The most complained about TV this year as Ofcom says three in 10 complaints were about one show
Coverage of the Brit Awards on ITV1 received 938 complaints over singer Sabrina Carpenter’s routine, and Charli XCX’s dress
Love Island has been named the most complained-about television programme of the year by broadcasting regulator Ofcom. The ITV reality series, along with its All Stars spin-off, featured in five of the top ten most complained-about episodes, with the majority of grievances centring on the alleged bullying of contestant Shakira Khan.
An episode broadcast on 24 July topped the list, attracting 3,547 complaints primarily concerning Khan’s treatment. The second most complained-about instalment was the 22 July episode of Love Island, which received 2,509 complaints related to further bullying issues and the return of Megan Forte Clarke.
The show’s episode on July 23 was third in the table with 2,002 complaints of a similar nature, while its show on July 25 was the seventh most complained about for bullying and about the way contestant Blu Chegini spoke to Toni Laites.
Eighth on the list was an episode of the show’s All Star version on February 12, which drew 1,240 complaints about alleged bullying between contestants.
Also in the top 10 was an episode of Vanessa Feltz’s chat show, Vanessa, on 5, which aired on June 10, and saw 1,866 complaints about a discussion on breastfeeding and its benefits, which some said was misleading.
In fifth was GB News’s Headliners show, which saw 1,391 complaints over a presenter’s comment which complainants believed linked the LGBTQ+ community to paedophiles. The programme was found to have broken Ofcom’s broadcasting rules, with the regulator calling the remark “highly offensive”.
In addition to the complaints submitted by the public, the GB News show also received 71,851 gathered by the Good Law Project non-profit organisation.
Today With Samantha Washington on Sky News on June 7 received the sixth most complaints, getting 1,302 for a segment which covered the Madleen, a boat delivering aid to Gaza, with complainants saying a comment by the presenter “misrepresented the mission’s peaceful nature”.
An episode of Celebrity Big Brother on ITV2 on April 9 was the ninth most complained about show with 1,008 complaints over comments made by actor Mickey Rourke to singer JoJo Siwa.
Coverage of the Brit Awards on ITV1 on March 1 received 938 complaints over singer Sabrina Carpenter’s opening dance routine, and Charli XCX’s dress.
In Ofcom’s report, a statement read: “Complaint numbers have fallen from 2024, and while we’ve had fewer investigations opened and closed, these levels are consistent with what we saw in 2021.
“There are some genres that continue to attract scrutiny, in particular reality TV, which makes up more than half of the 10 most complained about programmes.
“This year, around three in 10 complaints to Ofcom were about Love Island, with the 2025 series totalling 14,121 complaints.”
ITV have been contacted for comment.
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