October 7th 2023.
Fiona Bruce has apologised for referring to an audience member as a ‘Black guy’ during an episode of Question Time. The BBC newsreader, 59, hosts the topical debate programme and during the show’s broadcast on Thursday, she described one audience member as a ‘Black guy’ while choosing him to contribute.
The comment has since been edited out of the BBC iPlayer version of the episode and the corporation has apologised for the presenter’s choice of words. In a statement released through the BBC, Bruce said: ‘I totally understand why my words last night caused offence and I apologise.
‘I have spoken to the audience member directly and explained that usually I can see and describe an item of clothing or otherwise to help sound engineers with a microphone find people in the audience. Last night that was not the case as my view was obscured. In the split second I had, the easiest thing to do would have been to ignore the audience member and move on, but I felt strongly that his voice should be heard. Nonetheless, I feel it was wrong to identify him as I did and that’s why it was removed from the later edited programme.’
The BBC spokesperson said: ‘We regret the choice of words used to identify the audience member. The intent was to ensure his voice was heard, however we recognise we should not have identified him in this way and apologise for any offence caused. As such the recorded version on iPlayer has been edited to remove this.’
This is not the first time Fiona Bruce has been at the centre of controversy. Earlier this year, Bruce apologised after being accused of trivialising domestic violence during a discussion about Stanley Johnson on Question Time. A statement issued later by domestic abuse charity Refuge, for which Bruce is a long-standing ambassador, said she was ‘deeply upset that this has been triggering for survivors’. The charity said: ‘We have spoken to Fiona today, and she is appalled that any of her words have been understood as her minimising domestic violence. We know she is deeply upset that this has been triggering for survivors.’
A spokesperson for the corporation said in a statement: ‘Domestic abuse is abhorrent, and we would never wish to suggest otherwise. When serious allegations are made on air against people or organisations, it is the job of BBC presenters to ensure that the context of those allegations – and any right of reply from the person or organisation – is given to the audience, and this is what Fiona Bruce was doing last night. She was not expressing any personal opinion about the situation.’
Bruce has hosted Question Time since 2019 and took over from long-serving presenter and journalist David Dimbleby. Question Time airs Thursdays at 10.40pm on BBC One.
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