Bafta is taking “extremely seriously” its preparations for Sunday’s TV awards ceremony after the broadcast of a racial slur during the film awards in February. The incident, in which a guest with Tourette syndrome involuntarily used the N-word, led to a review of procedures and an apology from both Bafta and the BBC.
The February broadcast saw John Davidson, who has Tourette syndrome, use the word while actors Delroy Lindo and Michael B Jordan were on stage. Host Alan Cumming apologised immediately, but the production team failed to edit out the first use of the word, though they did remove a second occurrence. Bafta and the BBC both apologised, with the BBC admitting a breach of editorial standards.
For Sunday’s event, Bafta has implemented additional staff and clearer communication protocols with production partner Penny Lane and the BBC. The show will be monitored more closely, with any incidents recorded and communicated via WhatsApp and the talkback system. The ceremony will be broadcast with a delay, but the final part may be edited almost live due to time constraints.
This year’s TV awards, hosted by comedian Greg Davies, will see 2,000 guests at London’s Royal Festival Hall. Davies expressed confidence in the preparations, saying: “I’m sure they’ve got it in hand so that everybody has a nice time.” The incident has also led to scrutiny of the event’s leadership, with Cumming attributing the February failure to “bad leadership”.
