TV
The most complained telly moments of 2024
Ofcom have once again had a year full of viewers complaining about television programmes…
With Christmas almost upon us, bringing with it a wealth of special television episodes, new research has revealed the most complained about TV moments of 2024 so far, with Good Morning Britain and their 5th of August episode coming out on top.
The top ten most complained-about TV moments of 2024 so far
| Rank | Programme | Channel | Transmission Date | Total |
| 1 | Good Morning Britain | ITV1 / STV | 05/08/2024 | 16,783 |
| 2 | Love Island | ITV2 | 24/07/2024 | 1,831 |
| 3 | Good Morning Britain | ITV1 / STV | 30/05/2024 | 1,765 |
| 4 | Emmerdale | ITV1 / STV | 27/05/2024 | 826 |
| 5 | Sunak v Starmer: The ITV Debate | ITV1 / STV | 04/06/2024 | 686 |
| 6 | This Morning | ITV1 / STV | 28/05/2024 | 637 |
| 7 | People’s Forum: The Prime Minister | GB News | 12/02/2024 | 535 |
| 8 | Farage | GB News | 28/02/2024 | 472 |
| 9 | Good Morning Britain | ITV1 / STV | 18/06/2024 | 471 |
| 10 | Talk Today with Jeremy Kyle and Rosie Wright | TalkTV | 14/02/2024 | 392 |
The study by online casino review site BetPokies analysed Ofcom weekly complaint rates for every week of 2024 to see which programmes received the most complaints overall on what date.
It found that Good Morning Britain’s 5th of August show, received 16,783 complaints, the most of any show by far. This episode saw complaints for two interviews, which were the interview of Independent MP Zarah Sultana and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.
Second place on the list goes to the 24th of July episode of Love Island, which received 1,831 complaints. This episode saw an argument break out during a challenge in which the contestants had to guess the result of a viewer vote asking which couple were only staying together to win.
Maya Jama hosts ITV2’s Love Island
Third place on the list is another entry from Good Morning Britain, their 30th of May show. This episode received 1,765 complaints for its debate between Mike Parry and Kay Taiwo about the situation regarding the XL Bully dog ban.
In fourth place is the 27th of May episode of Emmerdale, which received 826 complaints. The complaints came in response to a storyline the soap featured, which included the poisoning of a dog. Rounding out the top five is June’s election debate on ITV with Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer, and this received a total of 686 complaints.
Commenting on the findings, John Gold, founder of BetPokies:
“It’s interesting to see the range of programmes to feature on this list, with news programmes sitting alongside reality TV and soaps. Many complaints come from channels that don’t directly benefit from the TV license fee, which may surprise some, as it may be expected that programming the public pays for may be more divisive. That being said, 2024 is not over yet, and moments could still happen that could top this list, and it will be worth noting how this changes as the year ends.”
Emmerdale, Piper the dog
