Producer Of Gaza Documentary Takes Aim At The BBC During TV Baftas Speech

The makers of the award-winning Gaza: Doctors Under Attack had some choice words for the BBC after the documentary was honoured at this year’s TV Baftas.

On Sunday night, Gaza: Doctors Under Attack picked up the Best Current Affairs title at the TV awards show.

Although the BBC commissioned the documentary in 2024, and had originally planned to air it in February 2025, the project was eventually shelved by the national broadcaster due to concerns about impartiality.

The BBC said in a statement at the time: “We have come to the conclusion that broadcasting this material risked creating a perception of partiality that would not meet the high standards that the public rightly expect of the BBC.”

In the end, the documentary aired on Channel 4 instead, with Doctors Under Attack – which highlighted the plight faced by medical professionals in the Middle East – among the winners at the TV Baftas over the weekend.

Journalist Ramita Navai said on stage: “Israel has killed over 47,000 children and women in Gaza. So far, Israel has bombed and targeted every single one of Gaza’s hospitals. It’s killed over 1,700 Palestinian doctors and health care workers. It has imprisoned over 400 in what the UN now calls the medicide.

“These are the findings of our investigation that the BBC paid for but refused to show. But we refuse to be silenced and censored. We thank Channel 4 for showing this film.”

After she dedicated the award to the Palestinian doctors and medical workers currently being detained in the Middle East, producer Ben De Pear concluded: “Just a question for the BBC – given you dropped our film, will you drop us from the Bafta screening later tonight?”

The BBC aired coverage of the TV Baftas on a two-hour time delay, featuring De Pear’s closing comment in the broadcast, as well as an edited version of Navai’s speech, omitting the statistics she provided on stage, but including her criticism of the BBC and praise for Channel 4.

Earlier this year, the BBC faced backlash for editing out pro-Palestine comments from acceptance speeches in its coverage of Bafta’s film awards.

A spokesperson said in February: “The live event is three hours and it has to be reduced to two hours for its on-air slot. The same happened to other speeches made during the night and all edits were made to ensure the programme was delivered to time.”