It was clearly a joke, regulator tells complainants

Frankie Boyle’s joke about rioting in protest at the royal family has been cleared by TV watchdog Ofcom.

The regulators received 114 complaints about the gag in his recent Channel 4 special Frankie Boyle's Farewell to the Monarchy, and which also featured in the special.

In the programme aired in the run-up to the Coronation, the comic said of the royal family: ‘ Let's get out on the streets and raise a bottle to them… filled with petrol and a burning rag.’

The gag was characterised by some newspapers as being about ‘petrol bombing members of the family’ – but Ofcom has now ruled the comment was 'clearly comedic’.

Watchdogs also dismissed a further 22 complaints which claimed Boyle breached acceptable TV standards in his disrespect for the monarchy. 

In the hour-long show, which aired on April 30,  the 50-year-old called the royal family ’Britain’s most boring crime syndicate’ and joked: 'I didn't make any jokes when the Queen died.  I maintained a strict silence as I tried to sneak back out of her bedroom.’

Ofcom assessed the programme but said it did not raise issues that warranted an investigation under the Broadcasting Code.

A spokesman said: 'We assessed complaints from viewers who felt this comedy programme was disrespectful towards the royal family.

'We took into account audience expectations of the presenter, the fact the programme was broadcast after the watershed, and the advance warning displayed that it contained potentially offensive views about the monarchy.’

Last year, Ofcom cleared Boyle over a joke he made on Channel 4’s The Last Leg.

After Boris Johnson concluded his final Prime Minister’s Questions by quoting the Terminator line: ‘Hasta la vista, baby’, the comic said: ‘You finished with a quote from The Terminator. The Terminator! After you killed 150,000 fucking people during the pandemic. I don’t want to sound like I’ve got a grudge or anything, but I hope a vent opens up in the ground and clawed hands drag you screaming into hell.'

The line prompted 11 complaints, but Ofcom said they did not warrant further investigation. 

» Chortle’s review of Frankie Boyle's Farewell to the Monarchy

Published: 8 Jun 2023