The BBC‘s outgoing director-general has said an N-word slur at the Baftas was left unmuted in TV coverage because it was not heard by anyone in the broadcast truck covering the event.
Tim Davie made the claim in a letter to MPs in which he also told of how he ‘profoundly regrets’ the error in the broadcast of the ceremony on February 22.
Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson could be heard by viewers shouting as Sinners stars Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented the award for special visual effects.
Last week, the Culture, Media and Sport committee wrote to Mr Davie ‘seeking an explanation’ for how a racial slur ended up in the broadcast ‘in spite of a two-hour time delay’.
In a response letter to committtee chair Dame Caroline Dinenage, Mr Davie has now said: ‘I’d like to make clear: although the racial slur was symptomatic of a disability and an involuntary tic, it should never have been broadcast.
‘It was a genuine mistake, and we take full responsibility for our error.’
Responding to questions about the incident, including why the language was not edited out prior to it being broadcast, Mr Davie said there had been two incidents during which the slur was shouted out.
Regarding the first one, while Jordan and Lindo were on stage, he said: ‘Although this is the subject of ongoing review, our initial evidence gathering has found that no-one in the on-site broadcast truck heard this when they were watching the live feed.
The BBC’s outgoing director general Tim Davie, pictured outside Portcullis House in central London on January 8 2026, has said he ‘profoundly regrets’ the Baftas N-word controversy
John Davidson was heard yelling the N-word during a presentation by actors Michael B. Jordan (left) and Delroy Lindo (right) during the Baftas awards ceremony on February 22
‘Because no-one in the broadcast truck was aware it was on the live feed, there was therefore no editorial decision made to leave the language in.’
Mr Davie wrote that the slur was shouted out for the second time as Sinners star Wunmi Mosaku accepted her award for best supporting actress.
He said: ‘In that instance, the edit team did hear the racial slur on the feed and removed it immediately from the version of the ceremony that would be broadcast later that evening.
‘These two incidents happened within 10 minutes of each other. It appears that soon after the second incident, the edit team in the truck started receiving reports, including from Bafta, that a racial slur had been shouted during the ceremony.
‘Our understanding at this point is that the team editing the show in the truck mistakenly believed they had edited out the incident that was being referenced, on the basis that they had heard and edited out the slur shouted out during the best supporting actress award.
‘Therefore, when they were told a racial slur had been shouted, they believed they had removed it.’
Mr Davie said that some of the edits made to the ceremony before its broadcast were ‘made in line with the protocols we had put in place in advance to deal with offensive language’.
He continued: ‘We are now looking in more detail why the team did not ascertain sooner that there had been two instances of the use of the racial slur, and why post broadcast further action was not taken to edit or remove the programme from iPlayer.’
John Davidson is pictured here arriving at the BAFTA British Academy Film Awards at London’s Royal Festival Hall on the evening of Sunday 22 February 2026
The BBC previously announced that its Executive Complaints Unit would complete a ‘fast-tracked investigation’ after reviewing the Bafta coverage, and called the broadcast of the racial slur a ‘serious mistake‘.
In the letter, Mr Davie also outlined the stipulations that the BBC had agreed with Bafta to ‘mitigate the risk’ of Mr Davidson’s Tourette’s syndrome, including briefing the audience about the possibility of verbal tics, and preparing lines for host Alan Cumming to read in case of any offensive language.
Also among the mitigations, Mr Davie wrote: ‘If there were any involuntary racial tics or hate speech, this would be edited out.’
Mr Davie announced last November he would resign as BBC director general, following controversy over misleading editing of a Donald Trump speech in an episode of BBC show Panorama.
Mr Davidson, whose Tourette’s causes him to involuntarily shout out words, has said he is ‘deeply mortified’ by what happened at the Baftas, where I Swear, a film about his life and struggles, was nominated.
Bafta apologised after the film awards and said it took ‘full responsibility’ for putting its guests in a ‘difficult situation’.
