BBC executives have thrown out a complaint after “Derry” was accepted as a correct answer on the hit show Pointless.
The city in Northern Ireland, near the border with the republic, is officially known as Londonderry by the UK Government – and a viewer complained that this term was the only correct answer.
In the show Pointless, contestants have to give an answer to a question or category which none of a previously surveyed 100 people have given.
In the broadcast in question, which was shown on BBC One on November 11 last year, contestants were asked to name a city in the UK without the letter A in the name.
The criteria which answers were judged against was “the updated list of cities with official city status published by the UK Government website at the end of August 2022”, according to the BBC’s executive complaints unit.
A contestant answered “Derry” – which was accepted as correct despite the UK Government’s official position.
The BBC complaints unit reported: “A viewer complained an inaccurate answer had been accepted by the presenter, leading to one of the contesting couples being unfairly prevented from going through to the next round.
“The ECU considered whether the programme met the requirement for due accuracy set out in the guidelines.”
It concluded: “In the ECU’s view, it was within the discretion of an entertainment programme like Pointless to allow such a reply.”
The naming of Derry is contentious, with street signs in Northern Ireland frequently graffitied to remove the word “London” from the start of the city’s UK Government name.
