By Alastair McIndoe

MANILA: Outraged Philippine officials are demanding an apology from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) over what they say is a humiliatingly racist portrayal of Filipinos in one of its comedy shows.

An episode of Harry And Paul, starring British comics Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse, denigrates Filipinas working as maids abroad, they say.

The sketch, broadcast on Sept 26 and posted on YouTube, shows Enfield's character trying to get his comatose-looking neighbour, played by Whitehouse, to have sex with his Filipina maid. She gyrates and dances provocatively around Whitehouse, while Enfield, in a 'posh' British accent, urges him to 'mount' her.

For more The Straits Times stories, click here.