David Weaver, the chairman of The 1990 Trust, handed in a petition signed by 5,330 people objecting to the racist comments made on a recent episode of Shipwrecked on Channel 4.

The people rushed to sign the petition after Shipwrecked contestant Lucy Buchanan was shown remarking that black people should be “reinslaved.”

Weaver said: ‘I hope Ofcom will listen to the overwhelming creation of people who believe a responsible broadcaster should not be broadcasting such racially offensive comments.

Lorenzo Preecha demanded to be flown home from the Cook islands after only 3 weeks as he was convinced that Channel 4’s reality TV show Shipwrecked is rigged. He also believes that the shows producers have used fellow contestant Lucy Buchanan and pushed her into making racist comments in order to boost ratings.

He said: “I feel sorry for Lucy — she’s just a pawn in their game.�

He added: “You have to do up to ten interviews a day and if producers aren’t happy with your answers they keep asking.

“You just say what they want to hear so you can end the interview.

“They’d have said to Lucy that she mustn’t know many black people, and prompted her in that way to come out with those comments.

Lucy’s a sweet, naive girl and she’s been used by the producers.�

Lorenzo revealed that the more controversial a contestant, the more money they could make. Producers are offering a £15,000 prize for the most entertaining contestant, on top of the £70,000 the winning team will share.

That explains a lot!

The mother of the latest reality TV contestant accused of racism today leapt to her daughter’s defence. Lucy was seen on the launch of Channel 4’s shipwrecked making comments such as:

“I’m for the British Empire and things. I’m for slavery, but that’s never going to come back,� and added that she didn’t know many black people but “from what I have seen they are really bad�.

But her mother Nicola, 46, from the smart New Town area of Edinburgh said: “Lucy is definitely not a racist. She’s a well-mannered girl from a decent family.

“But she’s only 18. She does have a big mouth and sometimes speaks without thinking. She says things she doesn’t mean.â€?

This is exactly what Channel 4 doesn’t need right now, another racism row! I hope they handle this better than the last one.

Channel 4’s newest reality show, Shipwrecked sparked another race row on Sunday night when 18-year-old contestant Lucy Buchanan told fellow contestants she supported slavery and described blacks as “really bad”.

She said: “I’m for the British Empire and things. I’m for slavery, but that’s never going to come back,” and added that she didn’t know many black people but “from what I have seen they are really bad”.

When another contestant said she did not like racists, Buchanan replied: “I’m afraid you have one here.”

Lucy’s remarks have come hot on the heels of a huge race row involving Channel 4’s Celebrity Big Brother, a row which hit the global stage with a bang last week.

A spokeswoman for Channel 4 has defended Buchanan’s remarks, saying: “When Lucy airs her opinions they are immediately criticised [by the other contestants]. Those who continue to watch ‘Shipwrecked’ will see Lucy’s views change.”

Ofcom has confirmed it is now looking into complaints made about Sunday night’s ‘Shipwrecked’, which was the first episode of the new series.