Late Late Show most complained about TV or radio programme of last three years

Figures obtained under FOI reveal there were 253 official complaints made to the BAI about TV and radio shows over the past three years.

Of those, 180 related to RTÉ’s TV and radio stations, of which 168 have been closed with the remainder “ongoing”.

From the cases involving RTÉ, just one complaint was upheld and three were partially upheld.

An RTÉ spokesman said: “From the balance of 162 complaints, 12 were resolved and did not proceed to the BAI, while the remaining 150 were rejected.

None of the complaints made against The Late Late Show over the two-year period were upheld. This, in our view, upholds the consistently high standards set by the programme.

Almost half of the complaints registered about The Late Late related to a single programme that was broadcast in January 2017.

It featured a controversial appearance by Blindboy of the Rubberbandits comedy act in which he made a joke comparing communion wafer to “haunted bread”.

That episode of the show attracted 14 complaints, of which two were resolved prior to being considered by the BAI. The remainder were all rejected.

Ten complaints were made about RTÉ Investigates, of which all but one related to the hard-hitting documentary about the greyhound industry.

“All complaints against RTÉ Investigates: Running for Their Lives were rejected,” said an RTÉ spokesman.

“In its decision, the BAI Compliance Committee stated, ‘the committee found that the programme was a comprehensive exploration of the topic in a factual manner which was fair, objective, and impartial’.”

The spokesman said that in rejecting the complaints, the BAI had found that the greyhound investigation fulfilled all the standards required under legislation and broadcasting codes.

The documentary revealed that up to 6,000 greyhounds were culled each year and led to major changes in how the industry is run, particularly around animal welfare.

Pat Kenny’s radio and TV shows on Newstalk and Virgin Media One attracted 14 complaints, according to the database of BAI complaints.

Of those, 12 related to his radio show and two to his TV programme. Of the 14, all but one were rejected. One case, relating to his radio show, was classified as “resolved” prior to consideration by the BAI.

Claire Byrne Live on RTÉ One was the subject of eight complaints, six of which were rejected and two that are “ongoing”.

The Ray D’Arcy Show on RTÉ Radio 1 had six official complaints, five of which were rejected and one that is still under consideration.

Ryan Tubridy’s radio show received five complaints.

Of those, two were rejected, two were resolved before being considered by the BAI, and one is ongoing.