Katherine Ryan has apologised to Victoria Beckham for using a swear word to refer to her during an episode of Have I Got News For You that aired last year. The BBC edited the joke out of the programme on iPlayer after upholding complaints from two viewers.
Comedian's public apology
In a lengthy video shared to Instagram, the comedian, 43, said: “I’m really sorry, sometimes the jokes don’t land.” She revealed that following the episode, Victoria, 52, contacted her, and Ryan sent a message apologising, saying ‘it was a stupid joke’ and that she ‘didn't mean any harm.’
Ryan opened the video seemingly justifying her actions by blaming matrescence - the deep physical, emotional, and psychological process of becoming a mother - explaining that she had returned to work just 10 days after daughter Holland was born.
Ryan said: “At that time, though there is no defence, I was suffering from a condition called matrescence. I was in that building with a 10-day-old baby. Should I have left the house? “This is gonna be a tough one for the feminists because I was a woman going to work but I did call another woman a c. Sometimes I forget that celebrities are not my friends.”
BBC ruling and investigation
The public apology followed the BBC’s decision on Thursday to uphold complaints from two viewers that the ‘obscene term’ was ‘gratuitously offensive'. The original episode of Have I Got News for You has been edited for iPlayer to remove the joke.
The episode initially aired on 7 November 2025, where Ryan - who hosts the show - mentioned an email allegedly sent by Sir David Beckham where the c-word was used. Speaking to the Have I Got News For You panellists, Ryan said: "I don't know that we are allowed to broadcast the c-word, but you did reference Victoria Beckham earlier and we'll allow that."
At the time, the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit responded to complaints saying the use of the strong language was ‘editorially justified’ as the panellists were ‘directly quoting from leaked emails’, adding it was ‘never’ their intention to offend the audience. However, following an almost year-long investigation, on Thursday the ECU performed a spectacular U-turn and upheld the complaints.
Producer's opposition
Outlining their ruling they said: “There was no justification for a comment which presented Victoria Beckham as equivalent to a particularly offensive word.” It added: “The relevant BBC editorial guidelines do not require programmes to avoid giving offence but do require that any offence should be editorially justified.”
In response to the ruling, Jimmy Mulville - a producer on the show - opposed this decision, saying the investigation was a ‘total waste of the licence fee’ and proved the BBC’s ‘paranoia’ about causing offence. He told industry publication Deadline: “The fact the two members of a 6 million audience took offence, which then triggered a year-long investigation by the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit, whom we’ve never met and sounds like something out of Kafka… HIGNFY is set up to be comically and intentionally offensive.” The Mirror approached the BBC and representatives for Katherine Ryan and Victoria Beckham for comment.
