BAFTA Raised Alarm With BBC Over Racial Slur, But BBC Still Aired It

The BBC’s explanation for how the N-word made it into a two-hour delayed BAFTA broadcast is already under pressure. Now, a new report from Deadline complicates the picture further. According to Deadline’s account of events, BAFTA raised the alarm in real time and expected the BBC to act. The broadcaster did not.

The result was a racial slur being aired to a national audience, directed toward Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo during Sunday’s ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall.

Five days on, the central question is no longer what was shouted in the room. It is what happened inside the edit suite.

BAFTA Says The BBC Was Told Immediately

Deadline reports that once John Davidson’s Tourette’s-related outburst occurred, a BAFTA representative informed both the BBC and producers at Penny Lane TV straight away. A source familiar with the matter put it bluntly: “The BBC knew what happened.”

BAFTA reportedly maintains it alerted the BBC immediately and expected the broadcaster to take responsibility for compliance. The ceremony aired on a two-hour delay, giving the BBC full editorial control to manage risk and meet UK broadcasting standards on offensive language.

BBC sources say staff in the outside broadcast truck did not clearly hear the slur and therefore failed to cut it before transmission. They also suggest producers may have misunderstood which of Davidson’s verbal tics required removal. BBC content chief Kate Phillips reportedly told staff they edited out a second interruption, indicating the team believed it had resolved the issue.

BAFTA says it explicitly warned the BBC about the racial slur, which directly challenges the broadcaster’s version of events. If BAFTA raised the alarm in real time, the BBC cannot easily dismiss the broadcast as a simple technical oversight.

The iPlayer Delay Raises Harder Questions

The situation escalated on Monday morning. Deadline reports that BAFTA repeatedly asked the BBC to remove the ceremony from BBC iPlayer after it became clear the slur was audible in the broadcast version. The programme remained available until nearly midday.

A source told Deadline: “BAFTA asked the BBC repeatedly to take it down.”

The BBC has launched an expedited editorial review, describing the broadcast as a “serious mistake” and tasking its Executive Complaints Unit with investigating what went wrong. As of Friday afternoon, an edited version had not yet returned to iPlayer.

The timeline matters. The corporation was aware of the problem for hours while the ceremony remained online. In a digital era where content can be unpublished within minutes, the delay invites scrutiny.

It also sits against a broader editorial backdrop. Viewers observed that other material did not make the final cut. A homophobic slur aimed at host Alan Cumming was reportedly removed. Political remarks, including Akinola Davies Jr.’s “Free Palestine” comment during his Outstanding British Debut acceptance speech, were absent from the broadcast version.

The N-word, however, was not.

The BBC will argue that each edit involves distinct editorial judgments. Critics see an inconsistency in how risks were managed and which were allowed through.

Political And Industry Fallout Is Growing

The backlash has moved beyond social media commentary. Dawn Butler has criticised the broadcaster, arguing it failed in its duty of care to both Black attendees and the Tourette’s community. Appearing on Channel 4’s The Fourcast with Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Eddie Marsan, Butler called for accountability while emphasising that empathy for neurological conditions must coexist with protection against racial harm.

A racist slur shouted by a guest with Tourette's syndrome was broadcast during the recent Bafta ceremony, despite the TV event airing on a two-hour delay. The incident triggered widespread criticism, urgent questions for the BBC and Bafta, and renewed debate about how… pic.twitter.com/EPPZszWqFh

— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) February 27, 2026

UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy described the broadcast of a racial slur as “completely unacceptable and harmful,” underscoring the seriousness with which the government views the incident. Kirk Jones, the writer and director of I Swear, said multiple failures let Davidson down and criticised the BBC for allowing the tic to air.

Davidson has said the BBC could have taken stronger steps to stop the outburst from airing, including reconsidering how close producers placed a microphone to him. Warner Bros executives raised concerns that same night after Jordan and Lindo heard the slur on stage. BAFTA CEO Jane Millichip apologised and confirmed the organisation has launched a comprehensive review.

Yet the decisive editorial authority lay with the BBC.

This was not a live slip on an uncontrolled feed. It was a delayed broadcast with established compliance protocols. If BAFTA did, in fact, alert the broadcaster immediately, the narrative shifts from unfortunate oversight to a breakdown in editorial response.

The BBC must now explain who knew about the slur, when editors made their decisions, and why the programme stayed online after staff recognised the issue. As a public service broadcaster that presents itself as a leader on compliance and safeguarding, the BBC cannot treat those answers as routine housekeeping.

Trust, once dented, is not restored by process alone.