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The Fashion Central
The Fashion Central
Jane Miller

BBC Breakfast Viewers Switch Off in Anger over Nigel Farage Interview

Photo by Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images

BBC Breakfast landed in hot water with viewers on Wednesday morning (April 9) after airing an interview with Nigel Farage that many felt lacked proper scrutiny. With the local elections fast approaching, the Reform UK leader was invited onto the show by hosts Jon Kay and Sarah Campbell to discuss why voters should consider backing his party.

The interview covered Reform UK’s position and whether a solid election performance could elevate them to a more influential role in British politics. But what got people talking wasn’t what Farage said — it was what wasn’t said back.

Plenty of viewers took to social media to vent their frustration, accusing the BBC of giving Farage a platform without pushing back hard enough. One unimpressed viewer posted: “A ‘partly satirical’ broadcast from Farage there, totally unchallenged by #BBCBreakfast! And local elections are only a couple of weeks away! Just fancy that!”,  reports the Express.

Someone else echoed the same feeling: “#nigelfarage let to ramble on + on with no interruptions as #BBCBreakfast gave him a free Party Political Broadcast + way too much credibility.”

The criticism didn’t stop with Farage — the BBC itself was in the firing line. One annoyed watcher questioned the network’s decision to give him airtime at all: “Why oh why are you giving airtime to Farage desperately trying to make himself relevant.”

Another didn’t mince their words: “Turns off #BBCBreakfast #NeverFarage #RegressUK.” The backlash continued with one viewer slamming Farage’s politics altogether, saying: “#BBCBreakfast farage and reform have zero ideas or solutions, all they can do is criticise and put down the others.”

However, not everyone was against the segment. Among the criticism, there was at least one defender who felt Farage was offering genuine proposals, responding to the negativity with: “He’s giving a solution right now.”

Towards the end of the interview, Farage brought up international trade, repeating his pitch to the Labour Party — he’d be willing to step in and negotiate with Donald Trump on the UK’s behalf, after the former US President recently slapped hefty tariffs on global imports entering America.

Still, for many viewers, the damage was done. The impression left behind wasn’t just about Farage’s words, but the way they were received — and for some, it felt a little too much like a free pass on prime-time TV.

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