BBC's The One Show has been hit with more than 100 complaints after former Downton Abbey star Dan Stevens' made a jibe at the Boris Johnson, live on air earlier this month. At the time the actor was being interviewed by The One Show presenters Alex Jones and Jermaine Jenas about his latest acting role.
But the 39-year-old actor left viewers and his fellow hosts in shock on April 13, when he decided to poke fun at the PM following the news, just a day earlier, that Boris Johnson and the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak were to be fined for breaking lockdown restrictions. Dan's dig came about when the hosts asked the Beauty and the Beast star to explain what his new TV series 'Gaslit' was about, reports The Manchester Evening News.
It premiered on StarzPlay on April 24 and tells the story of President Nixon and the infamous Watergate scandal of 1972. Explaining the plot Dan said: "What you've got is a criminal for a leader who is wrapped in a messy war, embroiled in a stupid scandal and surrounded by ambitious idiots and really should resign".
The actor then paused briefly before adding: "I’m sorry that’s the intro to Boris Johnson, I've just said the intro to Boris Johnson, I'm so sorry". Presenter Jermaine had to contain his laughter and looked away from the star, whilst Alex was trying to keep a straight face and both glossed over the comments.
The BBC's fortnightly audience report has now revealed that 102 viewers made a complaint to the BBC about the interview with the main issue being cited as 'Bias against Boris Johnson".
A statement on the BBC website posted on April 20 reads: "The One Show is a live topical entertainment programme where the hosts are joined by a variety of guests to discuss a broad range of subjects. Actor Dan Stevens was a guest on Wednesday 13 April and made comments about Boris Johnson in response to a question from the hosts about his new TV project before going on to talk about the series. These comments were taken in jest and the hosts moved the conversation on to the focus of the interview".
The One Show continues on BBC One and BBC iPlayer weekdays from 7pm.
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