The BBC Reportedly Received A Cool 100,000 Complaints Over The Coverage Of Prince Philip's Death

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BBC- The BBC has received 100,000 complaints from members of the public over its coverage of the Duke of Edinburgh's death, according to the Sun newspaper. The corporation cleared its schedules to cover the news when Prince Philip died on Friday, at the age of 99. EastEnders and the MasterChef final were replaced by news programmes, while BBC Four was taken off air completely.

The BBC said: "We are proud of our coverage and the role we play during moments of national significance." However, it declined to confirm the number of complaints it received. A figure of 100,000 would make the coverage of Prince Philip's death the most complained-about piece of programming in BBC history. 

You know how people always say that the saddest part of a wake is that the person isn't around to hear all the nice things everyone is saying about them? I feel like this story is the exact opposite of that. Finding out that ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND people whose attention spans have been crippled by the smartphone took time out of their day to go on a website and actually type out how upset they were about the amount of coverage your death received has to be a hell of an ego check. Just the BBC putting this story on their site and citing a completely different news source in the Sun just to let everyone know just how many people were pissed off has to be a kick in the knickers during the afterlife, especially when you compare it to other shows that received complaints.

Other programmes that attracted a high volume of correspondence included the broadcast of Jerry Springer: The Opera, which received 63,000 complaints in 2005; and Russell Brand's prank call to actor Andrew Sachs, which drew 42,000 complaints in 2008.

Jesus Christ. I can't even fathom how many proper ass Brits lost their marbles when they saw an opera about Jerry Springer on the telly. My dumb American brain would've been chanting "JERRY, JERRY, JERRY" while shoveling Doritos into my mouth during what I imagine is the best 90 minutes you can spend watching cultured entertainment. But the Brits have quite different tastes on that side of the pond and I don't think any of them find this shit good. 

Yet despite all that, they somehow complained almost twice as much about the coverage of a guy that was seemingly dying for years than that. I suppose the numbers like looks up song list Three Nipple Cousin Fucker and Every Last Motherfucker Should Go Down may tickle the funny bone of the cheekier Brits. But all in all a tough look for Prince Philip and the Royals.