The broadcasting watchdog has launched an investigation into an episode of Coronation Street after the soap was accused of racism for a comment a character made about her hair.

The episode, broadcast in August, saw Eva Price, played by Catherine Tyldesley, visit Audrey's hair salon, where she remarked: "I have more roots than Kunta Kinte.

“No idea who that is, by the way, just something my mum used to say.”

Kunta Kinte was a character from the novel Roots: The Saga Of An American Family, which was adapted into a hit TV miniseries.

Based on a real-life ancestor of author Alex Haley, it tells the story of a young man taken from Gambia and sold as a slave.

The comments, which led Coronation Street to "apologise if this dialogue has caused offence", sparked 472 complaints to media watchdog Ofcom.

An Ofcom spokesman said: "We're investigating whether a comment made by a character in Coronation Street was offensive and breached generally accepted standards."

PA