In a letter to members, Bafta chairwoman Sara Putt and chief executive Jane Millichip said a ‘comprehensive’ review was under way, adding: ‘Please rest assured how seriously we are taking this.’
Davidson, 54, was diagnosed with Tourette’s in his childhood, when little was known about the condition, and has since dedicated his life to raising awareness.
Jordan and Lindo, stars of the movie Sinners, did not react on stage but ceremony host Alan Cumming later said, ‘We apologise if it has caused offence’.
Mr Davidson made the decision to leave the ceremony halfway through after a series of outbursts.
He later apologised for the ‘pain, upset and misunderstanding’ caused by Tourette’s, writing on social media: ”I’ve been waiting all week until the dust settles after the weekend at the BAFTAs in London.
‘I would like to thank each and every one of you who have shown love, support and solidarity towards myself and the rest of the Tourette’s Community. Your kind words and support have got me through a very difficult week.
‘Whilst I will never apologies (sic) for having Tourette syndrome, i will apologise for any pain, upset and misunderstanding that it may create.
‘This past week has been tough, and has reminded me that what I do raising awareness for such a misunderstood condition, there is still a long way to go and I will keep on keeping on until this is achieved.’
He went on to thank fans again for their support, adding: ‘I love you all.’
Despite there being a two-hour time delay on the BBC‘s coverage of the Baftas, Davidson’s N-word slur was aired to millions tuning in on BBC1 and could still be heard on iPlayer on Monday morning.
A BBC spokesperson later said: ‘Some viewers may have heard strong and offensive language during the BAFTA Film Awards. This arose from involuntary verbal tics associated with Tourette syndrome, and as explained during the ceremony it was not intentional.
‘We apologise that this was not edited out prior to broadcast and it will now be removed from the version on BBC iPlayer.’
In a note sent to staff on Friday, seen by the Press Association, the corporation’s chief content officer Kate Phillips said she had personally been in ‘regular communication’ with Bafta, adding she was ‘having listening sessions with a number of my teams in BBC Content’.
She said: ‘I know this incident has caused much upset and hurt. Over the past few days, I’ve been in email contact with many of you and had phone calls and conversations too.
‘I’ve really appreciated your honesty as you’ve detailed the impact this has had. I know there is frustration that my first email didn’t give more detail, but I thought it was more important to reach out to you all at that point, than wait until I had a further update.’
Davidson’s actions divided opinion, with Django Unchained star Jamie Foxx fuming on social media: ‘Out of all the words you could’ve said Tourette’s makes you say that. Nah he meant that s***. Unacceptable.’
Charity Tourette’s Action said it ‘deeply understands that these words can cause hurt’ but insisted they were ‘not a reflection of a person’s beliefs, intentions or character’.
The organisation said it was ‘incredibly proud’ of Mr Davidson and those involved in the film I Swear, with a spokesperson adding: ‘We also want to address the negative comments that have surfaced following John’s involuntary vocal tics during the ceremony.
‘We deeply understand that these words can cause hurt but at the same time it is vital that the public understands a fundamental truth about Tourette syndrome, tics are involuntary. They are not a reflection of a person’s beliefs, intentions or character.’
Following the initial controversy, Bafta said in a statement: ‘We take full responsibility for putting our guests in a very difficult situation and we apologise to all.
‘We will learn from this, and keep inclusion at the core of all we do, maintaining our belief in film and storytelling as a critical conduit for compassion and empathy.’
They continued: ‘Early in the ceremony a loud tic in the form of a profoundly offensive term was heard by many people in the room.
‘Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage at the time, and we apologise unreservedly to them, and to all those impacted.
‘We would like to thank Michael and Delroy for their incredible dignity and professionalism.
‘During the ceremony, John chose to leave the auditorium and watch the rest of the ceremony from a screen, and we would like to thank him for his dignity and consideration of others, on what should have been a night of celebration for him.’