BBC viewers have been left incensed after reports that Channel migrants were ‘coached’ by campaigners before appearing on Question Time. The controversy has led to demands for host Fiona Bruce to be removed from the programme.
Claims of Coaching
According to The Telegraph, the BBC immigration special aired in December 2025 featured two asylum seekers who had been ‘placed’ by pro-migration charity Imix. Imix chief executive Jenni Regan reportedly also appeared in the audience that night and warned against reducing migration numbers.
Reform UK spokesman Zia Yusuf, a panellist on the show, expressed fury over the incident. He told the publication: “The programme represented a clear failure of impartiality, editorial judgment and audience selection by the BBC.”
He added: “We are seeing an increasingly blatant pattern of bias and prejudice from the taxpayer-funded broadcaster.”
Social Media Backlash
Fans took to social media to share their opinions. One fumed on X: “It’s actually worse. One of the very few ‘questions’ put by the so-called audience was from the manager of the charity who arranged for the illegals. Who prepared and briefed them, even putting notes for them on their phones. Was this the ‘charity’ itself or did the BBC scripting their input?”
The user continued: “Fiona Bruce makes me feel sick. You can’t run this bigoted garbage, week in week out, and not know what’s being set up.”
Another echoed: “If the #BBC needs to save some money & at the same time remove two programmes that have caused a mass exodus of TV licenses they should cut Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg & Question Time with Fiona Bruce.”
A third said: “The presenter must be in on this and know exactly what's going on! So it's acting when Fiona Bruce 'decides' who to pick out from the audience to ask a question. So glad I stopped watching over ten years ago!”
BBC Response
The BBC said Imix was one of a number of organisations approached before the episode was filmed. It stated that producers sought to “find audience members that could give different perspectives on the debate about immigration in the UK”.
The broadcaster added that the episode aimed to encourage debate between opposing viewpoints and that the migrants were challenged during the show.
