Clive Myrie received racist and abusive hate mail when he was a BBC newsreader.
Clive Myrie
The 57-year-old - who replaced John Humphrys in the famous chair on 'Mastermind' in August 2021 - has spoken out about how he "pitied" the person who went to the trouble of sending him a cruel card.
He said: "I walked into the BBC’s headquarters in London one morning a couple of years ago to prepare to read the television news that night. I decided to check the pigeonholes for mail.
"There was an envelope addressed to me, so I opened it. Inside was a card with a gorilla on the front and a message that said, 'People like you shouldn’t be allowed on the telly.'
"A wave of anger came over me - which then subsided in a few seconds, turning to pity for the loser who took the trouble to buy the card, get a stamp, write the note and post it."
But the journalist and television star is determined not to let the card - or indeed any form of racism - get to him, as he celebrates Black History Month.
In an article for The Sun newspaper, he wrote: "The card was designed to make me feel bad about myself and who I am.
"Black History Month serves the opposite function. It is designed to celebrate black people and where they come from, informing the rest of society of their many achievements.
"It is a necessary corrective to the losers who froth at the mouth over pigmentation. I grew up with pride in who I am and where I come from.
"Showing that pride does not mean having to denigrate others. It should simply be an expression of the good men and women can do, whatever their complexion happens to be."