BBC apologizes to staff over inclusion of N-word as Bafta announces comprehensive review | Baftas 2026

A senior BBC executive has apologized to staff for the corporation’s failure to edit a racist slur from Sunday’s Bafta Film Awards telecast. In a memo sent on Tuesday and seen by the Press Association, chief content officer Kate Phillips told staff she was “deeply sorry the racial slur was not removed from our broadcast” and that she understood “how painful this was”.

Tourette Syndrome campaigner John Davidson can be heard shouting the N-word, while Sinners stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented the special visual effects award at London’s Royal Festival Hall.

Phillips reiterated previous apologies issued by the BBC on Monday, explaining that host Alan Cumming had already addressed the possibility of verbal tics during the broadcast, but acknowledged that this “did not diminish the impact and discomfort”.

“The editorial team has removed another racial slur from the broadcast,” she wrote. “This program was broadcast in error and we would never have knowingly allowed it to be broadcast.

She added: “We take full responsibility for what happened,” before saying: “When I learned it was audible on iPlayer, I asked for it to be taken down.”

The BBC removed the original broadcast from its website around midday on Monday, as backlash mounted.

There is still a great deal of confusion surrounding the circumstances of the word’s inclusion. The BBC said yesterday that its producers did not hear the “N” word while editing the show for broadcast two hours after the live event, with a source telling The Guardian that they were “working from a truck”.

On Tuesday, Sinners studio Warner Bros. said it had immediately raised its concerns about Bafta during the ceremony, and had been assured that the request would be passed on to the BBC, and that the racial slur would be removed from the broadcast.

In an apology letter to members on Tuesday, Bafta executives said a “comprehensive review” was now underway. “We recognize that this has affected members in a number of ways,” the letter said. “We want to acknowledge the damage this has caused, address what happened and apologize to everyone.”

Sarah Bott, chair of Bafta, and Jane Millichip, its chief executive, went on to quote some of the lengthy statement issued by Bafta on Monday evening, in which they tried to put the situation in context and said they took “full responsibility for putting our guests in a very difficult situation”. They also apologized unreservedly to Lindo and Jordan.

Speaking to a Vanity Fair reporter at a post-BAFTA party late on Sunday, Lindo said he wished “someone from Bafta would talk to us afterward.” On Monday night, Davidson said he was “very afraid if anyone would think my tics were intentional or had any meaning.”

Butt was among those presenters and winners who came on stage at the moments when Davidson shouted his verbal tics. Others include Cumming and the filmmakers behind the winning family film Bong.

Anger against the two bodies grew in the days following the event. On Monday, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said that the BBC had made a “terrible mistake,” while on Tuesday, Labor MP Don Butler accused it of “clear bias” and “failing in its duty of care.”

Butler also described the broadcast as “hurtful and inexcusable” and said she had written to outgoing director-general Tim Davie to request an “urgent explanation”.

Director Jonty Richardson declared Bafta’s handling of the events “totally inexcusable” and announced that he would step down as a Bafta judge.

“I hope that BAFTA leadership understands the damage it and the BBC have caused, and takes the necessary steps to ensure its production staff are comprehensive enough to prevent such a problem in the future,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, Google apologized for the AI-generated prompt accompanying a link to an article about the incident, which invited users to “see more about” the N-word.

A Google spokesperson told The Guardian that the company “deeply regrets this error. We have removed the offensive notice and are working to prevent it from happening again.”