UK TV and Radio News

Speaking on Radio 4's Heresy show last night, comedian Jo Brand joked:

 Certain unpleasant characters are being thrown to the fore, and they're very, very easy to hate.

And I'm kind of thinking, why bother with a milkshake when you could get some battery acid?

That's just me, sorry, I'm not gonna do it, it's purely a fantasy. But I think milkshakes are pathetic, I honestly do. Sorry.

Presumably she was referring to Nigel Farage being hit with a milkshake whist campaigning before the European elections.

The gag was met with howls of laughter from the studio audience and show host Victoria Coren Mitchell didn't appear concerned by the remarks.

The gag has caused a bit of a flurry of complaints eliciting an initial response from the BBC.

The Sun reported that the BBC refused to apologise for the broadcast and said remarks on the comedy show were not intended to be taken seriously.  A spokeswoman said:

Heresy is a long-running comedy programme where, as the title implies and as our listeners know, panellists often say things which are deliberately provocative and go against societal norms but are not intended to be taken seriously.

But this of course highlights rather obvious injustice in the kangaroo court system whose jurisdiction is political correctness. Had a male comedian joked about similarly about a female politician, then that comedian would have been marched off the premises, and the police would have been waiting on his doorstep when he arrived home. And I guess a similar thought would go through the mind of anyone reading about the BBC response to the joke.

But perhaps the BBC has realised that it has been to blatant in its biased version of PC justice and has taken the unusual action of asking interested viewers to be informed of the official response to the complaints by email rather than the BBFC publishing its response on its website.

Meanwhile Nigel Farage has responded saying: T his is incitement of violence and the police need to act.

Broadcasting watchdog Ofcom confirmed it had received 19 complaints from angry listeners since the show was broadcast.

Perhaps it is about time that the politically correct police and media realised that it is simply unjust to tacitly support the milkshaking of politicians who are considered politically incorrect. It is demonstrating the human failing that anyone granted power over others, may and will use that power to abuse those less favoured. An observation that applies equally to all genders, sexualities, religions and races.

Update: Theresa May weighs in

14th June 2019. See article from bbc.com and article from bbc.co.uk

Prime Minister Theresa May has said the BBC should explain why a Jo Brand joke about throwing battery acid was appropriate content for broadcast. The prime minister's spokesman said

Mrs May has been clear politicians should be able to go about their work and campaign without harassment, intimidation or abuse.

The BBC has removed a Jo Brand joke from its iPlayer catch-up service after it was suggested that it condoned violence.

Update: Inequality at the BBC

15th June 2019. See article from telegraph.co.uk See also article from bbc.co.uk

Jo Brand will be back on Radio 4 next week, as police confirmed they will take no further action over her comments.

The Telegraph understands that internally, the BBC are resolutely supporting Brand, with one insider saying:

Jo Brand is a much loved comedian and part of the Radio 4 family -- she will continue to be so, and will continue to appear on our programmes.

The full BBC response which was belatedly published on its website reads:

Heresy is a long-running comedy programme where, as the title implies and as our listeners know, panellists often say things which are deliberately provocative and go against societal norms but are not intended to be taken seriously. We carefully considered the programme before broadcast. It was never intended to encourage or condone violence, and it does not do so, but we have noted the strong reaction to it. Comedy will always push boundaries and will continue to do so, but on this occasion we have decided to edit the programme. We regret any offence we have caused.

It is good that the BBC is standing up against political correctness censorship but it seems unlikely that the BBC would be so supportive of a male comedian. In fact this case could set an interesting precedent as very few other complaints get quite so close to actually  inciting violence as Jo Brand's comment. So surely any future sacking for a PC joke will always be compared with this deciion.

Meanwhile Ofcom said they had received 287 complaints about the comments. Ofcom allows complaints about BBC programmes to be assessed by the BBC first, so it will take some time, if ever, before Ofcom considers the case.

Update: Final complaints tally

30th June 2019. See article [pdf] from downloads.bbc.co.uk

The BBC issues a fortnightly report on complaints received. The latest issue reveals that the BBC received 2971 complaints about Heresy. The BBC summarised that the complainants: Felt Jo Brand's humour was offensive or could incite violence

 A few people have complained about a segment on the BBC comedy show, Tonight with Vladimir Putin. The segment titled Meghan Markle's Royal Spark'l met with a few angry tweets that Meghan Markle was being portrayed as trailer trash

Complainers accused the BBC of racism after portraying Markle as a foul-mouthed and aggressive puppet living in a caravan who threatened to attack her sister-in-law Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge.

