sky, which is behind The Chop: Britain’s Top Woodworker, initially insisted the number 88 inked on his right cheek was not alphabetical code for HH – ‘Heil Hitler’.
Instead it claimed the number was a reference to the death of the carpenter’s father in 1988.
But yesterday it was forced to backtrack when Darren’s father Trevor said he was far from dead.
‘I’m here aren’t I? I’m alive and kicking so I’m not dead yet,’ said the 66-year-old.
Trevor, who has short- term memory loss following a serious motorcycle crash, lives in a shared house in Bristol – just a short distance from his son.
‘I haven’t seen Darren for some years, I didn’t know he had tattoos over his face or that he was going to be on TV,’ he added.
‘But if they are saying I’m dead I’d like them to know I’m not.’
Sky History Channel has axed The Chop from its schedule while it carries out an investigation into the ‘nature and meaning’ of the tattoos.
Viewers of the preview clip also claimed Mr Lumsden had 23 and 16 inked on his head. Some racists use the numbers as code for WP – White Power or White Supremacy.
In its initial statement Sky said: ‘Darren’s tattoos denote significant events in his life and have no political or ideological meaning whatsoever. Amongst the various numerical tattoos on his body, 1988 is the year of his father’s death.
‘The production team carried out extensive background checks on all the woodworkers taking part in the show, that confirmed Darren has no affiliations or links to racist groups, views or comments. Sky History is intolerant of racism and all forms of hatred.’
The statement that later replaced it said: ‘While we further investigate the nature, and meaning, of Darren’s tattoos, we have removed the video featuring him from our social media pages, and will not be broadcasting any episodes until we have concluded that investigation.’
Hosted by Lee Mack and Rick Edwards, the show is a competition for carpenters and woodworkers in the style of the Great British Bake Off.
Mr Lumsden goes under the nickname of The Woodman.