BBC Chair Attended BAFTAs as Racial Slur Aired Unedited, Broadcaster Faces Scrutiny

The chair of the BBC was present in the auditorium when a racial slur was shouted during the BAFTA Film Awards, an incident that was later broadcast unedited on BBC One, according to people familiar with the matter.

Samir Shah, who leads the BBC’s board, attended Sunday’s ceremony at London’s Royal Festival Hall in his capacity as a BAFTA member. He played no role in the live broadcast operation and is not part of the BBC’s executive management, a person close to him said.

The broadcaster has faced mounting criticism after failing to remove an outburst by Tourette syndrome campaigner John Davidson from the program, which aired roughly two hours after the ceremony concluded. The BBC also left the stream available on its iPlayer platform for about 15 hours before taking it down.

Davidson’s verbal tics were frequent throughout the evening, but scrutiny has centered on his use of a racial slur while actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting an award. According to attendees seated toward the rear of the hall, the remarks were audible in the room and prompted audible reactions from the audience.

The BBC and producer Penny Lane have said the slur was not heard in the outside broadcast truck during recording. However, industry figures have questioned why no message was relayed from the auditorium to the gallery to ensure the remark was cut from the delayed transmission.

Warner Bros. Discovery executives in attendance heard the outburst and raised concerns with BAFTA shortly afterward, according to people familiar with the exchange. They were assured a message would be passed to the BBC. BAFTA declined to comment. Both organizations have since launched internal reviews.

Compounding the controversy was the placement of a microphone near Davidson. In an interview with Variety, he questioned the decision, saying he expected the BBC to exercise physical control over the sound during the awards.

The episode adds to a series of governance challenges for Shah and the BBC board. The corporation has navigated multiple editorial controversies in recent months, including criticism over its handling of politically sensitive programming and live-event broadcasts.

BBC Chief Content Officer Kate Phillips told staff this week that the slur “aired in error and we would never have knowingly allowed this to be broadcast,” adding that a second racial slur was successfully edited out. Director-General Tim Davie was not present at the ceremony, according to people familiar with the matter.

The BBC declined to comment on Shah’s attendance at the event.