2024 has had its fair share of controversial TV moments, but now we know which ones received the most Ofcom complaints.
It’s no surprise that TV shows such as Good Morning Britain, Love Island and Big Brother are on it. But even the likes of ITV’s Emmerdale made it onto the list year.
Ofcom has revealed this year it has received more than 60,000 complaints. But from all of them, only 40 actually related to something that broke the regulator’s rules.
It’s important to note BBC shows don’t appear on the list because the corporation deals with its own complaints, so the Top 10 is dominated by ITV. So, starting at the bottom, here are the top 10 most complained about TV moments of 2024.
10. Big Brother T-shirt complaint
In at number 10 was an episode of Big Brother where winner Ali Bromley wore a top featuring a map of Israel and Palestine as a watermelon. More than 500 complaints were sent to Ofcom over the pro-Palestine T-shirt.
Ofcom said: “The majority of complaints were about imagery on a contestant’s clothing. Taking into account, among other things, that the prominence and duration of the image was limited, it was consistent with the individual’s right to personal expression. It did not represent affiliation to a terrorist organisation. We did not find grounds to pursue further.”
9. This Morning nut allergies
Back in May, frequent This Morning contributor Nick Ferrari was heavily criticised online after his comments regarding nut allergies.
There have been many cases of celebs speaking out about the danger of eating nuts on a plane, especially as more and more face life threatening incidents.
But at the time Nick said: “If you don’t like peanuts then don’t get on a plane because I do. And I can’t eat them because someone at the back of the plane is going to drop dead or something.”
In response to this, Ofcom revealed there were many complaints sent in. But the regulator “took into account that the comments were made in response to a hypothetical scenario by a media personality well-known for his provocative opinions”. Ofcom also “noted” that Nick apologised the following day.
8. Good Morning Britain: Susanna Reid vs Nigel Farage
A huge 700 complaints were sent to Ofcom after an interview between Susanna Reid and Nigel Farage got heated.
Viewers were angry that the host kept interrupting Nigel, and wouldn’t hear his opinions.
Ofcom agreed the “line of questioning was robust” but acknowledged that “most viewers of this programme were likely to expect this type of interview with political figures”. And it believed that Nigel was given “sufficient opportunity” to say his part.
7. Sunak and Starmer’s political debate sparks Ofcom complaints
This one isn’t too surprising as it was a political debate just before a General Election.
So, when the two men were going head to head for the spot as Prime Minister, there were a lot of Ofcom complaints made.
In response, Ofcom said: “In our view, both Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer were given sufficient opportunity throughout the programme to respond individually to the policy questions raised. On the issue of Labour’s tax plans, Sir Keir was able to robustly challenge the veracity of Rishi Sunak’s claims.”
6. Big Brother Sarah’s comment
A total of 747 Ofcom complaints were made after contestant Sarah Griffiths said: “Stop the gloats” in a play on words over Rishi Sunak’s election slogan: “Stop the boats.”
However, she later spoke about her comments insisting it “had no racial connotations” but she was just “making fun of political slogans”.
While Ofcom acknowledged viewer’s concerns, they believe the “potential for offence was quickly made clear by Big Brother” along with recognising that Sarah apologised during the broadcast.
5. Emmerdale’s Tom’s abuse against a dog
Tom King’s abusive storyline has angered a lot of Emmerdale fans over the past few months. So, in episodes that aired in May, fans reached peak upset, as Tom’s attention turned to Belle’s dog.
After injecting the dog, he made Belle believe it had died, causing further emotional abuse.
Ofcom responded: “While we recognise that this scene was an uncomfortable watch for some viewers, no graphic detail of animal abuse was shown. And Tom’s actions were not portrayed in a positive light. We also took into account that this long-running storyline depicting coercive control in a relationship would have been within audience expectations of this soap. Which often tackles challenging themes and issues.”
4. Good Morning Britain XL Bully row
Guests Mike Parry and Kay Taiwo got into a very heated row on Good Morning Britain earlier this year.
The debate centred around whether or not XL bullies should be put down. And, to demonstrate her stance, Kay brought her one onto the show. Mike commented: “If that’s dangerous then it shouldn’t be allowed to mix in society.”
That comment led to 1,777 complaints to Ofcom. The regulator responded that while the comments could cause offence, “they were met with significant challenge from dog trainer and XL Bully owner Ms Taiwo”.
3. Joey Essex’s behaviour on Love Island
Joey Essex appeared as the first-ever celeb to go onto Love Island – and it caused quite a stir. He and contestant Sean continuously tried to cause drama in the villa, leading to 1,832 Ofcom complaints.
The regular responded: “In our view the negative behaviour in the villa was not shown in a positive light. And contestants were seen supporting or apologising to each other.”
2. Ed Balls interview with his wife
Another Good Morning Britain segment makes the list as back in August Ed Balls interviewed his own wife, secretary Yvette Cooper.
This outraged fans due to the bias that would have been at play. And a huge 17,000 people complained about the unfairness.
Ofcom said: “We reminded ITV of the need to make the relationship clear to viewers. And to take care over compliance of any such interviews to ensure that due impartiality is preserved.”
1. TalkTV’s Julia Hartley-Brewer’s heated interview
Taking the number one spot however, was not ITV. Instead Talk TV just beat the Ed Balls interview, with its own heated segment.
Julia Hartley-Brewer interviewed Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti way back in January, and things between the pair got rather heated.
It may have been way back at the start of 2024, but it seems nothing could beat the 17,366 complaints that were put in against it.
In response, Ofcom said: “We told TalkTV to take extra care to ensure that potentially highly offensive comments are editorially justified.”
It’s important to note the channel is no longer broadcast on TV.
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