Ashley Banjo was ‘grateful’ for hour-long phone call from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Ashley Banjo has detailed his surprising phone call from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle amid the Britain’s Got Talent Ofcom backlash.

The Diversity star, 32, said he was ‘grateful’ to hear from the couple who he revealed shared a lot of their ‘knowledge’ with him during the hour-long call.

Diversity’s BLM-inspired routine garnered nearly 25,000 complaints to broadcast regulator Ofcom as the performance became the second-most complained about television moment of the decade. 

Amid the controversy, Harry and Meghan reached out to Ashley to offer their support, as they told them they were always there for him to ‘lean on’.

Discussing the call during Tuesday’s episode of Lorraine, Ashley said: ‘Harry and Meghan gave me a call. I was sat outside in my garden and Harry and Meghan gave me a call and we had a chat for about an hour…

‘We spoke things through and they just told me that they were there for me and I can always lean on them.

‘They were really great about it and shared a lot of knowledge with me. They opened my eyes to a lot of things I wasn’t aware of actually,  so I was really grateful to both of them.’

On the topic of the complaints following the performance, Ashley admitted he was really ‘proud’ of them because it opened up a conversation.

He said: ‘It [the performance] become a really important moment for race relations in this country and something that I think hopefully something people will remember…

‘I’m really proud of it and proud of those complaints. It needs people on both sides of this argument to talk. 

While the performance garnered almost record-breaking levels of complaints, it also received a lot of positive reaction from viewers.

Ashley explained: ‘There was a lot of positivity. There was incredible outreach, I had conversations with people I didn’t expect to…’

‘That’s why I was really unhappy with some of reaction to what happened, for people to say we cant use our platform to speak our own truth. It’s a bit of an odd thing that people want to censor our creativity.’ 

‘That’s the world we live in if you’re going to open yourself up, you have to expect both sides of the argument… I would take it every day of the week if it meant starting those kinds of conversations.

Ashley also suggested that it wouldn’t be the last controversial dance the group person, as it appears the complaints have only fuelled their passion.  

He said: ‘All of the tours we do are based on our experience and what’s happening. Excited about this one as we’ve got so much to say. What happened this year will be summarised and expanded on in the tour. 

Last month Prince Harry praised Diversity’s ‘amazing’ Black Lives Matter-inspired dance routine on BGT, as he called for an end to ‘structural racism’ in Britain.

In a wide-ranging interview from the Sussexes’ £11million California mansion, Prince Harry said he was ‘surprised’ by the thousands of complaints made to Ofcom after the controversial performance.

The Duke of Sussex also revealed his ‘awakening’ to issues faced by black people after meeting his wife Meghan. 

Speaking to the Evening Standard, Harry revealed he spoke to Diversity’s leader Ashley Banjo after the troupe’s routine sparked a massive backlash.

He said: ‘We spoke to Ashley Banjo a few weeks ago, straight after the Britain’s Got Talent situation. And that in itself, I am sure even me talking about it will be controversial, but the reality of it is he and his team of guys put on the most amazing display.

‘We had such a good chat with Ashley. He was really strong, he felt great about it, but at the same time he was concerned because of the reaction. It was a real surprise that there was what?

‘1,100 complaints after the show and then three days of hype it became 20 or 25,000. I am very glad Ofcom made the decision that they did but that in itself kind of proves how much this conversation needs to continue.’