Coronation Street director axed over comments about diversity

By Neil Wilkes, Editor-in-chief | 9d

Coronation Street director Steve Finn is let go by the soap following a number of social media posts on the subject of workplace diversity.

Coronation Street director Steve Finn has reportedly been fired for a series of Facebook posts he made earlier this year on the subject of diversity.

The posts in question - spotted by HuffPost UK - were made in August at the time of the Edinburgh TV Festival, which had a heavy focus on diversity in the industry following the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The keynote speech at the festival was given by historian David Olusoga, who delivered a withering assessment of diversity in the UK TV industry and revealed that he had suffered depression as a result of his experiences.

Reacting to the speech, Finn wrote on Facebook - in a post now deleted: "Oh poor dear, so crushed by his success on the unenlightened British media. Could I get just a tenth of his salary for making programmes which people actually watch, as he is so crushed?"

He later added: "People like Olusaga are victim-making frauds and need to be called out."

Finn also criticised the actor Noel Clarke for describing a lack of diversity behind the scenes, branding him a "fucktard" and adding: "You got some white people let go to assuage your own agenda."

A spokeswoman for Corrie told Deadline: "We have been made aware of comments on social media by a freelance director, Steve Finn, which are inconsistent with the values of both Coronation Street and ITV. The director will not therefore be returning to Coronation Street."

Finn's most recently-aired work for Corrie was Monday night's double bill.