BBC has reportedly been hit with 'around 100,000' complaints over its wall-to-wall coverage on the death of Prince Philip.
The public broadcaster aired 24 hours of tributes and news specials dedicated to the Duke of Edinburgh following his death at the age of 99 on Friday.
But viewers were left furious after programmes such as Masterchef were removed from the day’s scheduling to make way for the coverage.
The Sun is reporting that the BBC has been inundated with complaints over the decision - with the newspaper suggesting that the number could be as high as 100,000.
Such a figure would mean that the day of coverage is the most complained about television event in history.
The previous record for BBC complaints is believed to be around 63,000 following the broadcast of Jerry Springer: The Opera in 2005.
BBC bosses admitted on Friday that it had been flooded with complaints while the coverage of Prince Philip’s death was airing.
The corporation set up an online form specifically for complaints about the coverage that evening.
Information on the form noted that the complaint would regard “too much TV coverage of the death of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.”
Viewing figures released by the BBC showed that viewers switched to other channels in a bid to avoid the coverage.
BBC One’s audience fell by 6% week-on-week, while BBC Two lost two-thirds of its audience - with just 340,000 people tuning in at any time between 7pm and 11pm.
In response to the complaints, the BBC said: “We are proud of our coverage and the role we play during moments of national significance.”
Confirmed numbers of complaints will be released by the BBC as part of its fortnightly complaints bulletin this Thursday.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
