BBC apologises for ‘inappropriate comment’ during D-Day programme
The BBC has apologised for an “inappropriate comment” that was captured during a programme commemorating D-Day.
D-Day 80: Tribute To The Fallen, which aired on June 5, was presented by Kirsty Young, from the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Bayeux, France.
A clip from the live broadcast has been circulated on social media and features a voice that appears to say “French arseholes”.
A BBC spokesman said: “We sincerely apologise for an inappropriate comment that was captured during live coverage of the D-Day 80 event in Bayeux.”
The PA news agency understands that the programme was unavailable on BBC iPlayer while editing took place, but is now back online.
The BBC’s D-Day coverage has included a special series of programmes this year, including an event held at the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer, attended by the King and Queen on Thursday.
During a speech, the King paid tribute to the “remarkable wartime generation”, telling the audience: “It is with the most profound sense of gratitude that we remember them and all who served at that critical time.”
The day’s commemorations began in the early morning with a military piper at Gold Beach in Arromanches, who played a lament at sea at the exact moment of the invasion.
They followed an emotional ceremony in Portsmouth on Wednesday, where the King appeared to wipe away a tear during an event where he paid tribute to the “courage, resilience and solidarity” of veterans.
