In a year of fiery clashes and tumultuous TV segments, one war of words between a divisive veteran journalist and a Palestinian politician took the crown for most complained about moment.
Julia Hartley-Brewer’s heated exchange with Dr Mustafa Barghouti, the general secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative, on TalkTV on 3 January received 17,366 complaints, media watchdog Ofcom has said.
The 56-year-old presenter was discussing the Israel-Hamas war with Dr Barghouti after a senior official in the militant group Hamas, Saleh Arouri, was killed.
She was seen becoming agitated with her guest and accused him of not letting her “finish a sentence”, saying “maybe you’re not used to women talking”, seemingly implying that his background meant he did not like women to speak.
After assessing the complaints, Ofcom said it told TalkTV to “take extra care to ensure that potentially highly offensive comments are editorially justified”.
The volume of complaints received for Hartley-Brewer’s interview was almost double those to the most complained about programme of last year – Laurence Fox’s “misogynistic comments” about female journalist Ava Evans, in which he asked “who would want to shag that?”, received 8,867 complaints.
The figures do not include complaints about the BBC, which are handled by the corporation in the first instance.
Over the year, Ofcom received 69,080 complaints about 9,065 cases, a drop from 2023’s total of 69,236 complaints.
The watchdog also launched 43 broadcast standards investigations, finding in 40 of these cases that its rules had been broken.
But Brewer’s clash wasn’t the only one to draw the ire of Ofcom. Below are the ten most divisive TV moments of 2024.
The 10 most complained-about programmes of 2024
“Sorry to be a woman speaking,” Hartley-Brewer slams Dr Marghouti in Israel-Gaza war exchange
1. Julia Hartley-Brewer’s exchange with Palestinian politician Dr Mustafa Barghouti on her TalkTV show (17,366 complaints).
The heated conversation about the Israel-Hamas war saw Hartley-Brewer accused of stereotyping a community by suggesting Dr Barghouti did not let women like her speak.
Zarah Sultana MP begs for Southport riots to be called ‘Islamophobic’ and ‘racist’
2. An interview with Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper on ITV’s Good Morning Britain (16,851 complaints).
As Sultana attempted to explain the importance of calling the riots “Islamophobic” and “racist”, Balls repeatedly interrupted her while also accusing her of failing to answer his questions. Garraway was also criticised for appearing to subtly side with Balls by telling Sultana: “We have to ask you questions as well”.
Viewers also took issue with the fact that Yvette Cooper and Balls are married, questioning their impartiality, with around 1,000 complaints.
The media regulator said its assessment found Sultana was “given ample opportunity to express her views and respond to the questions put to her”, and it reminded ITV of the need to make relationships, such as the fact Balls and Cooper are married, clear to viewers and their responsibility to due impartiality.
Love Islanders Joey and Sean take their behaviour too far
3. Behaviour of Love Island contestants Joey Essex and Sean Stone (1,832 complaints).
Viewers complained about Essex and Stone’s treatment of their fellow islanders as the Towie star struggled to let go of his ex Grace Jones, and attacked winners Mimii Ngulube and Josh Oyinsan for not being genuinely interested in each other.
Stone was called out as Essex’s “sidekick” on social media as he assisted him in the confrontations.
XL bully debate descends into chaos
4. Debate about whether XL bullies should be put down on ITV’s Good Morning Britain (1,777 complaints).
As the debate around the possession of XL bully dogs raged, viewers complained about an “insensitive” segment on GMB that saw panelists debate whether the animals should be killed. The debate descended into chaos and a “shouting match”.
Abusive husband puts down Emmerdale character Belle King’s dog
5. An Emmerdale storyline featuring a dog being poisoned (1,193 complaints).
Dog-lovers were left seriously offended after the abusive husband of Belle King, used a syringe to poison her dog Piper as part of an ongoing coercive control storyline.
Episodes of the ITV soap on 27 and 28 May sparked 1,193 complaints over scenes which saw vet Tom King cruelly murder the innocent pooch.
‘Stop the boats’: Contestant slammed for offensive comment
6. A comment made by Big Brother contestant Sarah which some viewers considered to be racially offensive (747 complaints).
Sarah used the anti-immigration slogan “stop the boats” in a conversation with Black contestant Hannah. She was given a formal warning by producers on the show.
Sunak v Starmer: ITV’s general election debate
7. ITV general election debate between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer (710 complaints).
Viewers felt the Tory prime minister had too much time to discuss his views ahead of the UK’s general election. Among the complaints about the debate, were viewers left feeling dissatisfied about the nature of a question relating to Israel’s military action in Gaza.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage’s appearance on Good Morning Britain
8. Interview with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage on ITV’s Good Morning Britain (705 complaints).
Ofcom found that although the line of questioning was “robust”, Farage had adequate time to formulate and provide a response about his political policies.
Nick Ferrari accused of “trivialising” nut allergies
9. Comments made by broadcaster and LBC radio host Nick Ferrari on ITV’s This Morning which some viewers claimed trivialised nut allergies (647 complaints).
Josie Gibson and Dermot O’Leary were presenting the ITV programme when Ferrari responded to reports of a new airline aimed at dogs. He spoke about what he would like to see on planes, discussing peanuts and saying he cannot get them because people could “drop dead or something”.
Channel 4 removes pro-Palestine symbol from contestant’s t-shirt
10. Complaints about imagery on a Big Brother contestant’s T-shirt which was claimed to feature a pro-Palestine symbol (553 complaints).
Contestant Ali Bromley, 38, who is a forensic psychologist, wore a top depicting a map of Israel as a watermelon on the show’s Tuesday, 22 October episode. Fans threatened to boycott the show as a result.
