Fiona Bruce ‘was really unhappy’ after she called Question Time audience member ‘the black guy’

Fiona Bruce has said that she was “really unhappy” with herself after referring to a Question Time audience member as “the black guy”.

The BBC broadcast an episode of its topical debate show from Wolverhampton in October in which Bruce, who had identified other white audience members by the clothes they were wearing, directed the microphone to Roberto Gocan, 35, by calling him “the black guy in the middle” on air.

Her remarks were broadcast on BBC One, but they were edited out when the show later moved to the on-demand iPlayer service.

The 59-year-old veteran journalist, newsreader and television presenter released a statement through the BBC apologising and phoned Mr Gocan personally to offer her apology.

She has now spoken out about the incident again, saying that her mistakes sit with her “for a long time”.

In an interview with the magazine Woman and Home, she said: “Social media can be relentlessly critical, particularly if you’re a woman in a political arena.

“You just have to think: ‘Am I doing this job to the best of my ability?’ and if you are, that’s the best you can do. It’s really important to set your own standard and not let it be set by others. If I manage to achieve that – and I’m not saying I achieve that every week – then I absolutely can switch off.

“If I think I’ve made a mistake, it sits with me for a long time. When [I referred to an audience member on Question Time as ‘the black guy’], I was really unhappy about it.

“It was definitely not the best way to describe him. Some people were critical; some said: ‘That’s ridiculous.’”

Lightning rod

Bruce added: “On Question Time, it’s an extraordinary lightning rod for criticism of the BBC. Some are on a hair trigger looking for bias or the wrong thing [said]. It’s not the first and it won’t be the last time I don’t get it right, but it’s not an insignificant challenge on live television to have the right response every time.”

Mr Grocan told The Mirror after the incident: “I’m not going to speak too much about the conversation we had … but she called me personally and I do rate her for that.”

“She has given her public explanation which was clearly worded from the statement they put out,” he added. “I’ll just say it was similar to that.

“Micro-aggressions should be highlighted across the board. But I’m not looking to have a witch-hunt against Fiona Bruce.”

Bruce has hosted Question Time since 2019, when she took over from the long-serving presenter David Dimbleby. The BBC was contacted for comment.