A FORMER St Peter's School pupil is at the centre of a national racism row following remarks she made on Channel 4 programme Shipwrecked.

Lucy Buchanan, 18, who left the £17,500-a-year boarding school in Bootham, York, last year, is a contestant on the show, where two teams on desert islands compete to win a £70,000 prize.

She told other contestants she supported slavery, and wanted a return to the British Empire. She also said she hated fat and ugly people.

It is thought Ms Buchanan's family lived in the York area while she was at St Peter's, but are believed to have moved away several years ago.

The show led to 69 complaints to media watchdog Ofcom, but Channel 4 said she was from a sheltered background and was reprimanded by other contestants.

It is the second race row to hit Channel 4 in recent days, following more than 40,000 complaints to the regulator concerning alleged racist bullying of Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty in the Celebrity Big Brother house.

Ms Buchanan told fellow islanders: "When I look out at what Britain is, it's just a complete mess. I don't appreciate how people come into our country and take over our country. Britain's really not Britain anymore.

"My mind is completely open to different cultures, but I don't think they should bring them to Britain."

She added: "I don't like fat people, I don't really like really ugly people, I don't like it when foreigners come into this country and they don't take on British culture and British values. I'm for the British Empire and things. I'm for slavery, but that's never going to come back."

When she was tackled by other contestants, she said: "I'm terrible at generalising, I'm really bad. I just don't know any black people."

A Channel 4 spokesman said: "When Lucy airs her opinions they are immediately criticised, so viewers are instantly aware her peers find them offensive and unacceptable."

No one from St Peter's School was available to comment.