Comic Relief swearing rapped
THE Red Nose Day telethon has been criticised on social media for its “dreadful” technical issues and for 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 Saturday morning. 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 most-watched show of the day.
An average of 6.2 million viewers tuned in to watch the programme. It scored a peak of 7.6 million.
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. 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 wrote on Twitter: “Hey Lennie the sound is atrocious here too £O2 £RedNoseDay (sic).”
Later in the evening, a technical glitch prompted host Russell Brand to say “f***ing hell”.
A BBC spokesperson said: “There was a minor technical issue that meant the show was off-air for a minute, but quickly restored.”
More complaints flooded in over the use of swearwords before the watershed, including during a Mrs Brown’s Boys skit with former JLS star Aston Merrygold.
“@comicrelief Inappropriate content before watershed. Watching with my children before 8pm...inuendos, Mrs Brown?? £RedNoseDay (sic),” one viewer said.