TV bosses left with Red Nose red faces
THE Red Nose Day telethon has been criticised on social media for its “dreadful” technical issues and the inclusion of pre-watershed profanity.
Comic Relief’s fundraising programme aired from 7pm on Friday across BBC One and BBC Two until the early hours of yesterday It was packed with comedy skits, celebrity appearances, musical performances and the highly anticipated Love Actually sequel.
Viewers were divided over several of the comedy segments of the show, including one in which a fake penis was shown before the 9pm watershed, and many were unimpressed as the broadcast was marred by sound problems.
But despite the divisive response from viewers on social media, it was an overall success in fundraising and viewing figures.
The star-studded telethon had raised £71,308,475 by the end of the evening, Comic Relief said, and the hours-long effort was the mostwatched show of the day.
An average of 6.2million viewers tuned in to watch the programme. It scored a peak of 7.6million.
While the pre-recorded Love Actually film, featuring returning stars including Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley and Colin Firth, was hailed a success, several of the programme’s live elements left viewers feeling cold.
Some of the segments were difficult to hear due to the “diabolical” audio. Host Sir Lenny Henry was even forced to ask the studio at London’s O2 Arena audience to be quiet.
Many viewers complained they could barely hear what was happening on their TV screens.
One viewer declared it the “worst live show of its history” due to the audio and “really bad” editing.