BBC were forced to ban Six Nations advert over claims it was 'anti-English'

The BBC decided to ban a promotional trailer for its Six Nations coverage before it even aired over fears it was 'anti-English'.

Following a brief one week break, the Six Nations returns this weekend for several big clashes across the table.

Perhaps more important than any other match this weekend is Saturday afternoon's game between England and Italy at Twickenham, with the result potentially deciding the future of England head coach Steve Borthwick.

As is the case every year in the Six Nations, the pressure is on England perhaps more than any other team, with fans of both England and their rivals quick to turn on the players and staff.

And it is exactly this sentiment that led to the BBC deciding against airing a hilarious promotional advert for their 2012 Six Nations coverage.

Pressure is mounting on England following their poor start to the 2026 Six Nations. (Image: Visionhaus/Getty Images)

The campaign showed fans of Scotland, Wales, Ireland and even Italy enthusiastically shouting, chanting and sometimes singing, England's name while wearing the shirts of their own nation.

Initially, this appears to be surprising, but the advert cleverly reveals at the end that the fans had been asked which team they most wanted to beat at the Six Nations.

"The Six Nations. It's not about who you want to win...it's about who you want to lose," the advert reveals.

The triumphant music then suddenly cuts, with the cameras showing a group of English fans disagreeing over who they want to beat while sitting in a pub.

However, according to The Guardian, tournament organisers reportedly raised concerns that the advert was too one-sided and anti-English after seeing an early copy.

Therefore, before it ran on air, the advert was re-edited, with the new version balanced view of fans from England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Italy.

A BBC spokeswoman said: "The creative concept for the Six Nations trail was around fans being united in rivalry.

"We featured real fans from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland in the trail all talking about who they wanted to beat.

"The non- English fans interviewed for the trail all wanted to beat England which made the first cut of the trail slightly unbalanced.

"We therefore changed the balance of the fans in the next edit to make the trail more representative."

But that didn't stop the original from one day seeing the light of day as two years later, in 2014, the video suddenly leaked online and continues to be shared every year by England's rivals.