TV's most complained-about moment of 2024 named by Ofcom

Ofcom has named the moments that brought in the most complaints during 2024 - and there were plenty of appearances for Good Morning Britain, Love Island - and even Emmerdale. There were also objections to episodes of Big Brother and ITV's election debate Sunak vs Starmer.

The TV watchdog said it received more than 60,000 complaints but found only 40 cases of rules being broken. BBC programmes don't feature in the list because they deal with their own complaints in the first instance, meaning the Top 10 is dominated by ITV, with one notable exception. Here we take a look at what got TV fans so agitated during 2024. Starting with...

10. Big Brother T-shirt row

More than 500 complaints landed in Ofcom's inbox after Big Brother housemate Ali Bromley was seen wearing a T-shirt featuring a watermelon - a symbol associated with anti-Israel sentiment - in late October.

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Ofcom said: "The majority of complaints were about imagery on a contestant’s clothing. Taking into account, among other things, that the prominence and duration of the image was limited, it was consistent with the individual’s right to personal expression, and it did not represent affiliation to a terrorist organisation, we did not find grounds to pursue further."

9. Nut allergies on This Morning

This Morning contributor Nick Ferrari was accused of being a little unsympathetic (and we're putting it mildly here) when discussing nut allergies on the show in May. He said: "If you don't like peanuts then don't get on the plane because I do and I can't eat them because someone at the back of the plane is going to drop dead or something."

Ofcom said: "Some viewers were concerned that comments made by Nick Ferrari during the programme trivialised nut allergies. We took into account that the comments were made in response to a hypothetical scenario by a media personality well-known for his provocative opinions. We also noted that an apology was broadcast the following day."

8. Susanna Reid tackles Nigel Farage

More than 700 viewers complained after a fiery interview between Susanna Reid and Nigel Farage on Good Morning Britain where she kept interrupting him, alongside co-host Ed Balls.

Ofcom said: "While the line of questioning was robust, we considered most viewers of this programme were likely to expect this type of interview with political figures. Mr Farage was also given sufficient opportunity to clearly articulate his point of view."

7. Sunak v Starmer

As you might expect from a political debate just before a General Election, there were a range of complaints to Ofcom when the two men vying to be Prime Minister went head-to-head on ITV with Ofcom saying: "We carefully considered complaints about a range of issues.

"In our view, both Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer were given sufficient opportunity throughout the programme to respond individually to the policy questions raised. On the issue of Labour’s tax plans, Sir Keir was able to robustly challenge the veracity of Rishi Sunak’s claims."

6. Big Brother Sarah's remarks

Big Brother was hit with 747 complaints after Sarah Griffiths said: "Stop the gloats" in a play on words over Rishi Sunak's election slogan: "Stop the boats." She added later: "‘It had no racial connotations, I have no connotations about boats or immigration, or anything like that. It was just making fun of political slogans."

Ofcom said: "We understood viewers’ concerns, but in our view, the potential for offence was quickly made clear by Big Brother and the contestant was warned about her unacceptable behaviour. We also took into account that Sarah later apologised during the broadcast."

5. Emmerdale's Tom injects a dog

Nothing riled up Emmerdale viewers more this year than Tom King and the horrific abuse storyline that played out for weeks. It was the episodes of 27 and 28 May that most upset soap fans, when his turned his attention on Belle's dog, Piper.

Ofcom said: "While we recognised that this scene was an uncomfortable watch for some viewers, no graphic detail of animal abuse was shown, and Tom’s actions were not portrayed in a positive light. We also took into account that this long-running storyline depicting coercive control in a relationship would have been within audience expectations of this soap, which often tackles challenging themes and issues."

4. XL bully row on GMB

There was an almighty row on Good Morning Britain following a debate between guests Mike Parry and Kay Taiwo about whether XL bullies - she brought one on the show - should be put down. "If it's that dangerous it shouldn't be allowed to mix in society," he said, prompting 1,777 complaints.

Ofcom said: "While comments made by Mr Parry were potentially offensive to some viewers, they were met with significant challenge from dog trainer and XL Bully owner, Ms Taiwo, who put forward a strongly opposed point of view."

3. Joey Essex on Love Island

Tension flared on Love Island this summer as Joey and Sean continually stirred up drama involving Mimii and Ayo's relationship, with 1,832 complaining about the former Towie star's behaviour.

Ofcom said: "We recognised that emotionally charged or confrontational scenes can upset some viewers. But, in our view, negative behaviour in the villa was not shown in a positive light, and contestants were seen supporting or apologising to each other."

2. Ed Balls interviews his own wife on GMB

Coming a close second this year was an episode of Good Morning Britain in August which featured an interview with MP Zarah Sultana and also a moment where presenter interviewed his own wife, the home secretary Yvette Cooper.

Nearly 17,000 people complained. Ofcom said: "We reminded ITV of the need to make such relationships clear to viewers and to take particular care over the compliance of any such interviews to ensure that due impartiality is preserved."

1. TalkTV's Julia Hartley-Brewer

Top of the complaints chart this year was Julia Hartley-Brewer's heated interview with Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti in January with 17,366 complaints being made.

Ofcom said: "We told TalkTV to take extra care to ensure that potentially highly offensive comments are editorially justified." The channel is no longer broadcast on TV.