The social media sensation Big John, known for his love of takeout, has surprisingly become a leading voice in the discussion about England flags after condemning ‘disturbing’ graffiti found on a Chinese restaurant.

Real name John Fisher and an Instagram enthusiast for kung po dishes, he expressed to BBC Newsnight that no one deserves to be targeted with racist remarks after a Chinese eatery was defaced with phrases like ‘Go Home’ the previous month.

On Friday, August 29, in York, the word ‘England’ was spray-painted over the ‘Chinese’ sign of Dragon House by a group of vandals who escaped on bicycles.

Additionally, the vandals marked the establishment with St George’s Crosses, coinciding with others painting the flag on public spaces and hanging them from streetlights in an initiative named ‘Operation Raise the Colours’ online.

Taking to social media, ‘the Boshfather’, from Romford, said he supported the takeaway – and praised a local window cleaner who removed the slogans.

During his BBC Newsnight interview, the ex-amateur boxer acknowledged understanding the reasons some might display flags, yet he found isolated incidents such as the York vandalism ‘disturbing’.

‘I’m deeply patriotic and cherish my English identity. I understand why flags are being displayed since many institutions choose not to, prompting citizens to act,’ he commented during the interview.

‘It’s normal people that are doing it but every now and again it blows over, you get the isolated incident which isn’t good, which is upsetting.’

He added: ‘I saw that online. And I think the lady had been running it for 15 years, she’s lived here, she’s worked hard.

‘I’m associated with Chinese takeaways, but I would’ve felt the same whether it’s been an Indian, Caribbean, Mexican, Greek, Turkish. 

‘Y’know, people that are working here shouldn’t be targeted like that; nobody should be targeted like that, and it hit a nerve.’

He added that he would be travelling to York in the near future to ‘give them a bit of custom’. 

The BBC’s clip was viewed 12million times on X and 3.7million times on TikTok. Mr Fisher also shared the clip to his Instagram, where he has 667,000 followers, captioning it: ‘BBC Bosh’.

Fans have praised him for what they saw as a nuanced, balanced and thoughtful take on the incident.

‘I owe you an apology – I wasn’t really familiar with your game,’ read one meme shared in response.

‘Big John doesn’t mess around – sending big love to the Bosh army,’ said a fan. 

Mr Fisher, 51, rose to fame on Instagram with his uncompromising love of Chinese takeaways – with videos of both his almost unbelievably long phone calls ordering them and the resulting delivery being watched thousands of times.

Together with his victorious catchphrase ‘Bosh!’, his down–to–earth personality and unshakeable love of big dinners has won him legions of fans.

His comments on Newsnight prompted some negative reactions from anonymous social media users who made unsubstantiated accusations that he was being fed his views by someone else, or that he was unpatriotic.

Mr Fisher responded to these in very public and unfettered style, writing on Instagram: ‘I’m accused by far–right people of not being patriotic enough and then this chap accuses me of being a racist.

‘I am not a racist or far–right. I am a normal English bloke who loves England, loves Great Britain and I respect all the different backgrounds that live in our country and make us great.

‘Please do your homework on someone before commenting. No bosh.’

Responding under the post to someone urging him not to ‘get political’, he added: ‘Not political mate I’m just not taking being called a racist.’

The community in York’s Foxwood area has rallied in support of Dragon House after the vandalism in the early hours of August 29.

‘I feel truly heartbroken today…this is not just paint on the wall – it is blatant discrimination, and it hurts deeply,’ the owner said on social media.

She told the Daily Mail that she had lived in Britain for more than 20 years, and run the takeaway for more than a decade.

She said: ‘It was very upsetting to see our shop vandalised with such hateful graffiti. It felt not only like an attack on our business, but also on us personally, and it was very hurtful.’

Local window cleaner Isaac Davidson then came to her aid, removing paint from the shutters, windows and the side of the building.

Mr Davidson, of Crystal Clean in York, told the BBC: ‘I saw the owner and she was absolutely in bits. It was awful to see, it was heartbreaking. 

‘I said to her, I’ll come back after my shift and I’ll get rid of it for you. I went to work and I came back and that was that.’

North Yorkshire Police is investigating – and anyone with information is asked to get in touch quoting reference 12250163150.

The force said previously: ‘A criminal investigation is underway following a report of racist graffiti which was discovered at a local takeaway on Foxwood Lane in York.

‘Our officers are actively developing intelligence and lines of enquiry to identify the suspects and ensure they face appropriate consequences for the crimes that have been committed.

‘Any incidents of hate crime will be dealt with robustly, and victims of hate crime are referred to Supporting Victims, our commissioned partner who ensure the appropriate level of support is in place.’

The vandalism came at the peak of ‘Operation Raise the Colours’, a movement to hang British and English flags from lampposts in towns and cities across England.

Born out of anger at UK flags being taken down in Birmingham, the movement claims it is patriotic – but is backed by far–right figures and has been criticised as being deliberately provocative amid tension over anti–immigration protests.

But alongside flags, activists have been spray–painting St George’s Cross on whatever they can find, including road signs and roundabout markings, which councils are having to spend precious cash removing. 

However, ministers were mocked for wading into the debate. The Prime Minister  Sir Keir Starmer was derided after he said in a statement that he ‘proudly’ had a flag hung up at home.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘I’m very encouraging of flags. I think they’re patriotic and I think they’re a great symbol of our nation.

‘I don’t think they should be devalued and belittled. I think sometimes when they’re used purely for divisive purposes, actually it devalues the flag.

‘I don’t want to see that. I’m proud of our flag.’

As for big John – whom the Mail has contacted for additional comment – he has since resumed his normal social media activity, sharing photos of a trip to Malta with his wife Charlotte… along with a new topic to debate.

‘Cold Chinese? Yes or No?’ he asked in a post on Sunday night, adding: ‘It’s a yes from me. Bosh.’