The Last Leg will not face a formal Ofcom investigation over Miriam Margolyes’ comments about wanting Boris Johnson “to die”, it has been confirmed.
The Call The Midwife star sparked 494 complaints to the TV watchdog last month when she admitted on the Channel 4 show that she’d initially wanted the prime minister to die when he was hospitalised with coronavirus in April.
She told hosts Adam Hills, Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker via video link: “I had difficulty not wanting Boris Johnson to die. I wanted him to die. Then I thought that will reflect badly on me and I don’t want to be the sort of person that wants people to die.
“So then I wanted him to get better, which he did do, he did get better. But he didn’t get better as a human being. And I really would prefer that.”
Following an initial assessment, Ofcom has now said that no further action will be taken, ruling that it will not have exceeded viewers’ expectations.
A spokesperson said: “These provocative comments had clear potential to offend viewers, but we also considered the audience’s likely expectations of Miriam Margolyes, a comic actor known for her forthright views, and of this live, late-night satirical comedy show.
“We also took into account that Ms Margolyes immediately qualified her comments, and viewers were warned in advance about the programme’s adult humour.”
Ofcom cited “a long tradition in UK broadcasting of satirical programmes where comedy will be derived from contributors making provocative and challenging statements about people in the public eye, including elected politicians”.
It also “took into account that the presenter, Adam Hills, and regular contributors, Alex Brooker and Josh Widdicombe looked visibly shocked in reaction to Miriam Margolyes’ initial comment, and that none of the presenters endorsed her comments about the Prime Minister.
“Further, Adam Hills immediately moved the discussion on to another topic,” it said.
“It was Ofcom’s view that, although Miriam Margolyes’ comments were provocative and had the potential to cause offence, taken as a whole they were unlikely to have exceeded viewers’ expectations of this live, late-night comedy show on Channel 4.”
A spokesperson for the show previously told HuffPost UK: “The programme is live and unexpected comments can happen. In this instance Miriam went on to say that she wanted him to get better.”