Ofcom has unveiled its annual list of the most complained about moments of the year, and the top 10 for 2021 have been revealed.
Every year, the British public make formal complaints to Ofcom in their thousands over segments of television, or the shows themselves, that they find offensive or deem to be too inappropriate to be broadcast – and so, every year, the government-approved regulatory authority decides to release a list of the most complained about moments.
2021 has been a record year for complaints in the UK, with Ofcom revealing that more than 150,000 complaints were made throughout the calendar year.
Complaints made about BBC shows do not count and are not included in the list.
“Interestingly, it’s a relatively small number of TV shows driving the lion’s share – the top five most-complained about programmes account for 80% of all complaints,” explained Adam Baxter – Ofcom’s Director of Standards and Audience Protection.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Social media also has its influence on complaints figures.
“But for me, these volumes demonstrate the British public’s interest and passion for TV and radio programmes, and shows just how important they are to the cultural fabric of our nation.”
ADVERTISEMENT
2021 marks a record year of complaints to our broadcasting standards team.
Your complaints serve a vital purpose in alerting us to your concerns – we assess each and every one against the Broadcasting Code.
Taking the top spot in 2021 was Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan’s controversial comments about Meghan Markle during her interview with Oprah Winfrey, where a total of 54,595 complaints were made, before Morgan was called out by co-presenter Alex Beresford, stormed off the set, and then days later, quit the show.
The actual Meghan and Harry interview was the fourth most controversial TV moment of the year, with 6,486 complaints.
In second place with 24,921 complaints was the episode of Love Island which showed Faye’s heated discussion with Teddy, where she accused him of cheating on her with another contestant – which ultimately turned out to be incorrect.
ADVERTISEMENT
The moment where Love Island’s producers sent a postcard from Casa Amor into the main villa to stir up drama, which inadvertently caused Faye to believe Teddy was cheating on her, came in fifth place with 4,337 complaints.
The third most-complained about TV moment was the Channel 5 documentary What Happened to Your Face – with 7,125 people formally complaining about the show’s comments about the appearance of several celebrities.
More than 150,000 complaints were made throughout the calendar year / Credit: ITV | CBS
Top 10 Most Complained About TV Moments 2021
Good Morning Britain (Piers Morgan’s Meghan Markle comments) – 54,595
Love Island (Faye’s treatment of Teddy) – 24,921
What Happened to Your Face (Channel 5) – 7,125
Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah Winfrey – 6,486
Good Morning Britain (Piers Morgan’s general comments) – 3,249
Good Morning Britain (Dr Hilary Jones criticising fake COVID-19 leaflet) – 2,632
Good Morning Britain (A debate about “ditching unvaccinated friends”) – 2,104
This Morning (A segment titled “How to lose the lockdown pounds”) – 1,942
Featured Image – ITV
Trending
A tribute festival in memory of Mani from The Stone have been announced
Danny Jones
After plenty of talk and rumours ever since his passing, a tribute festival in memory of Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield will honour the late great Stone Roses and Primal Scream bass player later this year.
Despite various organisations and regional residents having observed their own memorial services following his death on 20 November 2025, the city and Greater Manchester as a whole made it clear that they wanted to carry out a more dedicated form of remembrance.
And we couldn’t agree more.
Deciding to remember him in the past best way possible – by celebrating one of his greatest loves and legacies: music – ‘Manichester’ festival will be held this spring.
Hosted in partnership with Madchester.com and simply dubbed as “a tribute to a true Manc legend”, names both new, old and current will be joining the inaugural Manichester lineup.
Organised by the website and iconic Manchester streetwear brand GIOGOI, not to mention being “blessed by Mani’s family” directly, artists playing will range from those who were lucky enough to have played with him or, like us all, were simply left inspired by his unforgettable basslines.
As well as a ‘AAA headliner’ still yet to be confirmed, there are some serious legendary names on here, both local and beyond; at the minute, the roster of acts is looking like this:
Manichester 2026 lineup
Cast
Peter Hook (Joy Division, New Order)
The Kowloons
A “specially assembled core band” featuring Aziz Ibrahim (The Stone Roses), Rowetta, Simone Butler (formerly Primal Scream) and Mick Rossi (Slaughter and The Dogs)
Dave McCabe (The Zutons)
Baz Fratelli (The Fratellis)
Zak Starkey (Mantra of the Cosmos)
Steve White (ex-Oasis drummer)
Jon McClure (Reverend and the Makers)
However, as they have teased in the announcement, “that’s just the start”, and with more names incoming, many are already trying to guess who the headliner could be. Some have even suggested Ian Brown himself might get up on the stage…
As per an official statement, key artwork for the event comes from the one and only and equally influential Stone Roses guitarist, John Squire, whose new designs will feature on flyers, limited-edition physical tickets and other promotional materials.
Manichester will take place on Saturday May 30, doors open 2pm.
Most importantly, all the proceeds from the special one-off in memoriam show will go towards Mani’s and Imelda’s twin boys, Gene and George – and who knows? This could be the start of a brand-new annual festival spawned in the name of a very special Mancunian.
GIOGOI added: “Manchester is the best city in the world, and we do things differently here. This is Manchester showing up. This is Madchester showing love. This is ‘Manichester’.“
Taking place on Saturday, 30 May and held at Diecast on Ducie Street in Manchester city centre from 2pm, it’s sure to be a momentous ocassions with thoughts of Mani and his family looming large in everyone’s minds.
The Premier League is keeping its crucial cap on away game ticket prices – for now
Danny Jones
The Premier League has announced it is extending its crucial price cap for away games, as the general cost of match tickets continues to creep up all over the country.
Most season card holders, be they here in Greater Manchester or elsewhere, are likely looking at their annual spending going up simply, so steps like these are key in keeping first division football as affordable as possible.
And that’s just the ongoing cost of living, let alone the clubs that are continuing the trend of charging more each year and, unfortunately, even pricing some supporters out entirely.
With that in mind, the news of England’s top-flight sides voting unanimously to keep the £30 cap intact for at least another two years comes as relief to those who spend most of the year putting their hard-earned cash towards following their team home and away.
BREAKING: The Premier League extend £30 cap on away tickets for another two seasons 🚨 pic.twitter.com/L336aZwmn3
Now confirmed to remain in place until the end of the 2027/28 campaign, travelling fans obviously still spend plenty of money on transport and so on every year, but at least they don’t have to worry about rising general admissions.
At least not for the time being…
Writing in a statement, the Premier League said: “Away fans help create the incredible atmosphere Premier League matches are renowned for. Since the cap’s implementation in 2016, it has contributed to attendance at away games increasing from 82% to 91%.”
They also acknowledged the significant and regular funds that supporters still spend on these trips, with plenty of people online also praising the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA), which helped spearhead the campaign over a decade ago.
With so many other obstacles still getting in the way of fans making it to games either at their usual stadium or on an away day – not least of all the constant and increasingly frustrating rescheduling of fixtures – it’s good to see this isn’t an area the Prem are trying to target.
As always, the multi-billion-pound business can always seek out other, newer money spinners, and we’re absolutley certain they will. For instance, there’s at least one happening over in Spain that we’d happily see carried over here.
Following the news, this now means that fans will ultimately have enjoyed 12 back-to-back seasons of the benefit, and long may it continue.
Nevertheless, the biggest barrier for people to watch the beautiful game at its highest level in the UK remains the cost of standard tickets.
The likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, Leeds and more have already let matchgoers know that their season ticket prices will be going up, and the likes of Man City have already seen backlash for increasing rates amid the expansion of the Etihad Campus.
Emily Sergeant -
21st December 2021 
