The misogynistic remarks aimed at journalist Ava Evans by Laurence Fox on GB News’s Dan Wootton Tonight show prompted more complaints than any other TV programme in 2023.
The list of “TV’s most complained-about moments” published by media watchdog Ofcom showed that the episode, which resulted in Wootton’s suspension and the sacking of Fox, generated more objections than coverage of King Charles’s Coronation.
The Wootton episode, broadcast in September, attracted 8,867 complaints. GB News presenter Fox’s rant about Evans culminated with his question, “Who’d want to shag that?”
Wootton was seen smirking at the comments, which Evans said made her feel “physically sick.”
Fox was axed by GB News while Wootton, who later apologised personally to Evans, was suspended by the channel. Ofcom is still investigating the complaints it received over the incident.
ITV’s coverage of the Coronation attracted 8,421 complaints. The majority of those related to a comment made by actress Adjoa Andoh, who said the Royal Family appeared “terribly white” when they appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
Ofcom rejected the complaints about the Bridgerton star’s remarks, saying: “After careful consideration we concluded that the comment was a personal observation, which was part of a wide-ranging panel discussion which also touched on other diversity-related topics, and which contained a range of viewpoints.”
Other programmes that attracted sizeable complaints included a Good Morning Britain interview with Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran about the Israel-Gaza conflict and two editions of Kay Burley’s Sky News programmes featuring interviews also covering the issue.
A GB News programme presented by Conservative MP Lee Anderson, in which he interviewed the then Home Secretary Suella Braverman, attracted 1,697 complaints.
Ofcom cleared the edition of impartiality breaches because it also included a wide range of views on immigration.
Ofcom said: “Over the course of the last year, we received 69,236 complaints about 9,638 cases. That’s nearly twice as many complaints as we dealt with in 2022 – although the two most complained-about programmes of the year make up nearly a quarter of the total complaints.”
The total doesn’t include complaints about programmes on the BBC. Under the BBC Charter, these must be handled by the BBC in the first instance.
Almost one in 10 complaints to Ofcom this year were about coverage of the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza, which began in October.
The watchog said: “We play a crucial role in preserving the integrity of broadcast news and current affairs programming, by upholding standards of due impartiality and due accuracy.
“And so, complaints about this content – on a range of channels – are being prioritised by our team.”
The watchdog added: “For Ofcom, complaints are a vital barometer for how audiences think and feel.
“During 2023, audience complaints about standards on TV continued to make the headlines with news coverage of the Israel Gaza conflict, the Coronation of King Charles and celebrity on-screen spats featuring in our top 10.”
The most complained-about programmes of 2023:
1. Laurence Fox’s on-air remarks about Ava Evans on GB News’ Dan Wootton Tonight (8,867 complaints)
Actor-turned-politician Fox lost his GB News role over the misogynistic rant, while Wootton was taken off air pending results of an investigation into the incident.
2. Adjoa Andoh’s comments about the royal family on the balcony at Buckingham Palace during ITV’s coverage of the King’s coronation (8,421)
Andoh said: “Looking at all those young people, there is a bit of me that has gone from the rich diversity of the Abbey to the terribly white balcony. I’m very struck by that.”
3. TV presenter Richard Madeley questioning MP Layla Moran about her family in Gaza City on ITV’s Good Morning Britain (2,391)
Madeley said he was “sorry” for upsetting viewers after the presenter asked the Liberal Democrat MP if “there was any word on the street” before Hamas launched its attack on Israel.
4. A discussion on the junior doctors’ pay dispute on Channel 5’s Jeremy Vine show (2,302)
Ofcom said “references about progression timelines and corresponding pay-scales were not strictly accurate.”
5. Questioning of Israeli spokesman Eylon Levy on Sky News’ Breakfast with Kay Burley (1,880)
Levy’s “forceful challenge to the premise of the question about the value of Israeli versus Palestinian lives” meant no further action was required, the watchdog found.
6. Lee Anderson’s GB News interview with Suella Braverman relating to them both being Conservative MPs (1,697)
Ofcom said the programme “included an appropriately wide range of significant views on immigration and border control which were given due weight.”
7. Kay Burley allegedly misrepresenting comments made by the Palestinian ambassador on her Sky News show (1,640)
Grilling a Labour frontbencher after October 7 attacks, Burley stated: “The Palestinian ambassador basically said, the last couple of days, that ‘Israel had it coming’?”
8. Concerns about Channel 4’s Naked Education, including pre-watershed nudity (1,285)
Ofcom cleared Channel 4 show which “had a clear educational focus, and the young participants reflected positively on their involvement.”
9. Comments made by Vanessa Feltz about coeliac disease on ITV’s This Morning (1,092)
Feltz was of accused of spreading misinformation about the disease, which causes the immune system to attack tissues when gluten is consumed. Feltz said her comments were misinterpreted.
10. Bullying of Scott van-der-Sluis on ITV’s Love Island (992)
Ofcom looked at complaints including alleged bullying, homophobia and racism. The regulator concluded that “negative behaviour in the villa was not shown in a positive light.”