Ofcom take no action over Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh’s coronation comment on Buckingham Palace balcony

Ofcom has confirmed it will not take any further action over comments made by Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh during the coronation of King Charles.
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During the coronation, remarks made by Andoh sparked a backlash, with the broadcast regulator confirming it was slammed with more than 8,000 complaints. The comments by the actress referred to the skin colour of the royal family.

Ms Andoh, who plays Lady Danbury in the Netflix period show, was covering King Charles‘s coronation for ITV, and made the controversial comments when the royal family appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. She said: “We’ve gone from the rich diversity of the Abbey to a terribly white balcony.”

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Ofcom confirmed on Monday that it would not investigate the comments any further, adding that while some viewers would have “strong feelings” about it, they were a “personal observation” during a “wide-ranging panel discussion” which included diversity topics.

A spokesperson for Ofcom said: "We have concluded our assessment of complaints we received about a comment made during ITV’s coverage of the Coronation of King Charles III, and can confirm we will not be pursuing these further. We received 8,371 complaints from viewers about a comment made by actress Adjoa Andoh during the live broadcast, which focused on the appearance of the Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

“While we understand some viewers had strong feelings about this comment, after careful consideration we have concluded that the comment was a personal observation which was part of a wide-ranging panel discussion which also touched on other diversity-related topics, and which contained a range of viewpoints. Our decision to not pursue these complaints further also takes into account broadcasters’ and guests’ right to freedom of expression.”

Adjoa AndohAdjoa Andoh
Adjoa Andoh

Ms Andoh said she had not intended to cause upset with her comments. She said: “"I was talking about the day and how marvellous it was and then looking at the balcony at the end and suddenly going: ‘Oh it’s so white!’ because the day had been so mixed and I didn’t mean to upset anybody.”