United Kingdom

Britain's most complained about TV moments of the last decade

In the UK, TV presenter Piers Morgan has left ITV's Good Morning Britain after making controversial comments about Meghan Markle. He said he "didn't believe a word" of what the Duchess said in her extraordinary interview with Oprah Winfrey on Sunday and many have accused him of having an unhealthy obsession with the former actress. Morgan then stormed off the set of Good Morning Britain after a discussion with his colleague Alex Beresford with ITV later confirming he had left the show.

While some of Morgan's defenders have described him as a champion of free speech, the UK's broadcasting regular has confirmed that it is launching an investigation after his comments led to the second highest number of complaints it received in its 17-year history and the highest number of complaints it received for any program over the last decade. As of Monday, more than 40,000 complaints had been made to Ofcom. Back in 2007, 44,500 were submitted due to a racism row on Celebrity Big Brother.

Description

This charts shows episodes of TV shows prompting the most complaints from UK viewers since 2011.

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Television shows ranked by number of complaints from viewers in the United Kingdom (UK) from January to August 2023
Most-watched TV programs in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2025 (in million viewers)
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Opinion on the quality of TV programs over the past 12 months in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2005 to 2018
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Types of TV content viewed as offensive by TV viewers during the past 12 months in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2018
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Most-watched ITV1 programs in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2025 (in million viewers)
Viewing figures for the most watched television program of each year in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2000 to 2025 (in millions)

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