UK TV and Radio News

As a fan of the old Carry On films and Carry On Camping being an old favourite I was shocked to discover recently that ITV has deleted the old nude scene involving naturists being shown at a cinema at the beginning of the film.

In the past I recall it was never censored even when it was shown early in the afternoon and well before the 9.00pm watershed and it was never censored when I first saw Carry On Camping back in the 1970s.

All of a sudden in the last few months ITV decide to censor the nude scene. What a let down.

It appears that ITV also cut the famous Barbara Windsor bra flying off scene too. I remember watching that when I was 12 yrs old back in the 70s with my parents in the afternoon. Who'd think that in more enlightened times, when people are generally exposed to more nudity, ITV would actually become more prudish

Channel 4 has pulled the last episode of its animated series Full English from its schedules. In the dropped episode, moody Goth Eve rebelled against her parents by eloping to marry a gypsy boy.

The episode, entitled, My Big Fat Gypsy Knightmare , was said to have been dropped for being controversial. On the show's official Facebook page, producers claimed Channel 4 were afraid of falling foul of the law or TV censor Ofcom.

On their Facebook page, producers urged fans to email Channel 4 in protest and said:

We'll try and find a way to get the episode out there, and will also try and post clips from it over the coming weeks, so people can enjoy some of the filthiest and most offensive ep to date...

To clarify... we're not officially cancelled. Decision won't be made until end of January.

Top 10 complained about shows to Ofcom (up to December 12)

1. Big Brother (2,088)
   
   More than half (1,139) concerned Conor McIntyre's threatening remarks about fellow housemate Deana Uppal.
    
2. The X Factor Results (1,488)

   Most complaints surrounding singer Carolynne Poole's controversial exit after an executive was seen whispering in judge Louis Walsh's ear.
    

3. This Morning (811)

   Most complaints concerning the stunt which saw presenter Phillip Schofield brandish a list of names of alleged abusers that he had found on the internet which he handed to Prime Minister David Cameron during a live interview.
    

4. True Stories: Gypsy Blood (509)
    
5. Live: The Silent Ascent (378)
    
6. Sky News (364)
    
7. The X Factor (305)
    
8. Islam: The Untold Story (293)
    
9. Citizen Khan (256)
    
10. Keith Lemon's LemonAid (246)

Total complaints across the year: 16,666

Scottish BBC bosses are warning easily offended viewers that swearing may be heard during Gaelic football coverage. BBC Alba issued a new disclaimer because they claimed they don't have time to edit colourful language used by fans and footballers during pre-watershed games.

The announcement comes after the Gaelic Beeb channel just last month secured a new broadcast deal for live match-coverage with the Scottish Premier League.

Vivienne Pattison of Mediawatch-UK, spouted:

You can see why BBC bosses are being careful and it's a wise move but I really wish they didn't have to do this.

It's sad when it becomes normal to hear swearing during a match on live TV.

Footballers should be aware this can be picked up by children in the ground and watching at home.

A spokesman for BBC Alba said:

It is required of the channel to warn viewers of the presence of offensive language within a broadcast which we do not have time to edit out before transmission.

The Welsh Government has lodged an official complaint over an episode of Welsh language soap Pobol y Cwm on S4C.

It claimed that the programme breached BBC and Ofcom guidelines with a storyline in which characters protested about the lack of a badger cull to curb TB in cattle.

The formal complaint demanded that the BBC - which makes the soap - and S4C pull a planned repeat of the episode and also prevent internet access to it.

One of the character in the show, fictionally based in west Wales, said the Welsh government doesn't have the backbone to cull badgers. The character Cathryn Richards, known as Cadno , says the Government does not care about the countryside because there aren't enough votes here .

A Welsh Government spokesman said:

Following last night's episode of Pobol y Cwm, we have made an official complaint to the BBC and S4C following what we believe to be a serious breach of BBC and Ofcom guidelines.

We have asked the BBC and S4C to take swift action to address our concerns.

The BBC's editorial guidelines are clear that programmes are expected to ensure that 'controversial subjects' are treated with due impartiality in all their output.

We do not believe this to be the case in this instance.

S4C's director of content Dafydd Rhys said the episode would not be pulled and it would still be available online: We're satisfied that the drama includes a variety of viewpoints which refer to the public debate about plans to eradicate Bovine TB.

A cartoon aired on Channel 4 has sparked a few angry tweets after joking about Princess Diana and Jade Goody.

The ghosts of both women made appearances in Full English - with one scene showing the pair attempt to strangle each other in a row over who was the real People's Princess .

TV censor Ofcom confirmed it had received a number of complaint.

The cartoon was shown at 10.50pm on Monday. It depicts two characters holding a seance for a great woman . Suddenly Jade, who died of cervical cancer in 2009, appears as a foul-mouthed ghost. Later in the show, the ghost of Princess Diana arrives.

In reference to the Paris crash in 1997 which killed Princess Diana, the cartoon character says: Sorry I'm late everyone. Had some car trouble, the traffic was absolute murder. Diana is then labelled a bulimic slut by Jade, in reference to her eating disorder. The ghost of Diana then calls Jade baldy before the pair begin to fight by grabbing each other around the throat.

The cartoon 'infuriated' a few Twitter users and a spokesman for Ofcom confirmed it had received a number of complaints about the show.

