The BBC cut part of a winning speech by Derry Girls actress Siobhan McSweeney at the Bafta TV Awards last night in which she criticised the Government.
The 43-year-old actress from County Cork plays Sister Michael, the eye-rolling principal of Our Lady Immaculate College in the Channel 4 programme.
McSweeney won the first Bafta TV award for best female performance in a comedy programme and talked very fast in her speech given the short time available.
She used the speech to criticise the ‘indignities, ignorance and stupidity of your so-called leaders in Dublin, Stormont and Westminster’ – but this was cut on BBC One.
This is the relevant unedited part of Siobhan McSweeney’s speech on the Baftas YouTube channel:
This is the full version of McSweeney’s speech on the Baftas YouTube channel, which includes the unedited part above:
McSweeney plays Sister Michael, the eye-rolling principal in the Channel 4 show Derry Girls
Siobhan McSweeney accepts the Female Performance in a Comedy Programme Award for Derry Girls at the 2023 Bafta Television Awards at the Royal Festival Hall in London yesterday
She started her speech by saying: ‘Oh my God, sorry, hello, right, so I’ve been warned not to do a political statement or to be like really boring or sad and stuff, so I’m going to start with a funny bit.
‘As my mother lay dying at the Bon Secours Hospital in Cork, one of the very last things she said to me was would I not consider retraining as a teacher. If she could see me now, getting a Bafta for playing a teacher. Joke’s on you, mam.’
McSweeney also thanked Derry Girls writer Lisa McGee ‘for not listening to me when I said I could play all the girls parts’ and she paid tribute to Channel 4, adding: ‘You have my devotion’.
She also then said: ‘To the people of Derry – thank you for taking me into your hearts and into your living rooms, I am daily impressed with how you encompass the spirit of compromise and resilience, despite the indignities, ignorance and stupidity of your so-called leaders in Dublin, Stormont and Westminster.
‘In the words of my beloved Sister Michael, “it’s time they started to wise up”. Thank you so much.’
While the full stream of her speech was uploaded to Bafta’s YouTube channel, the BBC’s coverage had a shorter version.
The clipped version on the BBC – which is still available on iPlayer today in the same form – showed McSweeney saying: ‘To the people of Derry – thank you for taking me into your hearts and your living rooms… thank you so much.’
Asked about this difference, a BBC spokesman said today: ‘As in previous years, due to the nature of the show it is broadcast with a short delay, and while we always aim to keep the core sentiment of acceptance speeches, edits have to be made due to time constraints.’
Sir Lenny Henry presents the award to Siobhan McSweeney at the Bafta TV Awards last night
McSweeney accepts the Female Performance in a Comedy Programme Award last night
McSweeney smiles at her table attends the 2023 Bafta Television Awards in London yesterday
Derry Girls, a comedy about a group of teenagers growing up in Londonderry in the 1990s, was a sleeper hit that built a large and committed following across its three series.
Set during the Troubles, the show was praised for offering a new perspective on the period of the IRA and loyalist ceasefires through the eyes of a group of young girls.
Later in the ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall in London yesterday, Derry Girls won the Bafta TV award for best scripted comedy.
Creator Lisa McGee thanked Channel 4, asking it to ‘please never change’ and thanking ‘our first home, Derry’.
Bafta presenters Rob Beckett and Romesh Rangathan made a few references to BBC impartiality throughout the show.
Beckett said: ‘As we all know this year, there have been one or two issues with the subject of the BBC and balance.’
He added: ‘It’s not easy for comedians to host an award show on the BBC. We need to be funny. We need to be professional and also offer balanced views.’
Beckett also joked: ‘A few months back we were left hoping that The Traitors would be making a swift return to BBC One. Well that’s what some of the papers called the Match Of The Day presenters anyway.’
And Ranganathan then said: ‘Are we edgy? I think we might be edgy.’
It came after Gary Lineker was briefly suspended as presenter of Match Of The Day in March after criticising the Government’s immigration policy on Twitter.
