BBC Breakfast host forced to apologise as show is bombarded with 'hundreds and hundreds' of complaints
BBC Breakfast has received "hundreds and hundreds" of complaints from unhappy viewers following a recent news segment. Hosts Jon Kay and Sally Nugent revealed the BBC inbox had been flooded with people complaining after Tuesday, 7 May's episode of the morning show.
People had been left furious after a segment included how a Yorkshire council had opted not to use apostrophes on street signs. Sally had explained how they had "done away with them altogether" as punctuation "confuses computer systems".
Nina Warhurst later wrapped up her story on the on-going train strikes. She told viewers to get in contact with BBC Breakfast to air their views on the strikes - but Jon revealed their email box was full to the brim.
"Sorry - there's no room in the inbox Nina. We're filled with punctuation problems," he jokingly told Nina. He went on: "Oh, my goodness. Hundreds and hundreds of messages about apostrophes coming in. We will read some later."
Sally added: “I’m slightly scared.” The news segment sparked discussion on social media, with viewers sharing their outrage at the council's decision.
“Not sure why we’re all worried about AI taking over, when according to @NorthYorkshireCountyCouncil computers can’t even cope with apostrophes!" one person joked on X. Another viewer shared: “@BBCBreakfast Why oh why is putting an apostrophe in its correct place to indicate possession or plural so difficult? Don't dumb down grammar!!"
A third person wrote: “This is shocking! Language is important, and I worry that this may be the thin end of the wedge! People will be going round the streets with marker pens and adding them, though hopefully in the right places.”
The complaints come after BBC Breakfast's weather presenter Carol Kirkwood sparked worry after she was absent from the morning news show on 7 May. She had been off air for a days, having previously shown signs she was suffering from a bad cold at the end of last month, leaving viewers concerned.
Carol's role was covered by Matt Taylor. However, he is just a temporary stand-in, as Carol has reassured fans that she’s just taking a holiday break in Cornwall for a few days and will be back soon.
She took to X to report she had visited Tresco: “Just visited Tresco (Isles of Scilly). To call it stunning doesn’t do it justice. Weather beautiful. Fell in love with the red squirrels.”
