Skip to main content

Home Culture Culture Film & TV

Olly Alexander’s NYE performance received 179 complaints for being ‘too sexy’

"Gonna aim for 200 next time"

By Alastair James

Words: Alastair James; pictures: BBC

Olly Alexander and the BBC have responded to complaints that its New Year’s Eve programme, The Big New Year’s Eve Party, was inappropriate. Can you guess whosse response was more tongue in cheek?

Years and Years singer Olly, 31, fronted the BBC’s NYE celebration along with Kylie Minogue and The Pet Shop Boys to help bring in 2022 with some camp, festive cheer as part of a pre-recorded programme.

However, the show attracted 179 complaints from viewers who were unhappy with the broadcast, according to the BBC.

“Too sexy”

Publishing its response to the complaints on Tuesday (11 January) The Beeb said: “The event and the staging of this late night show is intended to be a celebration for all and we hope that for the majority of viewers watching, the tone of the overall concert remained within general audience expectations.”

The It’s a Sin star laughed at the complaints that he was “too sexy” in a tweet, where he also said that he was “gonna aim for 200 next time”.

Olly Alexander’s next album, Night Call, is due out next Friday (21 January) and is his first album as a Years and Years solo act. He posted on Instagram on Tuesday to announce that he was out of isolation after testing positive for Covid-19. 

 
 
 
View this post on Instagram

A post shared by olly alexander (@ollyyears)

The Big New Year’s Eve Party is available to stream on the BBC iPlayer now.

The Attitude February issue is out now. 

Subscribe in print and get your first three issues for just £1 each, or digitally for just over £1.50 per issue.