ITV News apologises for Lenny Henry footage blunder

ITV News has apologised after using a video clip of celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott instead of Lenny Henry who today picked up his knighthood.

The clip was in a report about Henry receiving the knighthood from the Queen and detailed the Comic Relief co-founder's rise to fame. It featured clips from his TV shows, including BBC's Three of a Kind.

However the footage of celebrity chef Harriott dancing on stage at London's Comedy Store was also used in the middle of the segment.

An ITV spokesman said: "ITV News apologises for the error broadcast in the lunchtime news package today regarding Sir Lenny Henry's knighthood.

"This was the result of an error in the production process in a piece intended to celebrate Sir Lenny's significant achievements in British entertainment."

It is understood that ITV News has been in touch with representatives of both Henry and Harriott to apologise.

ITV removed the clip from the report on its +1 channel, but a number of TV stars have commented on the error.

Goodness Gracious Me's Sanjeev Bhaskar tweeted: "ITV news used a clip of Ainsley Harriott when interviewing Lenny Henry about his knighthood. They may have misunderstood diversity issues."

Comedian and The One Show contributor Hardeep Singh Kohli posted, "Dear @itvnews I'm Lenny Henry" on Twitter.

Henry, who was knighted for services to charity and drama, dedicated the honour to anyone who had taken part in Comic Relief and vowed to continue campaigning to improve diversity in the media.