Olivia Colman And Benedict Cumberbatch’s The Roses Sparks Complaints

The British Board Of Film Classification (BBFC) has unveiled its annual report, which includes the films it received the most complaints for in 2025.

The movie that topped the list was Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman’s domestic dark comedy The Roses.

Upon its release last year, the movie was met with some backlash due to a scene in which Benedict’s character tricked his wife into eating raspberries, despite her being allergic to them, and withholding her auto-injector medication.

At the time of its release, leading allergy charity the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation (NARF) branded the sequence “dangerous”, “careless” and “offensive”, with the BBFC having now confirmed this was the reason The Roses was its most complained-about movie last year.

“Complainants were concerned that the film made light of a serious condition that can potentially be lethal and that the depiction of the use of an EpiPen was incorrect,” they explained.

“The BBFC does not require medical procedures in films to be portrayed accurately. However, this issue is highlighted in the extended content advice on our website to ensure audiences are informed in advance.”

It should be pointed out that the BBFC received a total of 11 complaints about The Roses, with Marvel’s Thunderbolts* sparking five complaints, as did the latest Knives Out movie Wake Up Dead Man.

A total of 10 complaints were made to the BBFC about the animated fantasy film Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle, from those who felt its 15 rating was too severe, while the 18-rated horror film The Black Phone 2 incited nine complaints for similar reasons.

Meanwhile, a PG-rated trailer for Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney’s The Housemaid was the source of 25 additional complaints.

The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation previously revealed it had already spoken with producers of The Roses over the scene in question, as well as the depiction of food allergies more generally in the film.

“Withholding life-saving medication in a medical emergency is not remotely funny. To make matters worse, the film depicts an adrenaline auto-injector (EpiPen, Jext) being administered incorrectly, repeatedly. This is factually inaccurate and risks spreading dangerous misinformation,” they said at the time.

“For people living with severe food allergies and their families this type of portrayal is not only triggering, but harmful. Food allergies are a medical condition that can, in an instant, become life-threatening.

“Using them as a plot twist for laughs is careless, offensive, and reinforces harmful myths about allergic reactions and anaphylaxis.”

HuffPost UK contacted representatives for The Roses for comment at the time but did not receive a response.