The BBC’s outgoing director-general, Tim Davie, has expressed the corporation’s "profound regret" over the broadcast of a racial slur during the Bafta film awards, which aired on BBC One.
The incident occurred during the ceremony on 22 February, when Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson was heard shouting as Sinners stars Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented the award for special visual effects.
The Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Committee had previously written to Mr Davie, "seeking an explanation" for how the slur was broadcast "in spite of a two-hour time delay".
In his response to Dame Caroline Dinenage, chair of the CMS Committee, Mr Davie stated: "I’d like to make clear: although the racial slur was symptomatic of a disability and an involuntary tic, it should never have been broadcast. It was a genuine mistake, and we take full responsibility for our error."
Addressing inquiries into why the language was not edited out, Mr Davie detailed two separate instances where the slur was shouted. Regarding the first, during Jordan and Lindo’s presentation, he explained: "Although this is the subject of ongoing review, our initial evidence gathering has found that no-one in the on-site broadcast truck heard this when they were watching the live feed."
He added: "Because no-one in the broadcast truck was aware it was on the live feed, there was therefore no editorial decision made to leave the language in."
Mr Davie further clarified that the slur was shouted a second time as Sinners star Wunmi Mosaku accepted her award for best supporting actress. In this instance, he confirmed: "In that instance, the edit team did hear the racial slur on the feed and removed it immediately from the version of the ceremony that would be broadcast later that evening."
He elaborated on the confusion that led to the error: "These two incidents happened within 10 minutes of each other. It appears that soon after the second incident, the edit team in the truck started receiving reports, including from Bafta, that a racial slur had been shouted during the ceremony."
"Our understanding at this point is that the team editing the show in the truck mistakenly believed they had edited out the incident that was being referenced, on the basis that they had heard and edited out the slur shouted out during the best supporting actress award. Therefore, when they were told a racial slur had been shouted, they believed they had removed it."
John Davidson, whose Tourette’s causes involuntary vocal tics, has since expressed he is "deeply mortified" by the events at the Baftas, where I Swear, a film about his life, was nominated.
Bafta issued an apology following the awards, accepting "full responsibility" for placing its guests in a "difficult situation". In a letter to members, Bafta chairwoman Sara Putt and chief executive Jane Millichip confirmed a "comprehensive" review is underway, assuring: "Please rest assured how seriously we are taking this."
