GB News’ Dan Wootton Tonight Incident Tops Ofcom’s 2023 Complaints Record

Suspended GB News host Dan Wootton earned the unenviable award of most complaints for his show. (Screengrab via GB News/Youtube)

Media watchdog Ofcom revealed Wednesday that in 2023 the number of complaints it received doubled on last year and that a controversial September episode of GB News’ Dan Wootton Tonight topped the list for most complained about show.

Publishing data on its workload, Ofcom reported that total number of complaints received this year reached an unprecedented 69,236, a sharp spike from 2022’s 36,543.

The two most complained about programmes accounted for almost a quarter of all complaints received. The most complained-about show of the year was Dan Wootton Tonight on GB News, aired on 26 September 2023, which drew 8,867 complaints.

During the show, guest Laurence Fox made misogynistic remarks about journalist Ava Evans that sparked public uproar. The fallout was immediate, with Fox being axed from GB News and Wootton’s immediate suspension. An Ofcom investigation into the incident is still underway.

Behind the GB News controversy, with a close 8,421 complaints, was ITV News’ coverage of King Charles’ Coronation. Viewers filed complaints after remarks made by Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh during her commentary of the grand occasion after she expressed being “very struck” by, in contrast to the diverse crowd in the Abbey, how “terribly white” the royal family appeared when on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

Ofcom dismissed complaints about Andoh’s comments, citing freedom of expression, and said it would not be pursing an investigation.

Throughout the year Ofcom initiated 57 investigations, almost a third involving GB News. Of the 35 investigations that resulted in a breach finding, five were related to GB News.