The BBC responded to the criticism, saying:

Viewers will clearly recognise this performance as a spoof and highly satirical, within the context of a programme which lampoons a wide range of public figures and the public's perception of them.

The Sex Business: Pain for Pleasure, Channel 5 10 December 2018, 22:00
The Sex Business: Trans On Demand, Channel 5, 11 December 2018, 22:00
The Sex Business: Orgasms for Sale, Channel 5, 12 December 2018, 22:00

The Sex Business was an observational documentary series on Channel 5 investigating the lives of sex workers in Britain.

Ofcom received 36 complaints about the three episodes of The Sex Business titled: Pain for Pleasure (Episode 1) 9 complaints; Trans On Demand (Episode 2) 23 complaints; and Orgasms for Sale (Episode 3) 4 complaints.

The programmes included interviews with sex workers and images of real sexual activity between the sex workers and their clients. In summary, the complainants considered that the sexual activity shown in these episodes was unsuitable for broadcast on Channel 5 from 22:00.

Ofcom gave plentiful examples of the content that offended including:

• a long-shot of a dominatrix stapling a client's genitals and describing it as a chastity device;
• three dominatrixes engaged in a sadomasochistic session with a client, who was tied and masked and had his testicles restrained in a device which was pulled upwards by a lever;
• a dominatrix describing her work including how she introduces anal play and how she takes one of her clients to a point where he doesn't want it and that is like a rape but completely consensual;
• a mid-shot, which was partially masked, of the same dominatrix anally fisting the masked client whose legs were suspended over a wooden frame and his wrists restrained by handcuffs (the point of insertion was not shown);
• a mid-shot of another dominatrix anally penetrating the same client with a prosthetic strap-on penis from behind the wooden frame (the point of insertion was not shown);
• mid-shots filmed to the side of two oral sex acts (anal and vaginal);
• a mid-shot showing the same sex worker urinating onto a client and asking the client if he wants to take the piss in his mouth or on his body;
• a mid-shot showing a male sex worker massaging and penetrating a female client with his fingers and masturbating her (the shot was filmed from behind the client so her genitals and the point of insertion were not visible) as she groans and breathes heavily;

Ofcom considered:

• Rule 2.3: In applying generally accepted standards broadcasters must ensure that material which may cause offence is justified by the context;
• Rule 1.19: Broadcasters must ensure that material broadcast after the watershed ... which contains images and/or language of a strong or explicit sexual nature, but is not 'adult sex material' [as defined in Rule 1.183206], is justified by the context.

Ofcom Decision

Ofcom considered that the content detailed in the Introduction was of a strong and explicit sexual nature. Channel 5 also accepted the sexual acts featured in the series were extreme and the programmes contained challenging material. The programmes featured real (not simulated) and extreme sexual activity, including penetration of the vagina and anus by body parts (such as toes, fists and fingers) and sex toys (prosthetic penises) as well as strong fetish and sadomasochistic sex acts (such as the nailing and stapling of a client's genitals, electrical charges applied to a client's genitals, caning and whipping of buttocks and forceful kicking of testicles). Ofcom considered that this was strong and graphic sexual content that had the clear potential to cause offence.

It is Ofcom's view that the majority of strong sexual images and language broadcast in this series were not sufficiently blurred and/or masked. In some cases, no masking or blurring was applied at all to close up images of sex acts (such as oral sex), including extreme sex acts (such as the caning and whipping of clients' buttocks causing open wounds and applying electrical charges to testicles). In the example of the urination scene, Channel 5 said that it was zoomed considerably to limit offence. However, in Ofcom's view the zooming of the camera was not sufficient to limit offence in this case. The scene also included the sex worker asking the client if he wanted to take the piss in his mouth or on his body, accompanied by unmasked footage of the urine being sprayed onto the client's naked body. Ofcom considered this resulted in a very strong sexualised image of degradation with the potential to cause considerable offence.

