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  "path": "/celebrity/bbc-removes-baftas-streaming-service-racial-slur",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-23T13:52:03.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "racial slur",
    "offered an apology",
    "GB News comic defends Tourette's campaigner amid Bafta racial slur row after C5 star demands apology",
    "Nadiya Hussain now 'working in a school' after BBC axe as Bake Off winner addresses judgment",
    "Louis Walsh unleashes ferocious Simon Cowell tirade as he blasts ITV BGT judge for 'losing his edge'",
    "\"Death to the IDF\" chant",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nThe BBC has pulled its coverage of the Bafta Film Awards from iPlayer following a failure to remove a racial slur from the tape-delayed broadcast.\n\nJohn Davidson, a prominent Tourette syndrome campaigner, shouted the N-word involuntarily from the audience during Sunday evening's ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe corporation's broadcast operated with a two-hour delay before transmission on BBC One, a buffer specifically designed to allow editors to catch and excise such material.\n\nDespite this safeguard, the offensive language remained in the coverage when it aired.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nMr Davidson, who experiences involuntary vocal tics as a result of his condition, is the subject of the forthcoming biopic I Swear.\n\nThe broadcaster has since apologised for the incident.\n\nA spokesperson said: “Some viewers may have heard strong and offensive language during the Bafta Film Awards 2026.\n\n“This arose from involuntary verbal tics associated with Tourette's syndrome, and was not intentional. We apologise for any offence caused by the language heard.”\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe slur occurred as actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo took to the stage to present the award for Best Visual Effects, which was claimed by Avatar: Fire and Ash.\n\nThough the remark was difficult to hear clearly against the background noise of the ceremony, it was nonetheless captured in the BBC's broadcast.\n\nProduction designer Hannah Beachler, who worked on Sinners, stated that she too experienced Mr Davidson's involuntary racial slurs during the event, describing it as an \"impossible situation\" made worse by what she termed a \"throw-away apology.\"\n\nHost Alan Cumming also offered an apology during the ceremony itself, acknowledging that the BAFTA audience \"may have noticed\" the \"strong language\" and expressing regret if \"anyone was offended.\"\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * GB News comic defends Tourette's campaigner amid Bafta racial slur row after C5 star demands apology\n  * Nadiya Hussain now 'working in a school' after BBC axe as Bake Off winner addresses judgment\n  * Louis Walsh unleashes ferocious Simon Cowell tirade as he blasts ITV BGT judge for 'losing his edge'\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nAt one point during proceedings, Mr Davidson left the auditorium, though it remains unclear whether he subsequently returned to his seat.\n\nThe interruptions appeared to cease following his departure.\n\nThe BBC has been asked why the comment was not removed from the broadcast, particularly as producers had reportedly made preparations for Davidson's attendance.\n\nThe stream remained accessible on iPlayer throughout most of Monday morning before finally being taken down at approximately 11:30 am.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nIt was then replaced with a message indicating the episode would be \"available soon.\"\n\nThe incident echoes a controversy from last summer when the corporation broadcast a Glastonbury Festival performance by punk rap duo Bob Vylan, during which the band led the crowd in a \"Death to the IDF\" chant on a live iPlayer stream.\n\nThat footage stayed online for more than five hours before removal, prompting Prime Minister Keir Starmer to demand answers from the broadcaster.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe fallout led the BBC to revise its livestreaming protocols.\n\nNotably, the BBC and production company Penny Lane TV did edit a winner's speech in which Akinola Davies Jr. said the words \"free Palestine.\"\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards:The GB News Editorial Charter **",
  "title": "BBC removes Baftas from streaming service amid racial slur scandal"
}