Axed Ferreira accuses EastEnders of discrimination

BBC bosses treated Ferreiras as "scapegoats", claims actor.

12:24 01 November 2004

Axed EastEnders actor Ameet Chana has accused BBC bosses of discrimination and of painting a false picture of life in London.

Chana, who plays Adi Ferreira, told the Sunday Mirror yesterday: " I'm not afraid to admit that the Ferreira family have been treated like s***.

"We've been made scapegoats, discriminated against. They wouldn't do this to the Watts or Slater family."

The Ferreiras were axed en masse in October, as part of the reforms introduced by new executive producer Kathleen Hutchinson in an attempt to revive the ailing soap.

Chana went on: "You can take the Ferreiras out of EastEnders, but you can't take the Asians out of the East End. There are just as many Asians in the East End as 'typical families' like the Slaters. The Ferreira family have had bad storylines and we've taken the blame for it."

He added: "The truth of the matter is just because we weren't an immediate hit, the bosses ended up washing their hands of us."