BBC introduces five-minute ‘gay delay’ to avoid causing offence

PinkNews logo surrounded by illustrated images including a rainbow, unicorn, PN sign and pride flag.

The BBC is to implement a new ‘gay delay’ system which will prevent presenters from landing in hot water over ‘homophobic’ jokes.

Last week, an Ofcom ruling found Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles in breach of the Broadcasting Code over comments he made about gay singer Will Young.

The new BBC system will impose a five-minute delay between filming and transmission of live television or radio programmes in which a gay tsar will quickly phone LGBT groups to check if a joke is really funny before it is aired.

A BBC spokesman said: “We are very pleased with the new gay delay system and are confident it will help avoid any offence to the LGBT community while allowing our presenters the freedom to entertain at the same time.

“The system will be trialled first on programmes such as The Chris Moyles Show and anything with Jeremy Clarkson in it.”

The corporation is keen to clean up its act after a number of incidents involving presenters making jokes about gays and lesbians.

Clarkson told PinkNews.co.uk: “One of my new year’s resolutions was to be more politically correct so I wholeheartedly welcome this invention.”

Comments (0)

MyPinkNews members are invited to comment on articles to discuss the content we publish, or debate issues more generally. Please familiarise yourself with our community guidelines to ensure that our community remains a safe and inclusive space for all.

Loading Comments