BBC inundated with complaints over ‘too much’ Prince Philip TV coverage

The BBC has been forced to create an online complaints form after receiving an influx of messages from disgruntled viewers over the extent of its reporting on Prince Philip’s death.

The broadcaster has been accused of providing “too much TV coverage” of the news that the Duke of Edinburgh passed away aged 99 on Friday.

It cancelled its scheduled programming across BBC One, BBC Two and the News channel to air specials about the Queen’s beloved husband and the longest-serving consort in British history.

But the corporation’s wall-to-wall coverage of the duke’s death was “over the top” for some, particularly those furious at missing out on their favourite shows.

In the complaints section of its website, the BBC now states: “We’re receiving complaints about too much TV coverage of the death of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

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“Please enter your email address below to register a complaint about this - we’ll then send you the BBC’s response as soon as it is available.”

Twitter users lashed out at the BBC for postponing popular shows including the hotly-anticipated Masterchef final.

One wrote: “Dear BBC: You owe me two days’ licence fee.”

While others likened the “saturation” of content to “what might be expected in North Korea.”

Here’s what others had to say:

In fairness to the broadcaster, Channel Four and Channel 5 also halted their planned run of lunchtime programmes to announce the news, while ITV also made schedule changes.

This Morning, which was being presented by Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford, was interrupted and Loose Women was scrapped entirely.

Channel 4’s usual peak time schedule finally resumed with The Circle final at 10pm.