BBC News’ coverage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s decision to move back to the UK prompted viewer complaints.
The BBC revealed that audience members contacted the UK broadcaster to raise concerns that it was dedicating “too much” airtime to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
The BBC did not disclose how many complaints it received from disgruntled viewers, but rejected the concerns in a notice published on its website.
“We believe our approach to this story was proportionate, offering legitimate analysis of the different implications,” the BBC said.
It continued: “News that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were moving back to the UK with their children was unexpected, given Prince Harry had stated in a BBC interview last year that he didn’t think the family would return due to security concerns.
“This announcement raised several questions, including what prompted this decision, what roles they would fulfil once back in the country, how their security would be funded, how they would navigate dealing with the British media, and what affect this move would have on family relations between the Sussexes and the wider royal family. We gave appropriate scrutiny to these issues, reflecting the context in which they occur.”
Coverage was fueled by speculation that Markle was returning to the UK to pursue an acting opportunity. Deadline reported that the Duchess was in talks to star in Season 3 of The Gentlemen, but this is yet to be confirmed. Commenting on the speculation last month, Manda Levin, Netflix’s scripted chief in the UK, said: “All bets are off.”
The BBC added: “While there was audience interest in this story, with articles about the couple’s return being amongst the most read on our website over the last two weeks, we appreciate not everyone would share this view. We continued to report on many other stories of national and international significance.”
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