Greg James was respected by fans for ignoring a seven-year-old's "racist" Chinese accent live on air.
Mortified viewers recoiled in horror as a young guest speaker impersonated a Chinese dinner lady live on Radio 1.
The little boy was invited to speak on Radio 1 after Justin Bieber Instagrammed about him.
But the schoolboy shocked viewers with an impression of his Chinese dinner lady on Tuesday morning.
The little boy said: "Yeah one of my dinner ladies said that Justin she said, 'do you know you are popular?' She's a Chinese lady, she says 'do you know you are popular?'"
Greg swiftly moved on into a different line of questioning and ignored the accent, which instantaneously won him the respect of his listeners.
"Right, so," he said, "Justin Bieber saw your video and decided to put your video on his Instagram to his followers. That is proper famous now."
Social media was awash with listeners accusing the seven-year-old boy of being racist, but they praised the radio star for handling the situation well.
Leading the troops, one said: "Omg that little boy being racist on radio 1 I bet his dads mortified. @gregjames feel for you."
Others wrote: " @gregjames on @BBCR1 just how. A masterclass in how to handle a delicate live air situation. Perfectly handled, respect."
"Anyone else hear that kid on @gregjames show do an impression of his Chinese dinner lady? @gregjames just blanked it and moved on quickly, such a professional."
"When a kid does a racist Chinese accent on #radio1 and @gregjames has no idea on what to do."
"Oh dear I died inside when that little boy started doing a Chinese accent handled well @gregjames. You just never know what kids are going to say!"