In Ofcom's view the sexual images and language in this documentary were of a strong sexual nature. The insufficient masking of the majority of images and the inclusion of close-up and mid-range shots resulted in this strong sexual content being graphic and explicit. Some of these extreme images were also repeated within each episode. Although the serious documentary genre provided editorial justification for the broadcast of sexual material, this was the strongest and explicit sexual material, broadcast on a public service channel without mandatory restricted access. Ofcom therefore concluded that these episodes were likely to have exceeded the expectations of the audience, even for an observational documentary dealing with sexual themes with a serious and observational editorial purpose, at this time. Therefore, viewers would have considered that this stronger sexual material required the strongest contextual justification and broadcasting the series later in the schedule after 23:00 may have helped provide such justification.

it is Ofcom's view that the strong sexual content in this series far exceeded the level of explicitness that viewers were likely to have expected to see in a programme broadcast from 22:00 on a freely available public service channel. Our Decision is therefore that the potentially offensive content in these programmes exceeded generally accepted standards, in breach of Rule 2.3.

it was Ofcom's view that scheduling this series of programmes at 22:00 did not limit the likelihood of children viewing strong sexual content. However, by scheduling the content at 23:00, Channel 5 may have been better able to ensure that the series was sufficiently contextually justified. For the reasons above, it is therefore Ofcom's Decision that the content also breached Rule 1.19.

Victoria Derbyshire is the BBC's arch social justice warrior and a daytime news presenter. She was introducing an interview with several Tory party leadership candidates including Jeremy Hunt. She introduced him as Jeremy Cunt, a nickname popular with those opposing his policies to privatise parts of the NHS.

And is if to confirm the underlying psyche that gave rise to this Freudian slip, Derbyshire went on to have a knock at men saying this was something that men usually say.

Having heard the nickname, it has a certain rhythm to it and sticks in the mind. I sure that this won't be the last time that this gets aired.

Update: The BBC publishes its official response

21st June 2019. See article from bbc.co.uk

Complaint

We received 387 complaints about the occurrence of strong language on this edition.

Our response:

We appreciate some viewers were offended by Victoria misspeaking while saying Jeremy Hunt's name on 10 June. She apologised immediately for the mistake.

We also recognise that some viewers were unhappy with how she phrased her apology. As you will appreciate this is a live show and she did not intend to cause any further upset with her remarks, and is sorry if that was the case.

Please note also we have removed that section of the broadcast from BBC iPlayer.

New research has found that reality TV programmes like Love Island , TOWIE and Geordie Shore have exposed children and young people to smoking and alcohol, partly because they're available on catch-up outside the 9pm watershed.

The study by the University of Nottingham's Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies found that reality shows contain much higher levels of tobacco and alcohol content than other primetime TV programme genres. The in-depth analysis is published in the Journal of Public Health.

The research team previously reported high levels of tobacco imagery, including branding, in the 2017 series of Love Island. However, after complaints over the level of smoking in that series, an editorial decision was made to remove smoking content. The team's new study found no tobacco content in the 2018 series of Love Island.

For this new study, the researchers measured depictions of alcohol and tobacco products on Made in Chelsea, The Only Way is Essex, Geordie Shore and Love Island and the now discontinued Celebrity Big Brother ,all airing on UK channels for a total of 112 episodes between January and August 2018. They measured the number of one-minute intervals containing tobacco and/or alcohol imagery, including actual use, implied use, tobacco or alcohol-related materials, and product-specific branding, and estimated viewer exposure to the imagery on screen.

Audience viewing figures were combined with mid-year population estimates for 2017 to estimate overall and individual impressions -- separate incidents seen -- by age group for each of the coded episodes.

Alcohol content appeared in all 112 episodes and in 2,212 one-minute intervals, or 42% of all intervals studied. 18% of intervals included actual alcohol consumption, while 34% featured inferred consumption, predominantly characters holding alcoholic drinks. The greatest number of intervals including any alcohol content occurred in Love Island. Alcohol branding occurred in 1% of intervals and was most prevalent in Geordie Shore (51 intervals, 69% of episodes). Forty brands were identified, the most common being Smirnoff vodka (23 intervals, all but one of which occurred in Geordie Shore).

Tobacco content appeared in 20 episodes, in 110 or 2% of all intervals studied. Almost all (98%) of this content occurred in a single reality TV series, Celebrity Big Brother. This included actual tobacco use, inferred tobacco use, and tobacco paraphernalia. Tobacco branding was not present.

