Good Morning Britain has received 508 Ofcom complaints after Susanna Reid’s controversial comments about Scotland’s World Cup bank holiday sparked anger from viewers.
Susanna’s comments spark hundreds of complaints to Ofcom (Image: ITV)
Good Morning Britain faces hundreds of Ofcom complaints Comments by Susanna Reed Due to which anger spread among the audience.
The program received 508 complaints According to the regulator, in relation to the episode broadcast on June 9.
In a statement to The Daily Record, Ofcom confirmed “complaints related to comments made during the discussion about the Scottish World Cup bank holiday”.
That special edition of Good Morning Britain was seen ed balls And co-presenter Susannah discusses reports that Scotland will be given a bank holiday to qualify for the World Cup.
Ed commented on the ITV daytime show: “This morning, at our five o’clock meeting, Susanna said, ‘I can’t believe it, the game is on Sunday morning, and they get a bank holiday more than 24 hours later,'” reports. mirror.
“I said, ‘What?’ I couldn’t believe it. I never realized all this was happening.”
Addressing the audience’s reaction, Susannah said: “It’s outrageous really. I mean, how long will it take the Scots to get over the fact that they’ve just played their first match?”
The audience became angry after hearing this, with Susannah later apologizing.
One fumed: “There have been a lot of anti-Scottish comments from your presenters and guests this morning. Do you realize your show is shown on Scottish television? Unfortunately.”
Another criticized: “Extremely anti-Scottish. Not everyone gets it, and not everyone wants it. I don’t even like football, but I thought your comments were unnecessary!!!”
Yet another angry viewer said: “Not everyone is getting it. Jumping on the anti-Scotland bandwagon, I see.”
According to The National Scot, ITV also released a statement following the backlash, reading: “The editorial team feels discussion of the fact that some football fans may be drinking while watching a match would be inappropriate in a discussion of a home country’s participation in an international tournament.
“There was no manipulative intent towards Scottish fans in particular – it was a reflection of the culture of watching football in Britain.”
It continued: “We are aware that this coverage has been distorted on social media by briefly edited clips that do not represent the full four-minute discussion. After reviewing the entire segments, our feeling is that the issue of drinking and football would have been raised in any home country discussion of an extra day off after the game. However, we note that such discussions can devolve into national stereotypes. This was not the intention, and was in no way the focus of the discussion.”
The publication noted that ITV also said that the Good Morning Britain editorial team had “taken into account concerns about Ofcom’s rules relating to generally accepted standards, reasonable accuracy and reasonable impartiality, but taking into account the light-hearted nature of the news review discussion and the discussion that took place later in the programme, consider that the program was in line with Ofcom’s standards”.
Susanna later apologized, admitting that she had “offended” fans and was accused of “jealousy”.
After welcoming two Scottish broadcasters to the program earlier this week who questioned Susanna over her comments, the former BBC Breakfast star said: “My Scottish ancestors will be turning in their graves I can only apologise.
“I must say, it’s outrageous that everyone in Scotland hasn’t got the day off as it’s a bank holiday.”
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV1 and ITVX.
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