BBC Bias Exposed at Last

Posted on 20 Nov 2025

2017 Blue Planet II (7 Episodes)

This is the most successful TV programme the BBC ever produced. It was sold to 180 countries worldwide and was translated into 40 languages. It is estimated to have been seen by 700 million people.

Blue Planet content with Anti-Plastic Bias

First the viewer was shown a dead baby whale, attended by its grieving mother.  Sir David Attenborough, in sepulchral tones, said it had probably died from plastic contained in its mother’s milk!! Later, the BBC admitted Dr Paul Jepson, the scientist advising the BBC had said ‘No autopsy had been done, and the actual cause of death remained unknown.’ Nevertheless, 700 million viewers worldwide saw this dead whale and the BBC never edited the initial programme when sold worldwide.

Secondly, episode 7 showed a scuba diver swimming through a sea of plastic. No indication was given as to the location. In fact, it was filmed in Indonesia where domestic waste was being tipped directly into the ocean. As a consequence, the floating plastic was filmed, giving a totally distorted view, as no reference was made to all the other sunken polluting waste also being dumped.

Finally, an albatross chick was shown being fed plastic waste by its mother. In the same episode Sir David said 10 million sharks, dolphins and turtles die every year, trapped in discarded fishing nets. (That’s 100 million large marine animals in 10 years). No further reference was made to the discarded fishing gear in which they died, or that discarded fishing gear is the biggest contributor to plastic pollution in the world’s oceans.

In 2018 BBC Drowning in Plastic (1 ½ hour ‘Special’) 

This programme claimed that there were 51 trillion pieces of plastic in the world’s oceans!! And by 2050, there would be more plastics in the world’s oceans than fish. This ‘fact’ has no foundation in science, nor has it any research to support it. The whole programme then focussed on the problems of ‘Plastic Pollution’ (the Symptoms) rather than the countries, China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, etc, who dump much of their waste directly into the world’s rivers and oceans (the disease). The whole of Europe contributes less than 1% of ocean plastic pollution mostly from shipping.  

2019 BBC War on Plastic (3, 1-hour Episodes)

This programme claimed, and I quote, “Plastic pollutes every aspect of our lives” Really!! It then went on to claim “Replacing plastic wherever possible is beneficial to the environment” – this is simply not true. In fact, there are over 70 life cycle analysis that conclude replacing plastics with paper / board / glass / aluminium or tin, creates more greenhouse gas emissions, (climate change) more waste and uses more of the Earth’s natural resources in virtually every application.

Replacing Plastic Packaging with Paper

2022 – 2024 BBC The Big Plastic Count (2, 1-hour specials)

Space limitations restrict comment on the BBC distorted contribution to this Greenpeace anti-plastic programme. In summary, households were requested to ‘bring out their plastic’ bags, bottles, containers in their thousands. Schools and our children were encouraged to join in, to demonstrate just how much plastic was used in our homes. At no point did the programme highlight how much food waste was saved by plastic. How the climate benefits from the reduction in CO2 by using plastic or the savings in natural resources when plastic is preferred to alternative materials. Nor did it mention millions of tonnes of extra domestic waste we would produce replacing plastic.  

In Summary BBC Anti-Plastic Programmes

2017 Blue Planet II (7 Episodes)

2018 Drowning in Plastic (1 & ½ hour Special)

2019 War on Plastic (3 Episodes)

2022/24 The Great Plastic Count (2 Episodes)

15 hours of anti-plastic peak times viewing

From 2017 to 2025, the BBC has pursued a remorseless biased anti-plastic agenda. As recently as last month, the fantastic programme ‘Tropic of Cancer’ travelled 25000 miles around the world.

However, it finished on a plastic covered beach, in Hawaii, Simon Reeves, the presenter posed the question – ‘Where does this plastic come from’ and answered it himself ‘From the Pacific Ocean’, he simply ignored the fact that included in the waste was a contractor’s helmet, flip flops, fishing gear and a lobster pot, all dumped from surrounding countries. As always, the impression given was the plastic pollution was the problem, not the plastic polluter.  

My Response to the BBC

Over the years, since Blue Planet, I have written to complain about the BBC anti-plastic bias to Sir David Attenborough at the BBC, to his agent, to Lord Hall, when Director General of the BBC, to Oliver Dowden when Minister for Media, Culture and Sport, the Ofcom (twice) and the BBC directly on 3 separate occasions (along with letters to the Times and Telegraph). The responses can be summarised as follows;

A complete waste of time. Sir David didn’t reply, Lord Hall and Bowden referred me to BBC complaints department, whilst Ofcom and the BBC said ‘Editorial decisions were not distorting the programmes!’

So, congratulations to Donald Trump, whatever his other failings, he got more response with one lawsuit from the BBC than Barry Twigg ever did. The truth is, the BBC has spent 8 years producing anti-plastic programmes. They have brainwashed their viewers, with distorted facts and at last, they have been found out.

As ever, I welcome your views on any of the items considered and you would be welcome to join me on LinkedIn for more regular contributions. 

Twigg Times 

#DontHatePlastic