'I fear impact of Bafta Tourette's row on others'

A man who lives with Tourette's syndrome hopes people will see past a negative representation of the disorder after a row following this year's Bafta Film Awards.

The BBC apologised on Monday for not editing out a racial slur from its coverage after a guest with Tourette's syndrome shouted out while two black actors were on stage.

John Davidson, whose life story inspired the film I Swear, shouted the N-word as Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented a prize at the ceremony on Sunday.

"The irony of this occurring around a film that was made to educate people on Tourette's is not lost on a lot of people," said Greg Storey, from Stoke-on-Trent, who has lived with the condition all his life.

Storey, who knows Davidson, said he was "one of the sweetest men you'll ever meet".

He added: "He's incredibly empathetic, sympathetic and will be worried about how this is going to affect the view of Tourette's going forward.

"The man has spent his life educating people about Tourette's to try and avoid the very situation that happened at the Baftas.

"My heart truly goes out to him. This will be going around his head and be worrying to him for quite a while I feel, unfortunately."

BBC content chief Kate Phillips emailed staff on Tuesday, reiterating the BBC's apology for it not being edited out of the broadcast, adding: "We understand how distressing this was."

Phillips confirmed other instances of offensive language had been removed, telling staff: "The edit team removed another racial slur from the broadcast."

In contrast, the slur shouted when Lindo and Jordan were on stage "was aired in error and we would never have knowingly allowed this to be broadcast", she said.

Storey said the awards ceremony would have been crowded and quite stressful, given the number of high profile people there.

Nerves and stress were known to be triggers for outbursts – known as tics – he added.

He said Davidson would have been very conscious of not disrupting the event, and this would also have added to the pressure building up for him at the time.

He described the outbursts as feeling "like a sneeze" which were difficult to control despite those with the condition being aware they were about to happen.

"The speech part of your brain explodes," he said.

Storey's own version of Tourette's made him involuntarily shout the word "chicken".

Storey added that some people with the disorder might now be worried about leaving their houses because of the attention that could be drawn to them as a result of their tics and the negative reaction to the Baftas incident.

"I still believe it should be a night of celebration for the film," he said.

"It's an absolutely phenomenal representation of what it's like to live with Tourette's."

The film tells the story of a young boy growing up with Tourette's syndrome in Scotland in the 1980s and is based on the life of campaigner Davidson.

The charity Tourettes Action said it hoped those commenting would take the time to watch the film, learn about Tourette's, and understand the experiences of people living with the condition.

"Education is key, and compassion makes a world of difference," a spokesperson said.

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