Viewers beg BBC royal editor Jonny Dymond to do up his shirt on Prince William and Harry documentary

It’s already caused huge ructions between the BBC and the Royal Family, but now there’s a new source of controversy over The Princes And The Press – the very relaxed dress sense of journalist Jonny Dymond.

The Corporation’s royal correspondent appeared on the documentary with the top two buttons of his shirt open, prompting critical comments from viewers distracted by his dressed-down look.

Writing on social media, one viewer asked of the 51-year-old: ‘Why would you go on the television dressed like that? You wouldn’t see his predecessor Nicholas Witchell with his buttons undone.’ 

Button up! Journalist Jonny Dymond (pictured) has caused controversy after appearing on BBC documentary The Princes And The Press with the top two buttons of his shirt open

Fashion choices: It is not the first time the Corporation’s royal correspondent (pictured on The One Show in January 2020 has opted for a more casual look in front of the cameras

Another viewer told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Simon Cowell can get away with having his buttons undone, but I’m not sure Jonny Dymond can.’

It is not the first time Mr Dymond has opted for a more casual look in front of the cameras.

In January last year he made three TV appearances – on the Victoria Derbyshire show, The One Show and BBC News – without a tie and with several of his shirt buttons undone. Months earlier, he delivered a royal report on BBC News in a similar state.

The on-air appearance of BBC journalists has long been the source of debate. Newsreader Peter Sissons was famously criticised for failing to wear a black tie when the Queen Mother died in 2002. 

And in a leaked 2017 email, one BBC boss said journalists should remove ties only if they are reporting on the weather being over 90F (32C).

Off-screen, the Corporation’s director-general Tim Davie faced criticism earlier this year for wearing jeans and trainers to public events.

Oh dear! In January last year he made three TV appearances – on the Victoria Derbyshire show (pictured), The One Show and BBC News – with several of his shirt buttons undone

Relaxed attire: The BBC royal editor also did not wear a tie as he opted for a more relaxed attire while appearing on the Victoria Derbyshire Show in January 2020 (pictured) 

Casual: Months earlier, Mr Dymond also delivered a royal report on BBC News (pictured) in a similar state

My Dymond’s sartorial choices have not hampered his career. 

A former Newsnight producer, he worked as a politics reporter for the BBC World Service, before moving to Washington DC, where he covered 9/11.

He has been the royal correspondent since 2017 and used his appearance on The Princes And The Press to describe The Mail on Sunday as ‘clever’ for revealing that paparazzi had persuaded Thomas Markle to pose for staged photographs before his daughter’s wedding.

Describing the impact of the 2018 scoop, he said: ‘The Mail on Sunday, I mean bless them, they’re so clever. They work out that these photos are posed and they blow it out of the water. 

‘And then it all goes bonkers about whether he [Mr Markle] is coming or whether he’s not coming [to the wedding], and meanwhile then the Palace just closes down, it’s just ‘no comment’ and ‘we’ve got no comment’.’

Born in London and educated at Durham University and the London School of Economics, Mr Dymond was fined £230 in 2008 after two grams of cannabis were found in his luggage during an airport search in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. 

He admitted buying the drug at a nightclub, but claimed he packed it into his suitcase inadvertently.