Monday February 23rd 2026
John Davidson MBE
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Paul Kelly
A councillor has expressed dismay at the furore caused following a Borders Tourette Syndrome campaigner’s appearance at the BAFTAs in London.
It was a night of triumph for Galashiels-based John Davidson at the glittering ceremony.
The film based on his life, I Swear, was nominated in several categories and the actor playing him, Robert Aramayo, walked off with the prestigious best actor award – beating such Hollywood stars as Leonardo DiCaprio and Timothée Chalamet in the process.
But there was controversy too after Mr Davidson made a number of outbursts during the BAFTA ceremony, including “shut the f**k up” during an introductory speech from BAFTA chair Sara Putt.
A racial slur was also directed at Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo, stars of the US movie Sinnners, leading the BBC to apologise for the “strong and offensive language”.
BAFTA host Alan Cumming addressed the issue during the ceremony, saying: “You may have noticed some strong language in the background. This can be part of how Tourette Syndrome shows up for some people as the film explores that experience.”
Cumming told the audience, which included the Prince and Princess of Wales: “Thanks for your understanding and helping create a respectful space for everyone.”
Watching the ceremony was East Berwickshire Independent councillor James Anderson, who was unhappy that the controversy overshadowed the success of Mr Davidson’s film.
He said: “It’s hard not to roll your eyes at some of the outrage being stirred up over John Davidson having a tic at the BAFTAs.
“He was there because of who he is, including the reality that he has tics. Nobody in that room should have been surprised by it. And let’s be honest, the broadcast wasn’t live in the sense that it couldn’t be edited, there was plenty of time to remove it if organisers had felt it was inappropriate.
“Instead, it was left in and now parts of the media are focusing heavily on the host’s apology to manufacture controversy. It feels less about genuine concern and more about chasing headlines.
“We should be moving toward understanding and normalising differences, not amplifying moments for clicks and outrage. Sometimes the real issue isn’t what happened on stage it’s how it’s framed afterwards.
“The biggest issue to come out of this is that they totally missed the point of John’s film.”
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