Council leader walks out of BBC awards event after DJ's joke
Cllr Mark Arnull has made an official complaint to the BBC over a joke by popular DJ Bernie Keith
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By Nadia Lincoln, local democracy reporter
A Reform UK council leader stormed out of a BBC awards ceremony after he alleged a presenter made a ‘deeply offensive’ joke about the organisation’s ‘former sexually deviant presenters’.
Mark Arnull, who leads West Northamptonshire Council (WNC), has raised a formal complaint to the BBC surrounding the Northampton Make A Difference Awards, held at the Royal & Derngate on Wednesday (September 10).
Each BBC local radio station host their own local awards across the country and is a chance to honour community heroes through a number of different awards.
The Reform leader, who has been in office since May, is calling for a public apology from local radio presenter Bernie Keith, who Mr Arnull said appeared to make a joke about ‘the BBC paying off its former sexually deviant presenters’, while hosting the event on stage. The BBC has suffered a few scandals in recent years regarding high profile presenters.
Bernie Keith is known for his use of innuendo and double entendre and celebrated 25 years of his popular mid-morning show this April, receiving praise from a number of celebrities and Earl Spencer who he counts as a friend.
His co-presenter at the awards, Radio Northampton’s breakfast host Annabel Amos, called him on his quarter century anniversary a ‘broadcaster of incomparable quality’ and Earl Spencer commended his ‘sheer naughtiness’.
Mr Arnull said:
“I just got up, got my bag and left because I thought it wasn’t appropriate to be endorsing that kind of content.
“It’s no surprise that members of the public call to defund the BBC when there seems to be evidence of a double standard for members of the public and BBC staff.”
He has urged both the Royal & Derngate and the BBC to review the incident and consider implementing stronger oversight and guidance for presenters and hosts at future community events.
In the written complaint, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), he added that the remark “deeply misaligned with the values of the event and the standards expected at a publicly supported venue”.
“West Northamptonshire Council provides significant financial support to Royal & Derngate, and with that comes a responsibility to ensure that events hosted at the venue reflect the dignity, inclusivity, and professionalism that our community deserves.
“Whilst humour absolutely has a place in society, and in some cases comes with advisory warnings, it is deeply disappointing that such a remark was made in a setting intended to celebrate the positive contributions of individuals across our region.”
A BBC spokesperson said:
“This was an unscripted remark made at a live event, and it was completely inappropriate. It falls far short of the standards we expect, and we apologise for this.”
Additional reporting by Sarah Ward
Of course Arnull couldn’t just quietly leave if he didn’t like what he heard.
Would someone who supports him like to explain to me why these comments (presumably made at an evening for adults where the beers were flowing) are so offensive he ALSO needed to jeopardise someone’s career & make veiled threats against Derngate & Auntie.
It couldn’t possibly be political posturing could it? 🤔
I hope that Cllr Arnull's comment "West Northamptonshire Council provides significant financial support to Royal & Derngate" doesn't indicate that he's looking for an excuse to defund the venue.