Daily Mail
December 10, 2013
More than 1,000 viewers have complained about ‘excessive’ coverage of Nelson Mandela’s death on BBC services, including some who grumbled about a repeat of Mrs Brown’s Boys being interrupted.
The BBC has defended the extent to which it featured the death of the former South African president, a major news item which led bulletins around the world.
By today the corporation had received 1,350 complaints about too much coverage across its news services, with some saying the emphasis had reduced the coverage of severe weather across the UK that day.
Programme chiefs broke into a repeat of BBC1 sitcom Mrs Brown’s Boys to break the news.
The BBC has defended its coverage and said Mandela’s death was of ‘considerable interest’ to audiences in the UK and across the rest of the world.
A BBC spokeswoman said the corporation had also continued to cover other major stories.
The spokeswoman today said: ‘Nelson Mandela was a hugely significant world leader with an enormous political and cultural influence across the world.
‘His death is of considerable interest to our audiences at home and across the globe.
‘We know that people turn to the BBC for authoritative coverage of breaking news and we will continue to provide comprehensive coverage for a wide range of BBC News outlets, across TV, radio and online, as the world reacts to his passing, reflects on his legacy, and prepares for his funeral.
‘After the initial announcement we have, of course, continued to cover other major stories as they have developed.’
The news of Mandela’s death dominated news coverage throughout the weekend, while Parliament today cleared its agenda for eight hours of tributes to the former South African president.