Saira Khan brands Channel 5 'disgusting' as photo of Claire King is used to plug her show
The Loose Women star said it was 'clumsy, disgusting and offensive' of Channel 5 to use a photo of Claire King while promoting her 'deeply personal' therapy show
Saira Khan has hit out at Channel 5 after they mistakingly used a photo of soap star Claire King to promote her In Therapy TV special.
The Loose Women star took to Instagram to brand the error 'clumsy and offensive' as she detailed why she was so infuriated by the error.
Sharing a screen-grab of the advert that showed Emmerdale's Claire's iamge being used instead of hers, Saira said she was disgusted.
"You have put the incorrect photo against my name on your website highlighting my very deep and personal In Therapy show, which was shown last night on Channel 5," Saira alerted the broadcaster.
"This is clumsy and embarrassing," she fumed. "Please correct this mistake immediately. You managed to get all the other celebrities names and faces aligned. The one woman of colour on the show and you f**k it up."
Saira appeared on episode six of the show and Claire episode four, with their images being muddled on the website after a technical fault.
Former Apprentice star Saira added: "I bring colour into this debate, because when you have seen and been a victim of blatant racism, discrimination and ignorance in the media industry based on the colour of your skin, THESE kind of mistakes do not sit lightly. They feed into your insecurities, your self worth, your confidence and self belief.
"This has happened to me so many times, I get called the wrong name, accidentally missed of, mixed up with other Asian celebrities because we look the same!
"Stop these ''accidental mistakes'' until you go through the continual embarrassment - you can never appreciate or understand my upset and disappointment.
"For those of you using my mention of ''colour'' stop looking to say I'm using RACE as a weapon! Try and understand why this mistake would anger someone who had repeatedly had to put up with these ''mistakes''.
"I know a friend of mine who is white- she experienced the same thing on a show and wondered if she was 'missed off' because of her age and whether she was still relevant or not.
"So yes, when these mistakes occur repeatedly one starts to relate it to age, race, etc. It's a natural thing to do. A mistake is not a mistake if it keeps happening repeatedly to the same person. Very, very disappointed!"
Hours after Saira made the complaint, Channel 5 stepped in to correct the images.
"Thank you @channel5_tv. Much appreciated" said Saira, adding "To all those who are afraid to speak up because others will never see your point of view.
"Speak up, Stand up, Be heard. Your values, feelings and opinions matter. Do not fear what other people think. There will always be people to shut you up, put you down and want to intimidate and ridicule you.
"They do not walk in your shoes. They have not lived your life, they have not shared your experiences. Be the change. Make it work for you. Make it happen."
A spokesperson for Channel 5 explained there had been a 'technical difficulty' which led to Saira's image being swapped for Claire's.
"This was a technical fault between My5 and Channel5.com. The image in the system failed to update and reverted back to the most recent image used for that specific series.
'This has now been rectified and the correct image has been uploaded for Saira’s episode. We sincerely apologise for any offence caused."
Saira's In Therapy session got off to an awkward start when she arrived late and therapist Mandy Saligari asked her to own up to the mistake.
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