After a record number of complaints about the BBC’s ‘wall-to-wall’ coverage of Prince Philip’s death, the channel is set to air just six hours of the Duke of Edinburgh funeral coverage.
The BBC will reportedly begin its six hours of coverage at 11am on BBC One with The Duke: In His Own Words, one of his last interviews conducted by Daily Mail’s Robert Hardman.
There were 110,000 complaints about the BBC coverage after Prince Philip died on Friday.
The six-hour funeral coverage comes after the BBC acknowledged the complaints and is ‘grateful for all feedback, and we always listen to the response from our audiences,’ The Daily Mail reports.
(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Other programming will go on ahead on BBC One from 5pm on Saturday, including the FA Cup semi-final between Chelsea and Manchester City, I Can See Your Voice, Casualty and Keeping Faith.
After news broke of the Duke of Edinburgh’s death at midday on Friday, the BBC and other channels immediately axed their usual schedules.
Popular programmes such as EastEnders and the Masterchef final were dropped and replaced by coverage of Philip’s death, as well as tributes.
(Image: GC Images)
The coverage sparked 110,000 complaints from viewers which marked the highest number of complaints ever published in the UK about television programming.
In the latest figures released by the BBC’s fortnightly complaints report, it read: “The higher than usual level of correspondence this fortnight was driven by reaction to the amount of coverage given to the death of the Duke of Edinburgh which accounted for 104,010 complaints during this period.
(Image: PA)
“At time of publication, the overall total was 109,741.”
The BBC has responded with a statement, saying: “The passing of HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was a significant event which generated a lot of interest both nationally and internationally.
“We acknowledge some viewers were unhappy with the level of coverage given and impact this had on the billed TV and radio schedules.
“We do not make such changes without careful consideration and the decisions made reflect the role the BBC plays as the national broadcaster during moments of national significance.
“We are grateful for all feedback and we always listen to the response from our audiences.”
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