My Big Fat distaste for mockery of our culture - Lancashire

Channel Four’s hit My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding has returned and it was watched by Romany gypsy and Evening Post columnist James Petulengro. Here he gives his view on it and he’s not impressed

I would like to thank Channel 4 for making a mockery out of our culture.

I am a true born Romany Gypsy and there is no truth at all in this programme, all completely scripted if you ask me.

There was one girl who won the beauty competition, Montana, she was a real Romany and, yes, she was dressed smart and covered up.

None of our girls dress this way and, certainly, if we ever do have a wedding our girls don’t dress up like a toilet roll holder that you would buy in a charity shop.

And if you have noticed there are very little men in this programme.

It just makes me think how much they paid those poor girls to dress up as a palm tree and a pineapple.

I know lots of Irish travelling people, their homes are spotless, children sent to school, and no way does it portray the real Irish Traveller way of life.

I feel strongly about the way this TV production company are making utter tripe, and I am shocked to think this programme, which is fiction, actually won awards.

Why not make an interesting program on the real Romany way of life? But no, stick a teapot on your head and you will get on TV.

This is a comedy programme. It has nothing at all to do with gypsy people or their culture, (it shows and pokes fun at) Irish Travellers and not Romany Gypsies!

If you take it for what it is, “entertainment”, it is fine. However don’t call it my Big Fat Gypsy Wedding because these people are not Gypsy people, it is plainly and simply a FREAK SHOW !

Do we watch Shameless and think all hard working respectable council tenants are drugged fuelled alcoholic dole scroungers? No, so I do hope any one with a degree of intelligence will come to realise these are not Gypsy people.

Real Romany Gypsies have been persecuted and shunned for hundreds of years, so we keep our “public heads” down and stand quietly next to you in the supermarket, office and school yard. You don’t know who we are. However, being a very proud race, THIS RIDICULE IS MORE THAN WE CAN STAND !.....

So please ,, no more B,F,G,W,....Irish Traveller wedding yes!”