Fiona Bruce has apologised to a Question Time audience member for identifying him as “the black guy” on air.
The BBC broadcast an episode of Question Time on Thursday from Wolverhampton. Bruce, who had identified other white members of the audience by what they were wearing, directed the microphone to Roberto Gocan, 35, by calling him “the black guy in the middle”. The remarks were broadcast on BBC One but later edited out when the show was available to watch on iPlayer.
Grocan said Bruce called him on Friday morning to apologise. He told the Mirror: “I’m not going to speak too much about the conversation we had … but she called me personally and I do rate her for that.
“She has given her public explanation which was clearly worded from the statement they put out,” he added. “I’ll just say it was similar to that. Micro-aggressions should be highlighted across the board.
“But I’m not looking to have a witch-hunt against Fiona Bruce.”
I can confirm that Fiona Bruce did contact me to apologise https://t.co/ILHuR7X0w8
— Bertie (@RGocan) October 6, 2023
In a statement released through the BBC, Bruce said: “I totally understand why my words last night caused offence and I apologise.
“I have spoken to the audience member directly and explained that usually I can see and describe an item of clothing or otherwise to help sound engineers with a microphone find people in the audience.
“Last night that was not the case as my view was obscured.
“In the split second I had, the easiest thing to do would have been to ignore the audience member and move on, but I felt strongly that his voice should be heard.
“Nonetheless, I feel it was wrong to identify him as I did and that’s why it was removed from the later edited programme.”
A BBC spokesperson said: “We regret the choice of words used to identify the audience member.
“The intent was to ensure his voice was heard, however we recognise we should not have identified him in this way and apologise for any offence caused.
“As such, the recorded version on iPlayer has been edited to remove this.”
Gocan said Bruce’s words “took [me] aback at the time because I wasn’t expecting it. I remember thinking at the time that everyone else was being described by what they were wearing, glasses and clothing.”
Earlier this year, Bruce stepped back from her role as an ambassador for the charity Refuge after claims she trivialised domestic violence during a discussion about Stanley Johnson on the programme.
The row arose after a discussion about Johnson, the father of the former prime minister Boris Johnson, took place on the programme, during which the panellist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown said he “was a wife-beater … on record”.
She was interrupted by Bruce, who said “I’m not disputing what you’re saying”, then said that while Johnson’s wife had said he had broken her nose and that she had ended up in hospital as a result, “Stanley Johnson has not commented on that. Friends of his have said it did happen, it was a one-off.”
In a statement Bruce said she was sorry that survivors of domestic abuse had been distressed by her comments, which she said she had been legally obliged to make.
Bruce has hosted Question Time since 2019 and took over from the long-serving presenter David Dimbleby.
