'Coronation Street' Actor Jack Shepherd Apology After Making Twitter Jokes About Manchester Dogs Home Fire

Corrie Star Makes Grovelling Apology After Jokes About Dogs Home Fire
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'Coronation Street' actor Jack P Shepherd has made a grovelling apology after a Twitter backlash to his jokes about the fire in Manchester Dogs' Home, in which more than 40 animals were killed.

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Jack P Shepherd - grinning in this pic, but grovelling today following a series of ill-judged comments about the arson attack that claimed the lives of more than 40 animals at Manchester Dogs' Home

The popular actor, who plays David Platt in the soap, wrote a series of tweets following news of the tragedy on Thursday, kicking off with, "I have a million 'hot dog' jokes."

Several of his 296,000 Twitter followers didn't see the funny side, and he followed this with, "You guys need to lighten up. #GetItLightenUp."

At this point, Jack was forced to eat some humble pie, with a follow up tweet on Saturday, in which he apologised and revealed he'd made a donation to the Dogs' Home, which has been established for 115 years.

"I sincerely apologise for any offence I have caused," he wrote. "This was not intended to be a malicious tweet and I didn't consider the offence it would cause. At the time I didn't realise the scale of the tragedy but that doesn't excuse my behaviour. I now realise how insensitive I have been. I have made a donation to the MCR dogs home and I'm very sorry for my behaviour."

A teenager has been arrested and bailed following a suspected arson attack on the Dogs' Home. He is being protected by his family following death threats.

Celebrities including famous dog-lovers Ricky Gervais and Simon Cowell have rushed to make donations to the Home, with money raised topping more than £1.3million in the three days since the tragedy.