Complaint
One of the guests in the programme’s newspaper review was the actress Adjoa Andoh, who had observed during the previous day’s coverage of the Coronation that the appearance of the Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace was “terribly white”. A listener complained that the presenter of Broadcasting House had been wrong to say, in an exchange with Ms Andoh, that this observation had not caused upset. The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the BBC’s editorial standards of accuracy.
Outcome
The exchange in question was as follows:
Adjoa Andoh: I think I upset a few people yesterday, I was talking about the day and how marvellous it was and then looking at the balcony at the end. And I suddenly went “ooh, it’s so white” because the day had been so, so mixed. I didn’t mean to upset anybody, I just was…
Presenter: You haven’t upset anyone.
The ECU acknowledged that the presenter’s response, if strictly construed as a statement of fact, would have to be regarded as inaccurate. In the context, however, the ECU thought listeners more likely to take it as a reassurance to Ms Andoh that her participation in the programme was not causing upset. As she herself had referred to the upset her observation had caused, the ECU saw no prospect of listeners being misled as to the facts of the matter.
Not upheld