Derry Girls fans rage as BBC cuts Siobhán McSweeney’s speech criticising UK government

Derry Girls fans are outraged when the BBC removed a ‘political’ segment of Siobhán McSweeney’s acceptance speech from iPlayer.

Siobhán appeared on stage after receiving the award for outstanding female comedic performance for her role as Sister Michael in the Channel 4 series.

She blitzed through a screenplay she’d prepared for herself in preparation in case she won the prize, fully knowing that the Baftas run on a tight timeline.

She thanked her family and fellow cast members before thanking the people of Derry for accepting her as one of their own when the filming of Derry Girls was taking place.

She then praised Derry’s “compromise and resilience” before blasting the Irish, Northern Irish, and British administrations for their “ignorance and stupidity.”

She said: ‘The people of Derry encompass the spirit of compromise and resilience, despite the indignities, ignorance, and stupidity of your so-called leaders in Dublin, Stormont, and Westminster.’

Derry, as shown in the comedy series, was one of the most impacted Northern Irish cities during the Troubles.

Huge applause followed the heartfelt speech, which is still available on Bafta’s official YouTube page but not on BBC iPlayer.

Instead of hearing her critiques of the governments of each nation, the BBC’s programme cuts to footage of Siobhán departing the platform to cheers.

This is incredible. Am due to do @bbc @politicslive today and I think Kate Winslet social media speech is on the agenda. But this is what we should be discussing if we are doing the BAFTAS surely ? https://t.co/zYv0ZNY1ua

— ALASTAIR CAMPBELL (@campbellclaret) May 15, 2023

Fans of Derry Girls on social media were outraged when their favourite singer’s remarks were deleted from the BBC’s programme.

A post containing a side-by-side comparison of the original footage and the cut BBC version said: ‘Why have the BBC cut that out? This should be a scandal of national proportions.’

Former Director of Communications to Tony Blair, Alastair Campbell, remarked: ‘This is incredible. I’m due to do BBC Politics Live today – this is what we should be discussing.’

Let’s add the BBC to Siobhan’s list of institutions that … https://t.co/nRne7yuq5t pic.twitter.com/KH5reYERud

— Dr. Erin Hinson (@erin_hinson42) May 15, 2023

Another person said: ‘This edit cuts out the whole essence and body of what Siobhán said. Would be very interested to see just why this decision was taken and the reason for it.’

According to The Mirror, the BBC published the following statement: ‘As in previous years, due to the nature of the show it is broadcast with a short delay.’

It continued: ‘While we always aim to keep the core sentiment of acceptance speeches, edits have to be made due to time constraints.’

Before delivering her speech at the glamorous event, which also saw Derry Girls win best scripted comedy, Siobhán claimed she’d been told not to say anything ‘political’.

The Bafta TV Awards are available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Source My Celebrity Life.