DJ Greg James sorry for video with comment about 'disgusting' glass eye

BBC Radio 1 DJ Greg James has said he and former newsreader Chris Smith are "so sorry to have caused offence" with a comment about a glass eye in a video to announce their new children's book.

In the clip, the duo discussed ideas to make the characters, inspired by Roald Dahl's The Twits, "more revolting".

When illustrator Emily Jones suggested a glass eye, Smith replied: "That's it. What a disgusting pair of Twits!"

That sparked criticism for a "negative representation" of disability.

James and Smith, who write the popular Kid Normal books, have co-authored The Twits Next Door - part of a new series commissioned by the Roald Dahl Story Company.

In the video, the pair came up with ways to make the characters look "really gross" and "horrible".

James posted on X that it was "absolutely not our intention" to cause offence "and we apologise unreservedly".

He wrote: "We understand that words matter and we pride ourselves on championing and welcoming everyone into the magical world of children's books. We would never dream of deliberately setting out to exclude anyone."

James added that with the glass eye comment, "we were attempting to pay homage to one of the Twit's most famous pranks involving a glass of beer in order to remind people of Dahl's infamous terrible two".

He said it does not form part of the plot of the new story, "nor was it our intention to suggest that it was in any way disgusting".

"It's unfortunate that the word disgusting appears to be a direct comment on that. That's an error on our part.

"We are devastated that it's come across like this but completely understand why there is anger. And we appreciate everyone rightly calling it out.

"We hear that fully, we're so upset that we made a mistake but we're still incredibly proud of this book and we're excited to get out there and share it with young readers all over the world x."

'Do better'

The response to the video included The Royal National Institute of Blind People saying: "When there's positive representation of disabilities in children's books, children with disabilities feel seen and heard, and their friends and classmates treat everyone the same.

"There is nothing at all revolting about prosthetic eyes, we think they're brilliant."

The sight loss charity encouraged James and Smith to "talk to us about encouraging acceptance and understanding of disabilities".

Charity Scope posted on X: "Positive disability representation in kid's books help improve attitudes and inclusion. So what can we expect of negative representation like this?"

They also posted a video saying: "Greg and Chris, we know you can do better. The disabled community wants to help you get there."

Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson, who is also a crossbench peer in the House of Lords, posted: "Thanks. Thanks very much. #sarcasm. I'd hoped the world had moved on."

The backlash follows an announcement earlier on Friday that James and Smith were among a number of current authors who are writing new stories based on classic Dahl books.

Their novel will see a new family called the Lovelies move in next door to The Twits, prompting the Twits to hatch a plan to rid themselves of their horribly nice new neighbours. The Twits Next Door will be published in August.

Elsewhere, TV presenter Konnie Huq, The Last Leg comedian Adam Hills and author Adam Kay will contribute to a short story collection, Charlie and the Christmas Factory.

The move follows Netflix's purchase of the rights to Dahl's children's books in 2021. The streaming giant now owns the Roald Dahl Story Company, giving it ultimate control of what happens to Dahl's stories in publishing, as well as TV and film.