The producers of the documentary “Gaza: Doctors Under Attack” publicly criticized the BBC during their acceptance speech at the Bafta TV Awards on Sunday after the film secured the current affairs award, reigniting debate over the broadcaster’s earlier decision to shelve the project before it was eventually aired by Channel 4.
The documentary, which highlights testimonies from Palestinian medical workers in Gaza, received the award at London’s Royal Festival Hall almost a year after the BBC chose not to broadcast it over concerns related to impartiality.
While accepting the award, executive producer Ben de Pear praised the journalists involved in producing the documentary before directing remarks at the BBC, which aired the Bafta ceremony on BBC One with a delay exceeding two hours.
“Finally, just a question for the BBC: given you dropped our film, will you drop us from the Bafta screening later tonight?” de Pear said.
Journalist and presenter Ramita Navai also used her speech to criticize the broadcaster, referencing findings presented in the documentary regarding attacks on Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure.
“These are the findings of our investigation that the BBC paid for but refused to show,” Navai said. “But we refuse to be silenced and censored. We thank Channel 4 for showing this film.”
Navai further claimed that over 1,700 Palestinian doctors and healthcare workers had been killed, while more than 400 others had reportedly been detained. She dedicated the award to Palestinian medical personnel currently being held in Israeli detention facilities.
Reports indicated that the BBC removed sections of Navai’s comments from its televised broadcast after discussions with its compliance department.
The BBC had initially commissioned the documentary from independent production company Basement Films more than a year earlier but postponed its release while carrying out a review into another Gaza-focused documentary titled “Gaza: How To Survive a War Zone.”
The broadcaster later decided against airing “Gaza: Doctors Under Attack,” stating that the film could create “a perception of partiality that would not meet the high standards that the public rightly expect of the BBC.”
The corporation additionally maintained that impartiality remains “a core principle of BBC News.”
Following the BBC’s decision, the documentary was later acquired and broadcast by Channel 4 in July last year.
Speaking backstage after receiving the Bafta award, de Pear commended Gazan journalists Jaber Badwan and Osana Al Ashi, who contributed footage to the production, noting that the team “woke up every day wondering if the two journalists on the ground were still alive.”
