Ofcom dismiss record complaints about Adjoa Andoh's comments concerning King Charles’ Coronation

Adjoa Andoh may play the best friend to the monarch on Netflix in Bridgerton and the recent spin-off series Queen Charlotte, but she was certainly no ally to King Charles on the day of his Coronation as she criticised the Buckingham Palace balcony for being ‘terribly white’ during the ITV coverage.

The actress’ statement received the most Ofcom complaints so far in 2023, with around 8,371 people sending in their objections after Chris Ship and Tom Bradby referenced her remark on air.

Despite the overwhelming number of complaints, Adjoa Andoh will not face any repercussions as the watchdog decided they will not be taking any further action.

In a statement, Ofcom said: “We understand that some viewers had some strong feelings about this comment. However, given this personal observation was made in the context of a wide-ranging panel discussion - and taking into account the right of freedom of expression- we will not be pursuing this further.”

The decision to move on from the record number of complaints echoes that of Ofcom’s ruling in 2005 when the watchdog cleared the BBC’s choice to screen the West End musical Jerry Springer: The Opera on their channel.

Some 16,000 complaints were issued in January of that year stating the BBC2 showing was blasphemous - nearly 7,500 complained prior to the programme airing while 8,860 submitted their thoughts afterwards.

After considering the complaints at the highest level, Ofcom found that the airing of Jerry Springer: The Opera did not breach broadcasting guidelines.

While Adjoa Andoh currently holds the number one spot for most complained about TV moment in 2023, Love Island and I’m A Celebrity ranked as the most contested shows last year.

Fans submitted numerous complaints about the alleged misogynistic behaviour and bullying in the ITV villa in 2022 but after careful reviews of each complaint, Ofcom revealed in the end of year report, “ultimately concluded that the programme did not warrant formal investigation because of how this behaviour was put into context on the programme.”

In second place was Matt Hancock’s entrance to the I’m A Celebrity jungle and the subsequent ‘bullying’ from contestants to the former health secretary, but like the former result, Ofcom did not take further action due to freedom of expression from viewers.