Gaza Doctors Speak Out After BAFTA Win, Challenging BBC Over Acceptance Speech
The team behind Channel 4’s documentary Gaza: Doctors Under Attack has launched a pointed critique of the BBC following their recent BAFTA TV Award win.
In June 2025, the BBC dropped the film hosted by Ramita Navai, citing concerns over impartiality. The documentary, which highlights the challenges faced by medics in Gaza, was subsequently aired by Channel 4.
During the BAFTA ceremony on Sunday night, Doctors Under Attack won the award for Current Affairs, with Navai using her acceptance speech to address the BBC’s decision directly.
Raising statistics on the fatalities in Gaza caused by Israeli actions, Navai remarked, “these are the findings of a film that the BBC paid for and refused to show.”
“We refused to be silenced and censored,” she continued. “We thank Channel 4 for showing this film.”
Ben De Pear, executive producer of Gaza: Doctors Under Attack for Basement Films, also challenged the BBC to edit out his remarks from the ceremony, which is set to air on BBC One with a two-hour delay. “Given you dropped the film, will you drop us from the BAFTA screening?” he questioned.
In their statement at the time of dropping the documentary, the BBC explained, “We have come to the conclusion that broadcasting this material risked creating a perception of partiality that would not meet the high standards that the public rightly expect of the BBC.”
The organization emphasized, “Impartiality is a core principle of BBC News. It is one of the reasons that we are the world’s most trusted broadcaster. Therefore, we are transferring ownership of the film material to Basement Films.”
The BBC further expressed gratitude to the doctors and contributors involved, stating, “We are sorry we could not tell their stories. The BBC will continue to cover events in Gaza impartially.”
In response, Basement Films contended that the BBC had previously approved Doctors Under Attack for broadcast, calling it a “vital piece of public service journalism.”
“They gave us no less than six different release dates, and it was subjected to a long and repeated compliance process as well as scrupulous fact checking,” Basement stated. “They then apologized and reversed their position.”