When all the data were combined with audience viewing figures and population estimates, the researchers estimate that the 112 episodes delivered 4.9 billion overall alcohol impressions to the UK population, including 580 million to children under the age of 16, as well as 214 million overall tobacco impressions, including 47 million to children under 16.

Lead researcher on the study, Alexander Barker, from the University's Division of Epidemiology and Public Health, said:

Starting to smoke or drink alcohol at a young age is a strong predictor of dependence and continued use in later life. Recent data shows that 44% of 11 to 15-year-olds in England have had an alcoholic drink, and 19% have tried smoking.

Given that seeing alcohol or tobacco imagery in the media promotes use among young people, our study therefore identifies reality television shows as a major potential driver of alcohol and tobacco consumption in young people in the UK. Tighter scheduling rules, such as restricting the amount of content and branding shown in these programmes, could prevent children and adolescents from being exposed to the tobacco and alcohol content.

Advertisers have launched a scathing attack on the government's plans to introduce further restrictions on junk food advertising, describing them as totally disproportionate and lacking in evidence.

In submissions to a government consultation, seen exclusively by City A.M. , industry bodies Isba and the Advertising Association (AA) said the proposals would harm advertisers and consumers but would fail to tackle the issue of childhood obesity.

The government has laid out plans to introduce a 9pm watershed on adverts for products high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) on TV and online .

But the advertising groups have dismissed the policy options, which were previously rejected by media regulator Ofcom, as limited in nature and speculative in understanding.

The AA said current restrictions, which have been in place since 2008, have not prevented the rise of obesity, while children's exposure to HFSS adverts has also fallen sharply over the last decade.

In addition, Isba argued a TV watershed would have a significant and overwhelming impact on adult viewers, who make up the majority of audiences before 9pm.

They also pointed to an impact assessment, published alongside the consultation, which admitted the proposed restrictions would cut just 1.7 calories per day from children's diets.

The Change UK partly leader Heidi Allen has accused the BBC of inconsistency after the broadcaster pulled an episode of Have I Got News For You at the last minute claiming that it would breach election guidelines.

The Change UK leader was due to appear in a pre-recorded episode of the popular quiz show on Friday night, only to be notified an hour beforehand that it would not be broadcast.

The BBC said it was inappropriate to feature political party leaders on the programme ahead of the European parliament elections on 23 May to ensure equal representation of views.

Allen questioned why former Ukip leader Nigel Farage was allowed to appear on the programme ahead of similar elections in 2014 and said her party was not getting a fair crack of the whip. Change UK has now written to the BBC director general Tony Hall about the decision.

Of course she did not mention the even more flagrant pre-election censorship where by candidates Carl Benjamin and Tommy Robinson have been totally banned from social media, the major communication platforms of the modern age.

Update: The BBC explains its case for censorship

17th May 2019. See article from bbc.co.uk

Have I Got News for You,
BBC One, 10 May 2019 BBC Logo

We received complaints from people unhappy with the decision to drop the billed episode. Some people felt this was biased in favour of Brexit.

BBC Response

The BBC has specific editorial guidelines that apply during election periods which mean it would be inappropriate to feature a single party leader on a weekly programme such as Have I Got News for You during the short time available if other parties are not also represented on the programme during the same period. When the fact of Heidi Allen's appearance on the show was brought to our attention, we took the decision to withdraw the show. We can assure you this would have been the case whichever party was involved.

A number of our viewers have referred to 2014, when Nigel Farage also appeared on the programme in the period before the European Parliamentary elections. Those episodes of Have I Got News for You were planned in the run-up to the election to ensure an appropriate range of guests from different political parties were represented. In the circumstances of this year's election, a similar approach was not practical. We refute any suggestions that the BBC has favoured Mr Farage.

In contrast, Question Time is a political debate programme and, in accordance with the guidelines, will feature representatives from a range of political parties throughout the election period. The 9 May edition, for example, featured Anna Soubry MP (Change UK), Amber Rudd MP (Conservatives), Jonathan Reynolds MP (Labour), and Nigel Farage MEP (Brexit Party). Other parties will have appeared on different editions of Question Time during the course of the election period. Similarly, the Andrew Marr Show ensures that over the course of the campaign, an appropriate range of party representatives appear on the programme.

