As members of the public took to social media to condemn Kevin Myers for his attitude towards the gender pay gap, one of the women at the centre of Myers' controversial column struggled to comprehend how the piece made it to print in the first place.

British broadcaster and journalist, Vanessa Feltz, was referenced in the article, which has since been slammed for its racist and misogynistic undertones, and admitted that the remarks made in the Sunday Times article left her somewhat stunned.

"I note that two of the best-paid women presenters in the BBC – Claudia Winkleman and Vanessa Feltz, with whose, no doubt, sterling work I am tragically unacquainted – are Jewish. Good for them," wrote Myers in the controversial piece.

Speaking on her BBC Radio One Show this morning, Vanessa expressed her distaste over the piece, saying it was "so obviously racist it's surprisingly hurtful."

Considering her background in print journalism, the 55-year-old struggled to accept the apology proferred by the newspaper in the hours that followed the article's publication.

"I said to the editor to The Sunday Times when he phoned to apologise 'I'm a journalist and I don't understand how that could be considered suitable to publish."

 "The apologies are all very well but how did it end up in the paper in the first place?" she asked.

Despite being no stranger to criticism, both personal and professional, over the course of her 30-year career, Vanessa admitted that the reference which was made to both her and her religion in Myers' article deeply affected her.

"I would have thought after all these years I'd be immune or used to it, but that's not at all how I felt. I felt extremely upset. It's not a very nice feeling," she said.

Kevin Myers will no longer be writing for The Sunday Times.