Over the weekend (25 September), Coronation Street actor Marc Anwar was sacked from the ITV soap after an alleged racist Twitter attack.
The Pakistan-born actor branded Indians “b--tards” and “p-ss-drinking c--ts” and reportedly referred to them as killers, suggesting Pakistanis should refuse to work there.
ITV bosses said in a statement they were “deeply shocked” by his comments and revealed he would “not be returning to Coronation Street with immediate effect”.
However, the scripts for Corrie are now hastily being rewritten to “minimise” a big festive storyline which involved Marc’s character Sharif Nazir.
Last week we got a first look at Christmas in Weatherfield, and revealed that Sharif’s affair could soon be exposed.
A Corrie spokesperson said: "Sharif's secret affair is like a ticking time-bomb for the Narzirs and promises to cause an explosion that could rip the family apart.”
According to the Sunday Mirror, Sharif was set for a lot of screen time after his affair with family friend Sonia Rahman was exposed, but now Marc has been axed, the main focus is set to turn to his family’s reaction instead.
A source told them: “There are going to have to be lots of rewrites. Sharif is integral to the plot, even though the focus has shifted to the family reaction.
“The reaction story thread was to play out until December and, as the show works seven weeks ahead, a lot of it has been shot.”
They also revealed that Marc had more scenes to shoot, which will now not be happening, making his sudden departure quite tricky.
Marc’s Twitter comments came days after 17 soldiers were killed at a Kashmir air base, sparking UN tensions between India and Pakistan.
According to the Mirror Online, the cast and crew have also been told not to speak about the incident.
Fans of the soap have praised bosses for their swift action after his offensive comments.
Coronation Street continues tonight at 7:30pm on ITV.