Bafta doubles down on preparations for Sunday TV awards after N-word fallout

"During February's event, microphones picked up John Davidson, who has Tourette syndrome, involuntarily using the N-word from his seat in the audience while the actors Delroy Lindo and Michael B Jordan were on stage presenting a prize. The film I Swear, inspired by Davidson's experiences dealing with TS, was up for a number of awards. Show host Alan Cumming apologised immediately and the word which was repeated by Davidson later should have been edited out as the Baftas are filmed with a delay."

"But the production team (who were in a truck outside the ceremony venue) did not hear the earlier occasion and only edited out Davidson's second use of it. The incident led Bafta to review its planning and procedures, and apologise unreservedly. There was also a review and an apology from the BBC, which aired the show and admitted it breached its own editorial standards in airing the N-word and also made a serious mistake in not removing the footage on iPlayer until the following morning, which aggravated the offence."

"One BBC source said: It's usually sunny the day of the TV awards, but the heat will be felt even more this year until the final credits roll and the reaction on social media is checked. During February's event, microphones picked up John Davidson, who has Tourette syndrome, involuntarily using the N-word from his seat in the audience while the actors Delroy Lindo and Michael B Jordan were on stage presenting a prize."

Scrutiny around the Bafta TV Awards includes attention to coverage procedures after racially offensive words were broadcast during the February Bafta film awards. During that event, microphones picked up John Davidson, who has Tourette syndrome, involuntarily using the N-word while Delroy Lindo and Michael B Jordan presented a prize. The host Alan Cumming apologized immediately, and the production team edited out only a later repetition because the earlier incident was not heard in time. Bafta reviewed planning and procedures and apologized unreservedly, and the BBC also apologized for breaching editorial standards and for failing to remove the footage from iPlayer until the next morning. Preparations for the TV awards now include heightened monitoring and serious handling of coverage.

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