The has upheld complaints about a joke made about on Have I Got News For You.

Ryan made the remark while guest hosting the BBC panel show in November 2025, during a discussion about and his use of the c-word.

The episode had been looking back at an email David reportedly sent in 2013 after learning that he had not been awarded a knighthood. The correspondence, which later emerged as part of the Football Leaks documents, saw Beckham reportedly describe the honours committee using the swear word.

What did Katherine Ryan say about Victoria Beckham on Have I Got News For You?

The subject came up during the programme when panellist Maisie Adam joked about David receiving the honour.

Adam said: “It would have been nice and maybe poetic if Charles had got his own back by knighting him and then going, ‘Arise, you cunt’ That’d be nice.”

Ryan then responded: “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.”

Adam reacted by saying: “Katherine Ryan!”

Ryan replied: “I like her! I wasn’t expecting that response.”

Why did viewers complain to the BBC?

Two viewers subsequently complained about the reference to Victoria, with the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) considering whether the remark was editorially justified.

The ECU said the programme was permitted to use strong language in the context of its discussion about David. It had been broadcast after the watershed and carried a warning about very strong language.

However, the complaints unit distinguished between the discussion about David and Ryan’s separate reference to his wife.

“The relevant BBC editorial guidelines do not require programmes to avoid giving offence but do require that any offence should be editorially justified.”

“There was no such justification for [the] comment” – the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU)

In its ruling, the ECU said there was an editorial justification for the use of the c-word when discussing David because it related directly to the subject being covered on the programme.

It said: “The inclusion of the c-word in the programme derived editorial justification from David Beckham’s alleged use of it and the satirical reflections this prompted.”

The statement continued: “However, there was no such justification for a comment which presented Victoria Beckham as equivalent to a particularly offensive word.”

As a result, the complaints were upheld. Following the finding, BBC Content management replaced the version of the episode on BBC iPlayer with an edited version.