BBC head offers explanation for how N-word made it to air at BAFTAs

"No-one in the on-site broadcast truck heard this when they were watching the live feed and there was therefore no editorial decision made to leave the language in. It appears that soon after the second incident, the edit team in the truck started receiving reports, including from BAFTA, that a racial slur had been shouted during the ceremony."

"Our understanding at this point is that the team editing the show in the truck mistakenly believed they had edited out the incident that was being referenced, on the basis that they had heard and edited out the slur shouted out during the Best Supporting Actress award. Therefore, when they were told a racial slur had been shouted, they believed they had removed it."

"Our current understanding is that the on-site team did not believe that the slur was audible on the broadcast, and the show remained on iPlayer unedited that evening. The other time the word was used still made it onto the BBC iPlayer for about 15 hours before it was edited out."

BBC Director General Tim Davie explained that a racial slur shouted by Tourette's activist John Davidson during the BAFTAs aired due to operational failures. The on-site broadcast team did not hear the first involuntary outburst, so no editorial decision was made to remove it. When a second similar incident occurred ten minutes later during an award acceptance, the editing team mistakenly believed they had already removed the slur being reported to them, referring to the second incident they had caught. This confusion resulted in the first outburst remaining in the broadcast and on iPlayer for approximately 15 hours before removal. Davidson confirmed other outbursts were successfully edited out before airing.

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