BBC violated own editorial standards by broadcasting Baftas racial slur, says investigation

Alex Davies
Wed, 08 Apr 2026 11:29:43 +0000

The BBC violated its own editorial standards by broadcasting a racial slur during the Bafta Film Awards in February, an internal investigation has concluded.

The corporation's executive complaints unit determined that airing the offensive term, which was involuntarily shouted by Tourette's campaigner John Davidson, was "highly offensive" and lacked "any editorial justification."

Investigators acknowledged that the breach during the original transmission was not deliberate.

The ECU's findings follow widespread criticism of the broadcaster's handling of the incident, which generated international headlines and prompted Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to describe the broadcast as "completely unacceptable and harmful."

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Director-general at the time, Tim Davie, had previously ordered a fast-tracked investigation into the matter and pledged to provide complainants with a comprehensive response.

Mr Davidson, who has the neurological condition Tourette's syndrome, was attending the ceremony to mark the success of I Swear, a film based on his own experiences.

The incident occurred as actors Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo took to the stage to present the evening's opening award.

Mr Davidson had previously questioned the decision to seat him near a microphone at the event.

Speaking to Variety after the ceremony, he said: "I remember there was a microphone just in front of me, and with hindsight I have to question whether this was wise, so close to where I was seated, knowing I would tic."

He also suggested the BBC should have "worked harder to prevent anything that I said" from being transmitted.

The ECU also criticised the broadcaster's failure to swiftly remove the content from its streaming platform.

According to the investigation, confusion among production staff about whether the slur could actually be heard by viewers resulted in a delay of several hours before any action was taken.

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The complaints unit described this as "a serious mistake, because there could be no certainty that the word would be inaudible to all viewers."

The offensive moment remained accessible on BBC iPlayer for more than 12 hours before the programme was finally taken down for editing.

Viewers attempting to watch the awards show after it was removed were met with a message stating: "This episode will be available soon."

The BBC's chief content officer has since written letters of apology to Mr Lindo, Mr Jordan and Mr Davidson, according to the ECU report.

The Baftas broadcast that evening was not shown live to television audiences. Instead, the three-hour ceremony was recorded and edited down before being transmitted on BBC1 at 7pm, approximately two hours after the actual event concluded.

Bafta issued its own apology following the incident, stating it wanted to "acknowledge the harm this has caused" and apologise to all those affected.

The organisation said it took "full responsibility for putting our guests in a very difficult situation."

The film I Swear, which Mr Davidson served as executive producer on, won three awards that evening, including best actor for Robert Aramayo.