Chris Preddie OBE (right), from Finsbury Park, was paired with disgraced former Reform candidate Bob Lomas for the Channel 4 series Handcuffed: Last Pair Standing

A YOUTH worker who convinced a former Reform candidate to apologise for “racist” comments after being handcuffed to him for two weeks has said that Nigel Farage’s party is “playing on people’s naivety”.

Chris Preddie OBE, from Finsbury Park, was paired with Bob Lomas for the Channel 4 series Handcuffed: Last Pair Standing, which sees two people with opposing views chained together as they compete to win £100,000.

The third episode saw Mr Preddie discover that the Yorskhireman was sacked from Mr Farage’s party in the lead-up to the 2024 general election after unearthed comments showed him ­saying: “Black people should get off their lazy arses, go get a job and stop acting like savages.”

Mr Preddie, who has been working to prevent young people from getting involved with gangs for two decades, told the Tribune: “I was shocked, he didn’t come across like that at first. My mum had cooked him dinner, I’d been nice to him, and then I find out he doesn’t like black people. It was a throw off.

“But I do know I didn’t believe he was racist. He had some outrageous and strong, disgusting views. But I’ve met some racists in my time, at school I was called the n-word, and if they were really racist they wouldn’t even want to touch me, be next to me.

“The fact he was handcuffed to me for 14 days and getting in the shower, I realised he’s not racist, he’s just uneducated.”

Over the course of the two weeks, the youth worker explained to Mr Lomas how his father had been caught up in gangs, and how he himself could have easily been groomed into a life of crime. Instead, he had dedicated his time to working in community centres – including in Whittington Park – schools, and prisons, earning an OBE aged just 25.

Mr Lomas later admitted his comments were wrong, and issued an apology. “I can only respect him for that”, said Mr Preddie. “It takes a strong person to be able to do that, knowing you will get hate and backlash. Yes, he said something that was racist but he apologised and we can move forward.”

For Mr Preddie, the rhetoric used by Reform UK has been “dangerous” and “divisive”, turning people against each other and diverting attention from the real economic issues that the majority of the population are grappling with.

He told the Tribune: “We’re all going through the same thing. Oil prices are going up for everyone. I don’t see it going up for the 1 per cent. Instead of focusing on race or religion, we should focus on what we all want: a better life for our children.

“We all want to work and know that the money coming in is enough to survive on, and I think everyone is entitled to that.”

The 39-year-old said that Reform were offering immigration as an easy scapegoat and warned that Mr Farage would renege on promises made if he got the keys to Number 10.

Mr Preddie said: “Reform are pushing a really really bad reflection on society, and it’s working because Labour and the Conservatives are failing us as people, failing to keep the situation under control. People want an answer and for someone to stick with it. We are all in the same boat, we all want a better life, and the Reform party are allowing people to think they are a get out of jail free card. When I hear Nigel Farage’s views, I think: what is my contribution? I try my best to be sure I’m an upstanding citizen and I do everything I can for my community, only to be told I don’t belong here.”

Since the show and the apology, the on-screen partners have remained friends and have even been out to lunch.

Mr Preddie said: “He’s just a nice old man. If I can give him a different perspective and have a friendship, then that’s something gained.

“You have to go out of your comfort zone. If not, he would have stayed in the same bubble in Yorkshire and wouldn’t know any different.”

What would happen if Mr Lomas tried to rejoin Reform? “I don’t think he would now he understands what Reform is trying to do,” Mr Preddie said. “Now he’s kicked out, it’s opened his eyes. Can you imagine Nigel not wanting you? That’s even more mind-boggling. For me, if he did, that would be another conversation we would have to have.

“But I won’t shoot anyone down for their beliefs, their views, who they want to vote for.”