Rylan Clark caused a huge stir earlier this year with his comments on immigration, made live on television.

Rylan Clark has broken his silence on his Ofcom backlash (Image: ITV)

This Morning star Rylan Clark has responded to the backlash over his controversial migrant rant on the ITV show, which occurred while he was performing in his Christmas pantomime last night (Sunday, December 28). The 37-year-old is playing the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella in Southend alongside Strictly Come Dancing contestant Ross King, who is portraying Buttons in the show, held at Southend Cliffs Pavilion. As part of an on-stage exchange, Ryan swore at the audience during a slip of the tongue. Reacting to the error, which happened in front of a young audience, he quipped that he might be cancelled for the second time in a year, referencing the outrage he sparked after voicing his opinions on illegal immigration earlier this year on This Morning.

Rylan has been part of This Morning for years (Image: Getty)

The radio host sparked more than 700 Ofcom complaints in August following his immigration remarks while hosting the ITV magazine show with Josie Gibson.

He said at the time: “This country is built on immigration. Legal immigration – a lot of the nurses and doctors who have saved my mum’s life have come over here from other countries. They’re living a great life, they’re paying into this tax system, they’re helping this country thrive.”

However, he expressed his concern about people crossing the Channel illegally and suggested that Keir Starmer’s Government’s approach seemed too accommodating.

Rylan added: “How can it be that if I turn up at Heathrow Airport as a British citizen and I’ve left my passport in Spain, I’ve got to stand at that airport and won’t be let in. But if I arrive on a boat from Calais, I get taken to a four-star hotel?”

The star’s comments caused a stir online, with Rylan taking to Instagram to state a person can be “pro-immigration but against illegal routes”.

An Ofcom spokesperson told The Independent at the time: “We’re assessing these complaints against our broadcasting rules, but are yet to decide whether or not to investigate.”