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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Entertainment
Kate Lally

Stephen Mulhern's In For A Penny slammed over Dot Cotton joke

In For A Penny viewers were taken aback on Saturday night when the show, fronted by Stephen Mulhern, featured a Dot Cotton skit just days after June Brown, the actress who played the soap legend, died.

The programme sees Stephen travel across the country to set tasks and trials to members of the public. Saturday's instalment saw the presenter offering a hairdressing themed challenge.

People had to guess whether the men sitting in a barber's chair, with a towel on their heads, had hair or were bald. Stephen began styling a woman's hair in different ways, and at one point compared her to Dot Cotton.

READ MORE: Rare footage of June Brown's Corrie role before she joined EastEnders

A photo of the late June Brown was then shown on screen. Stephen then asked the woman to say "Where's my Nick?", before she did her best Dot Cotton impression.

The woman guessed the man in the chair had no hair - and she was wrong, meaning she lost out on a potential £60 cash win. Before she left, Stephen asked her if they could "go out on a Dot Cotton" and she pretended to smoke a cigarette while mumbling.

While the programme was filmed prior to June's death this week, many viewers felt the scene should have been cut from the show before it aired. Taking to Twitter, Emily Clayton said: "Bad timing for that Dot Cotton joke on In for a Penny, nice job ITV".

Kenny Jones said: "I can't believe they didn't cut that Dot Cotton bit out". Michelle W said: "Dot Cotton jokes... too soon".

In For A Penny airs Saturdays at 6.30pm on ITV and the ITV Hub

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