Senior editorial staff within BBC News keep a close watch on programmes to ensure that standards of impartiality are maintained. We consider that the BBC continues to report Brexit impartially and features a wide range of different perspectives across our news coverage.

The team are sorry for the disappointment to viewers that this episode featuring Ms Allen was pulled at short notice. Have I Got News for You will return to our screens this week, and we will look to broadcast the episode featuring Ms Allen at a later date.

A few Emmerdale viewers were 'shocked' after Victoria Barton (Isabel Hodgins) was raped in last night's flashback episode by a stranger called Lee.

And some were so 'outraged' that they made official complaints about the pre-watershed scene.

TV censor Ofcom has confirmed that 39 complaints were made about the scene last night, according to metro.co.uk.

An Ofcom spokesperson told metro.co.uk:

We are assessing these complaints against our broadcasting rules, but are yet to decide whether or not to investigate.

Channel 4 and Crackit Productions are going behind the scenes of an extraordinary family business for a one-off documentary. T he Sex Shop Family will follow the Richardsons, whose stock in trade is sex toys and whose staff meetings focus on the merits of a gimp mask or the latest vibrators.

Head of the family is dad and self-made businessman Tim. He's run Brighton sex shops Taboo and Lust for over two decades, and his family life is as unique as his business backdrop. Tim's current wife Calandra works alongside ex-wife Nancy, who's also mother to Tim's two children -- Kizzy and Taz, the heir apparent whom Tim hopes will one day take over the sex shop empire.

As well as explore the intriguing family dynamics, the film will welcome viewers into the colourful, secret world of the sex shop, where every kink is catered for, whether the customer is hankering for fluffy handcuffs or a life-sized sex doll. The family's eye-wateringly frank dealings with their clientele will give the audience a unique insight into the nation's sex lives.

Viewers of Channel 4's Naked Beach were treated to a little pre-watershed nudity last Thursday evening at 8pm.

The premise of the show is based on a social experiment, which sees a group of people visit a Greek island retreat to overcome their body image issues over the coming weeks. They are encouraged to feel good within themselves, covering their modesty with just body paint and glitter.

A few viewers to Twitter eg:

Why have I just turned on my TV and seeing a naked penis before 9pm?

And about 16 complained to TV censor Ofcom. An Ofcom spokesperson told pretty52.com :

We are assessing these complaints against our broadcasting rules, but are yet to decide whether or not to investigate.

This is not quite the stock phrase Ofcom uses when dismissing whinges out of hand, so maybe they will consider this further.

Naked Beach airs again on Channel 4 at 8pm next Thursday.

Russell Brand's vagina biscuit sculpture on Great Celebrity British Bake Off has prompted complaints.

Russell was named star baker after creating a scene representing his wife giving birth, naming the creation the Portal to all life.

The edible treat kicked off a number of whinges to TV censor Ofco , with complainers claiming the stunt fell below generally accepted standards.

However, Ofcom has cleared the show of any wrongdoing.

We considered a small number of complaints about comments in this charity baking competition. In our view the remarks were light-hearted and not sexually explicit.

BBC News staff have been told not to tweet personal views after an LGBT debate on Question Time. The BBC has emailed all news staff warning they could face internal sanctions if they express strong political views on Twitter.

BBC Breakfast presenter Ben Thompson was among the staff at the broadcaster who publicly criticised Question Time last week for allowing an audience member to ask the question: Is it morally right that five-year-old children learn about LGBTQ+ issues in school? The question referenced muslim protests at Birmingham and Manchester aschools where young children are being taught about diversity and family life.

Many LGBT members of staff at the BBC have privately told the Guardian of anger within the newsroom at how the BBC has allowed to turn the issue into a valid debate.

The BBC's director of news, Fran Unsworth, told staff :

We all have personal views, but it is part of our role with the BBC to keep those views private, she said in an email to staff. Our editorial guidelines say BBC staff must not advocate any particular position on a matter of public policy, political or industrial controversy, or any other 'controversial subject'. That applies to all comments in the public domain, including on social media. There is no real distinction between personal and official social media accounts.

We are living in a period of highly polarised opinions on a range of subjects and the BBC frequently faces criticism for the way we report and analyse events, with our impartiality called into question.

Many of these criticisms are unfounded and we are prepared to defend ourselves robustly where necessary. We also need to make sure our own house is in order.