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BBC’s coverage of Prince Philip’s death is by far corporation’s most complained about moment of 2021

The BBC’s coverage of Prince Philip’s death is by far the corporation’s most-complained about television moment of the year, after drawing a mammoth 110,000 complaints.

Other moments such as BBC Breakfast presenters Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty ripping into Robert Jenrick and the channel’s coverage of Christian Eriksen collapsing during the Euro 2020 also made the top 10 list.

The Duke Of Edinburgh died at Windsor Castle in April at the age of 99, prompting the network to clear its schedules across both BBC One and BBC Two to run a series of mirrored special programmes.

The coverage also took over the news channel and BBC radio stations.

According to the BBC’s fortnightly complaints bulletin, some 104,010 people complained about the output within the first three days, the highest number ever published in the UK about television programming.

This figure later rose to an overall total of 109,741 complaints.

Prince Philip died in April and the BBC’s wall-to-wall coverage sparked thousands of complaints (Picture: Getty)

At the time, the BBC said in a statement: ‘The passing of HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was a significant event which generated a lot of interest both nationally and internationally.

‘We acknowledge some viewers were unhappy with the level of coverage given and impact this had on the billed TV and radio schedules.

‘We do not make such changes without careful consideration and the decisions made reflect the role the BBC plays as the national broadcaster during moments of national significance.

‘We are grateful for all feedback and we always listen to the response from our audiences.’

BBC Breakfast’s Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty also made the top 10 list (Picture: BBC)

In March 2021, 6,498 viewers complained after they felt BBC Breakfast presenters Charlie and Naga acted unprofessionally towards Mr Jenrick when making comments about the Union flag and the Queen.

As the interview came to an end, the pair poked fun at the size of a flag placed behind the Housing Secretary.

‘I think your flag is not up to standard size government interview measurements,’ Charlie had said.

Footage of Christian Eriksen collapsing also spared backlash from viewers (Picture: Getty)

‘I think it’s just a little small, but that’s your department, really,’ the newsreader added, as Mr Jenrick smiled awkwardly.

Naga could be heard laughing in the background, before the camera panned back to the BBC Breakfast studio to show her covering her mouth while chuckling over what Charlie had just said.

BBC’s top10 most-complained about TV moments of 2021

Prince Philip coverage – 109,741 complaints driven by reaction to the amount of coverage given to the death of the Duke of Edinburgh
BBC Breakfast – 6,498 complaints from those who felt Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty acted unprofessionally towards Robert Jenrick when making comments about the Union flag and the Queen
Euro 2020: Denmark v Finland – 6,417 complaints over intrusive footage of player receiving medical treatment
BBC News  – 3177 complaints for bias against the Indian Farmers’ protests/in favour of the Indian government
BBC News – 2,783 complaints relating to bias ias in favour of Isreal
Panorama: Vaccines The Disinformation War – 1,479 complaints regarding factual error/bias against those who have concerns about Covid-19 vaccinations
Sunday Politics – 891 complaints over misrepresentation of protests in support of Palestinians
The Princes and the Press – 776 complaints regarding bias against royal family
Question Time – 763 complaints due to lack of coverage of Fire Safety Bill/cladding amounting to bias in favour of Robert Jenrick / offensive comments about the French
BBC Breakfast – 717 complaints over offensive reference to airline cabin crew

In June, the BBC was hit with 6,417 complaints after it showed footage of footballer Eriksen collapsing during the Denmark and Finland game.

Cameras remained on the footballer as he received CPR, and his partner and teammates, who were crying, were also filmed.

At the time, viewers criticised the corporation for not cutting away from the footage, with the broadcaster responding to the thousands of complaints it received.

More: Prince Philip

‘We apologise to anyone who was upset by the images broadcast,’ a statement read. ‘In stadium coverage is controlled by UEFA as the host broadcaster, and as soon as the match was suspended, we took our coverage off air as quickly as possible.’

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