BBC’s coverage in wake of Prince Philip death becomes most complained about event in British TV history

The BBC received a record-breaking number of complaints following its extensive coverage of Prince Philip’s death, with more than 110,000 people contacting the broadcaster to grumble over “excessive” reporting .

According to British media, the outpouring of criticism makes his death the most-complained-about event in the country’s television history.

The backlash forced the BBC to temporarily build a dedicated complaints page where people could object to the programming.

Philip, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, husband to Queen Elizabeth II “passed away peacefully” on Friday at Windsor Castle – where he had been staying during the coronavirus pandemic.

Following the news of his death, the BBC revised its schedule, pulling popular television shows such as Gardeners’ World and postponing the MasterChef final.

The BBC defended its coverage, saying it was “proud of the role we play during moments of national significance,” but it did not disclose the precise number of complaints received.

Official figures are expected to be published this week on the broadcaster’s biweekly complaint log.

While the broadcaster has since removed the dedicated complaints page, which read: “We’re receiving complaints about too much TV coverage of the death of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,” it did not go unnoticed.

“The BBC, having adopted wall-to-wall Prince Philip coverage to avoid being criticised in parts of the media and politics... has now received so many complaints about their wall-to-wall coverage they’ve set up a streamlined form to complain about it,” tweeted Guardian Media Editor Jim Waterson.

While much of the UK – and the world – paid tribute to the duke, the BBC’s decision to dedicate so much airtime to royal programming angered MasterChef fans, who had been looking forward to seeing who would be crowned winner of the competition.

Many on social media pointed out that the same coverage of the duke was running on two BBC channels simultaneously.

 According to the Guardian, the record-holder for highest total of complaints until now came in 2005, when the BBC televised Jerry Springer: The Opera. (© The Washington Post)

Online Editors