BBC accused of ‘anti-British’ job cuts to team on coverage of Queen’s funeral | TV & Radio | Showbiz & TV
The BBC has been accused of being “anti-British” over reported plans to cut TV crews covering royal ceremonies and veterans’ commemorations. The broadcaster is alleged to have reduced staff at BBC Studios Events Productions to just one member. The team stands behind coverage of state events such as the Queen’s funeral, the coronation of King Charles and the annual Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph.
Critics accused the company of prioritizing other events, such as the Glastonbury Festival, over more traditional events. A source said the small crew covering the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and BAFTA-recognized funeral currently operates with no more than six permanent staff and costs “peanuts” compared to the millions the broadcaster spent filming the Glastonbury Festival.
The layoffs are said to have been announced last week, just a day after the team won the Royal Television Society Award for live coverage of Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27 January 2025, which commemorates 80 years of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
A source told Daily Mail Expecting a single person to oversee coverage of major historical events such as VE Day and D-Day anniversaries would be impossible, given that such productions require months of planning and coordination, even when supported by freelance staff.
A spokesman for the BBC said viewers would not notice any changes to its news, adding that the move was part of the company’s aim to become more efficient.
“As a prudent business with a mission to maximize returns for the BBC, we regularly look at how we are set up and where we can operate more efficiently,” they said.
“We are proposing some changes that will help us remain creatively strong and continue to deliver a variety of high-quality programming while managing our costs in a challenging and fast-moving market.”
Meanwhile, those at Buckingham Palace are believed to be uneasy about the potential impact on royal schedules if the team is drastically scaled back. There are concerns that this could lead to a decline in production standards and a loss of prominence such publications have traditionally received.
