BBC under fire for cutting Donald Trump jokes from David Tennant Bafta speech: ‘Chickens!’
The BBC edited out several jokes about Donald Trump from David Tennant’s opening monologue during its broadcast of the Bafta Film Awards on Sunday night.
The ceremony, which was broadcast from 7pm at London’s Royal Festival Hall, was edited down from three hours to a two-hour broadcast.
The pre-recorded show, which aired two hours after the live ceremony, saw multiple Trump-related quips from Tennant’s performance removed from the final edit.
Among the cut material was Tennant’s joke suggesting Trump hadn’t seen The Apprentice film because “it’s a 15 [the film’s UK rating] and it’s not on Nickelodeon.”
The host’s Beetlejuice-inspired quip was also removed, where he said: “Donald Trump. I’m worried. I’ve said his name three times. It’s like Beetlejuice – I have summoned him.”
A BBC spokesman told The Independent: “The nature of the show is that it’s broadcast with a short delay, and edits have to be made due to time constraints.”
Several other segments from Tennant’s monologue were trimmed, including jokes about the film Conclave where he compared it to Pop Idol and referenced Stanley Tucci’s character making bellini drinks.
The edits were made as part of the usual process of condensing the three-hour ceremony into a two-hour broadcast.
Despite the cuts, several Trump-related jokes remained in the final broadcast version.
Tennant’s quip about The Brutalist made it to air, where he said: “It’s the boldest architecture in film this year, apart from Donald Trump’s hair in The Apprentice.”
The host then smoothly transitioned with “talking of villains,” which received loud applause from the audience at the Royal Festival Hall.
His comparison of Trump to other screen villains also survived the edit, where he likened the former president to “Nosferatu, Hugh Grant in Heretic, and most chilling of all, [Wallace and Gromit antagonist] Feather McGraw.”
This latter moment particularly delighted audience members Mark Hamill and Kate Winslet.
The decision to cut the jokes divided viewers on social media, with one blasting the BBC as “not fit for purpose” on X.
Others slammed the organisation as “fascist” and “chickens” for omitting the jokes.
“Pathetic of the BBC to cut these,” a fourth wrote.
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However, others supported the move with one claiming: “No one cares what this guy has to say about American politics. Stick to acting.”
“Thank goodness,” one breathed a sigh of relief.
“David Tenant has realised yet his crying about Trump isn’t going to matter one bit,” a third sniped.
Tennant opened the ceremony with a musical performance of The Proclaimers’ “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles),” singing that he had “walked 500 miles just to host one BAFTAs more.”
The musical number featured appearances from James McAvoy, Anna Kendrick, Selena Gomez, and Colman Domingo, who joined in from their seats in the auditorium.