CBB star Paddy Doherty has said hit out at "sad" comments made by viewers of a Channel 5 show about the children of Gypsy and Traveller communities.
Celebrity Big Brother star Paddy Doherty has hit out at “sad” comments made by viewers of a TV show about the children of Gypsy and Traveller communities.
The Channel 5 documentary, Gypsy Kids: Our Secret World, divided opinion with some viewers airing their disapproval of the communities via Twitter.
Celebrity Big Brother star Doherty, 58, who shot to fame in My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, said he had hoped the documentary would open doors.
But he said: “They [the viewers] called us vermin. They said ‘gypsies are vermin’. They should never call anyone vermin. How dare anyone call anyone vermin?
“Vermin is rats. No-one has the right to criticise,” he told the Press Association.
“There’s good and bad among everyone. It’s just sad.”
Doherty, who appears in a later episode of the documentary series, said: “I pay my taxes. It’s terrible the way travellers are treated. It’s our way of life and we’ve done nothing wrong.”
The show also sparked supportive comments on Twitter, with @owenbeckie writing: “Absolutely disgusted with the abuse travellers are getting off the back of Gypsy Kids.”
@michael95dunne wrote: “Literally seeing grown adults tweeting vile things about children, I hope your own kids don’t grow up with the same mindset.”
@gem_mo55 tweeted: "All this racism is half the reason my brother decided to go on series 2.To show the impact it has on young lives #racism#GypsyKids"
Doherty appears in one episode with his granddaughter as she prepares to move from a caravan into a new chalet, while viewers will also see the funeral of his father, when hundreds of people came to pay their respects.
Gypsy Kids: Our Secret World continues on Channel 5 next Thursday at 9pm.
