Brits love to complain!
It has been revealed that the finale of I’m a Celebrity South Africa received over 1,000 complaints after a fiery live broadcast on the weekend.
The live final took place last Friday and saw actor Adam Thomas crowned the ‘king of the jungle’, beating Mo Farah and Harry Redknapp.
However, the finale was overshadowed by a heated on-air clashes between Thomas, Jimmy Bullard and David Haye, which escalated into shouting, accusations, and chaos.
In fact, The Sun report that Bullard and Haye are contemplating legal actions and that the latter is looking for as much as £10m for “irreparable damage to his brand”
The boxer claims to have been “deliberately” cut up by ITV to present him as the “pantomime villain and made to look misogynistic, aggressive and a bully”.
Meanwhile, The Sun said that Bullard is also looking at taking legal action against ITV for not giving a fair representation of the argument he had with Thomas.
He claimed that the actor had been “abusive, aggressive and intimidating”.
The general public also didn’t seem to enjoy the chaotic finale, with the broadcast causing 1,200 complaints to be reported to the UK’s communications regulator Ofcom.
A very British tradition
Since the start of the 2026, Ofcom has received more than 50 complaints -the minimum for it to be listed on their site – across 37 TV broadcasts.
While these complaints cover a range of genres, shows and channels, there are certainly a number of recurring themes throughout.
Straight off the bat, we have the two extremes of British television in Love Island and GB News.
The former has managed an impressive 13,906 complaints across January and February for alleged bullying, misogyny, and toxic behaviour while Patrick Christys managed to rack up 5,237 complaints on GB News for a distasteful political monologue about immigration and crime.
As a genre, reality TV and sports excel in upsetting viewers, with complaints coming across programmes such as Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, the aforementioned Love Island, Married at First Sight: Australia and, of course, I’m a Celebrity South Africa.
Meanwhile, in the sport world, the Premier League and Six Nations managed to upset 1,062 unhappy viewers.
The top 10 most complained about broadcasts of 2026
So, with no further ado, here’s what you’ve been waiting for – the 10 most complained about TV broadcasts of 2026 so far.
The all-time list
This year has seen some big-hitters in the most-complained list, however, they’ll have to go some way to make the big leagues in which reside some of these most controversial broadcasts in British TV history.
Here’s the top five most complained about TV shows in British TV history – keep in mind that Ofcom was founded in 2003, so these are only broadcasts since then:
- Good Morning Britain — 54,595 complaints (ITV, 8 Mar 2021)
- Celebrity Big Brother — 45,159 complaints (Channel 4, 10 Jan 2007)
- Celebrity Big Brother — 25,327 complaints (Channel 5, 2018)
- Britain’s Got Talent — 25,017 complaints (ITV, 5 Sep 2020)
- Love Island — 24,921 complaints (ITV2, 6 Aug 2021)
Honourable mentions
Jerry Springer: The Opera (2005, BBC)
Around 63,000 complaints were made after the televised opera depicted religious figures—especially Jesus—in a highly provocative and explicit parody. Many viewers considered it deeply offensive, particularly its use of blasphemous language and satire of Christianity.
Sachsgate (Russell Brand/Jonathan Ross scandal) (2008, BBC Radio 2)
Roughly 42,000 complaints were received after presenters Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross left inappropriate voicemail messages for actor Andrew Sachs. The incident was widely criticised for poor judgement and breach of broadcasting standards.
Ghostwatch (1992, BBC)
A true classic of British culture which saw around 30,000 complaints made after this ‘live’ paranormal investigation was presented in a highly realistic documentary style. Many viewers believed it was genuine, leading to widespread panic and distress—especially among younger audiences.
#complained #broadcasts
