Ben Douglas Bafta race row hairdresser James Brown 'sorry'
A celebrity hairdresser has admitted using racially insulting language at the Bafta awards, blaming his "out of control" drinking.
The abuse came to light when TV presenter Ben Douglas revealed he had been addressed using a racist word eight times at the London ceremony.
Mr Douglas had refused to name the man responsible.
But James Brown, who has a line of hair care products at Boots, has now confessed.
Mr Brown's spokesman, former newspaper editor Stuart Higgins, released a statement on his behalf which said: "I'd like to make a public apology to Mr Douglas, to his friends and to Bafta for my offensive and stupid comments.
"The simple truth is that I had drunk far too much on the evening and my behaviour was totally unacceptable.
"Everyone who knows me knows I am not racist in any way whatsoever, but this incident has shown me that my drinking is way out of control and I need to take urgent measures to deal with it."
The statement continued: "I have been in touch with Mr Douglas and will be writing to him and to the Bafta organisers to apologise personally.
"I am very sorry and very embarrassed."
A Bafta spokesman said: "We were unaware of the incident until we read the newspaper story yesterday.
"Neither party has contacted Bafta directly about the matter but we will be investigating it further."