Man, 60, who racially abused ex-BBC presenter is fined £400 and warned by judge to ‘be nicer to people’ in future

A man has been fined for racially abusing former BBC Radio 5 Live presenter Nihal Arthanayake during a night out.

Graham Groves, 60, drunkenly called Mr Arthanayake a “P***” and also used the n-word when the pair chatted outside a bar in 2023.

at that time The 55-year-old hosted Afternoon Edition on the channel; but he later quit his £145,000-a-year role, saying working at the “vastly white” BBC was bad for his mental health.

A judge today told Groves that his words should be seen ‘in the context of a time when there were people trying to poison and divide societies’.

After Groves admitted racist abuse, alarm or distress, Recorder Imran Shafi KC fined him £400, saying he did not believe he was a racist.

The judge then warned: ‘Be nicer to people when you’re out and don’t get into trouble again.’

“No chance of that,” Groves replied.

The incident occurred outside the Old Market Tavern pub in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, in April 2023. Minshull Street Crown Court heard.

Graham Groves, 60, (pictured arriving at court on a previous incident) was today fined £400 after admitting racist abuse

Prosecutor Nick Roxborough said Mr Arthanayake went to the scene at around 10pm to pick up his wife, who was out on a work night.

While waiting outside, he asked if he could sit next to Groves, whom he described as a ‘good-spirited’ man.

While chatting, Mr Roxborough said Groves asked Mr Arthanayake if he could address him as ‘Nick’ because he had ‘difficulty’ saying his real name.

A drunk Groves then asked if he was a doctor, causing him to ‘laugh’ and question why he was being asked this.

“From his experience, he thought it was a racial stereotype,” Mr. Roxborough said.

Groves responded by telling Mr Arthanayake: ‘Because you’re a P***.’

He told Groves he couldn’t use the term ‘because it’s sad’.

However, Groves again used the term racist and went further to use the word ‘nigger’.

Mr Roxborough said he did not think Mr Arthanayake had a second term aimed at him but had been told he would “get a rise out of it”.

Before leaving the court, the judge told him to ‘be nicer to people when you’re out and not to get into trouble again’, to which Groves (pictured) replied: ‘There’s no chance of that.’

Mr Arthanayake and his wife then left but he described the incident as ‘extremely sad’.

Groves, of Stretford, Greater Manchester, pleaded guilty to racially aggravated harassment, causing alarm or distress by using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour.

John Richards, defending, said his client was ‘ashamed’ of what he said but could not remember the incident.

‘He is not a racist person and the people he works with have never seen that side of him,’ he said.

‘He’s worked with people of all ethnicities and doesn’t know this person.’

Mr Richards added: ‘He was appalled by what happened.

‘He genuinely wishes to apologize to her for the obvious distress caused.’

The judge said he did not believe Groves was a racist and ‘there is a difference between that and using racist words’.

‘For you, these were just words, even if they were said while drunk,’ he said.

‘But I hope you can think of these as serious and sad.

‘How he perceives his emotions or the words spoken must be considered in the context of the times we live in, where people seek to divide societies in toxic ways.’

Mr Arthanayake, who was not in the courtroom at the time of Groves’ sentencing, had previously spoken about the incident in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

He wrote: ‘I thought about it and discussed it with my wife. It’s important that I highlight this man’s behavior.

‘I’ve seen this kind of behavior before, but if an elderly Asian person abuses a pensioner it’s completely unacceptable.’

He added: ‘As my wife and I come from London and I was born in Essex, we’re used to a bit of a bubble when we’re there.

‘We moved north because I was working here for the BBC. London is much more ethnically mixed than places like Altrincham.’

In August 2023, the father of two, of Sri Lankan origin, lashed out at BBC chiefs who berated him for defending himself against online racists.

And he later said he had seen a ‘lack of diversity’ in the workplace for a long time.

This comes just weeks after Mr Arthanayake said working at the ‘overwhelmingly white’ BBC was bad for his mental health.

He had been with the broadcaster since 2002, presenting a variety of shows on Radio One and the Asian Network before joining 5 Live as co-host of Afternoon Edition.

However, he left his position in June 2025, saying that the company was in an ‘existential crisis’ and that he ‘couldn’t be happy there anymore’ and that he wanted to pursue a career in stand-up comedy.