The BBC has removed a joke comparing Victoria Beckham to the C-word from an episode of Have I Got News for You after its Executive Complaints Unit ruled that the remark was not editorially justified.
The decision follows complaints from two viewers over a joke made by Katherine Ryan while guest presenting the satirical comedy show. The broadcaster has now edited the remark out of the episode, with a revised version replacing the version previously available on iPlayer.
The controversy centres on a segment involving Victoria's husband, David Beckham, and an alleged email in which he used the highly offensive swear word while expressing anger about being overlooked for a knighthood.
What Katherine Ryan Said
During the episode, Ryan referred to the C-word after the programme had discussed Victoria Beckham.
She told the panellists: 'I don't know that we are allowed to broadcast the C-word, but you did reference Victoria Beckham earlier, and we'll allow that.'
Two viewers subsequently complained, describing the joke as 'gratuitously offensive'.
The Executive Complaints Unit reviewed the complaint and agreed that the comparison involving Victoria was not justified under the corporation's editorial guidelines.
In its ruling, the ECU said: 'There was no justification for a comment which presented Victoria Beckham as equivalent to a particularly offensive word.'
The unit also stressed that the editorial rules do not require programmes to avoid offending altogether. Instead, potentially offensive material must have an editorial justification.
Why David Beckham Was Mentioned
The joke came after discussion of an alleged private email from David Beckham, in which the former footballer used the C-word when referring to the honours committee. The email had been part of a wider discussion on the programme, providing the context for the strong language.
The complaints unit made an important distinction between the use of the swear word in relation to David Beckham's alleged email and Ryan's later joke about Victoria.
According to the ECU, the original use of the word had an editorial justification because the panel was discussing a news story involving David Beckham and directly quoting from leaked emails in which he had allegedly used the term. The subsequent comparison with Victoria, however, was judged to lack the same justification.
This distinction is central to the ruling. The broadcaster was not saying that the C-word could never be broadcast on the programme. Rather, it found that Ryan's specific comment linking the offensive term to Victoria did not have sufficient editorial justification.
The episode was also broadcast with a warning about strong language, in keeping with practice for post-watershed programmes containing particularly strong material.
The Joke Is Removed From iPlayer
Following the ECU's finding, the episode was edited and re-uploaded to iPlayer.
The finding was also reported to senior management at BBC Content.
The change means viewers accessing the episode through the streaming service will no longer see Ryan's original remark about Victoria Beckham. The decision specifically relates to the joke involving Victoria rather than the wider discussion of the alleged David Beckham email.
The ruling also underlines the distinction between offensive language used in a news or documentary context and offensive language used simply as a joke.
For a programme such as Have I Got News for You, which regularly uses satire and controversial humour when discussing current affairs and public figures, that distinction can be particularly significant.
Another Comedy Editing Row
The Victoria Beckham decision comes just days after another comedy-editing controversy involving That Mitchell and Webb Look.
The corporation confirmed that a number of sketches from the comedy series had been removed before its return to iPlayer for its 20th anniversary. Among the material cut were sketches involving blackface, including one in which David Mitchell and Robert Webb appeared in blackface while discussing the subject.
The separate decision attracted criticism from comedians, including John Cleese, who accused the broadcaster of 'social engineering'.
The two cases involve different programmes and different editorial decisions, but their timing has brought renewed attention to how the corporation handles older comedy material and jokes that may now be considered offensive.
In the Have I Got News for You case, however, the ruling is more specific. It does not condemn the programme's use of strong language generally. Instead, the ECU found that the particular comparison made by Ryan about Victoria Beckham was not editorially justified.
For now, the practical result is clear: the Victoria Beckham joke has been removed from the iPlayer version of the episode following the complaints and subsequent ECU ruling.
