Ofcom will not be taking action after receiving more than 8,000 complaints about Adjoa Andoh saying the Buckingham Palace balcony was “terribly white”.
The Bridgerton actress made the remark during ITV’s coverage of the coronation on May 6, the watchdog said on Monday.
Andoh, who plays Lady Agatha Danbury in the Netflix show, said: “Looking at all those young people, there is a bit of me that has gone from the rich diversity of the Abbey to the terribly white balcony. I’m very struck by that.”
Andoh later appeared on BBC Radio 4 to clarify what she meant and apologise for remarking on the moment Charles and Camilla appeared on the balcony at Buckingham Palace to wave at the public with their family.
Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, said it will not pursue the 8,371 complaints further on the basis of ITV’s and its guests’ “right to freedom of expression”.
The watchdog said viewers also objected to ITV News presenters Tom Bradby and Chris Ship referencing the remark.
A statement from Ofcom said: “We have concluded our assessment of complaints we received about a comment made during ITV’s coverage of the coronation of King Charles III, and can confirm we will not be pursuing these further.
“We received 8,371 complaints from viewers about a comment made by actress Adjoa Andoh during the live broadcast, which focused on the appearance of the royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.”
“While we understand some viewers had strong feelings about this comment, after careful consideration we have concluded that the comment was a personal observation which was part of a wide-ranging panel discussion which also touched on other diversity-related topics, and which contained a range of viewpoints.
“Our decision to not pursue these complaints further also takes into account broadcasters’ and guests’ right to freedom of expression.”
Acknowledging the backlash she received after appearing as a guest pundit for ITV, Andoh previously told BBC Radio 4: “I was talking about the day and how marvellous it was and then looking at the balcony at the end and suddenly went, ‘Oh, it’s so white’ because the day had been so, so mixed and I didn’t mean to upset anybody.”
The King’s coronation service at Westminster Abbey was watched by 18.8 million viewers in the UK across 11 channels and services, according to ratings released by the research organisation Barb.