Speaking to the Daily Star, Channel 4 said appropriate warnings were given for the cartoon, which was shown late in the evening and was within viewers' expectations.

Fist of Fun Series 2 is a 1996 UK TV comedy by Nick Wood.
With Stewart Lee, Richard Herring and Peter Baynham.

The BBC have made gofasterstripe.com cut their forthcoming dvd release of the 1996 BBC2 series Fist of Fun series 2. 5 minutes from the shows themselves and 3 minutes from a Richard Herring/Stewart Lee podcast extra! The cuts are:

• Episode 3 - Lady Diana segment
• Episode 4 - Parents suing a theatre segment
• Episode 5 - Reference to the child in episode 4
• Also removed the obsolete bbc email, post and web addresses from the end of each episode and the address of the newsagent that Peter visits.

From the podcast-

• Reference to drug taking
• TV executives Stewart Lee's opinion of his poor treatment by the BBC
• Richard Herring saying Stew would lose his audience if he had sex with a child
• Section mentioning Alan Partridge rights
• Section where they talk about buying back Fist of Fun for 2/3rds what the BBC paid them to do it in the first place.

There will be no jokes about pedophilia from the BBC!

Update: Another example perhaps

19th November 2012. See article from bbfc.co.uk

Harry and Paul is a 2012 UK TV comedy.
With Harry Enfield, Paul Whitehouse and Sophie Winkleman.

UK: A Re-Edited Version of Episode 4 was passed 15 without BBFC cuts for moderate sex references and discriminatory and racist language for:

• UK 2012 2Entertain [Season 4] R2 DVD at UK Amazon released on 10th December 2012
• UK 2012 2Entertain [Season 1-4] R2 DVD at UK Amazon released on 10th December 2012

Pure speculation, but it looks like this is another example of the BBC cutting jokes about children after sensitivity resulting from the Jimmy Savile scandal.

A couple of months earlier the same episode had been passed 15 uncut for strong language and moderate sex references. The uncut version ran 1:02s longer than the Re-edited Version.

Similarly episode 3 has been pre-cut by 1:31s.

The 40th anniversary live episode of Emmerdale , has attracted a few whinges.

According to the Metro newspaper, TV censor Ofcom, has received complaints from some viewers over some of the content shown in the first ever, hour long live episode of the hugely popular ITV soap.

A long running story of affairs and blackmail came to a head with a confrontation between Chastity Dingle and Carl King led to Carl forcing Chas on to the ground, and whilst there was nothing explicit shown, there was a very strong implication that his intention was to rape her. That is until she hit him over the head with a brick and running off, leaving him for dead.

A few viewers complained about the attempted rape scene. ITV have confirmed that they have received a handful of complaints regarding the attempted rape itself, and a further 18 from those who thought that the scene was too violent for its 7pm time slot. An ITV spokesperson told Broadcast:

We are aware that there were a few complaints to Ofcom about the level of violence in the episode. The programme also got very many letters and emails praising it.

We were very careful to keep the drama within acceptable bounds for pre-watershed scheduling, and the episode was preceded by a continuity announcement that some scenes might be upsetting.

Rapper Pitbull has had his latest music video banned by the BBC.

The promo for Don't Stop The Party sees the chart-topping star partying with an array of bikini clad women on board a luxury yacht and includes sexy but modest bedroom scenes. A partly-naked girl strokes herself on a bed and another drinks from a vodka bottle showing the well known brand.

The video is still being viewed online and now has almost five million views since it was posted on YouTube ten days ago.

Channel 4 has admitted to editing the word 'gay' out of The Simpsons as the word was judged inappropriate for transmission before 6pm.

The term was removed from a Sunday lunchtime showing of a 1994 episode called Homer Loves Flanders .

In the episode Homer Simpson goes to an American football match with his God-fearing neighbour Ned Flanders but is initially embarrassed to be seen with him. The pair bond and Homer yells: I want everyone to know that this is Ned Flanders ... my friend!

His workmates Lenny and Carl overhear him and Lenny says: What d'he say?

Originally Carl replies: I dunno. Somethin' about being gay.

But on Sunday his line was cut and the episode switched to advertisements after Lenny speaks.

Channel 4 told The Independent claimed that it was a 'mistake' was caused by an overly cautious compliance checker.

Channel 4's gay censorship seems to be somewhat at odds with the fine words on their website:

Diversity in TV and the media, it's a big subject - and a top priority for us at Channel 4. After all, a key part of our remit is to appeal to people whatever their culture, nationality, religious persuasion, physical and mental ability, sexual orientation, race or age

Broadcasters including Sky are seeking a rule change so that more adult TV could be shown pre-watershed if protected by a PIN.

The proposals being put forward by the Commercial Broadcasters' Association, a lobbying group for cable and satellite broadcasters including BSkyB.

Currently peak-time dramas and comedies are not allowed to be shown before the watershed, unless they are cut to remove swearing, violence and sex. However, pay-per-view programmes and content on premium film subscription channels are allowed before the watershed because viewers have to key in a pin code before they can watch them. Such a system is already in place for online catchup TV services.

The group representing broadcasters including Sky, UKTV and MTV, has asked the Department for Culture, Media and Sport for regulations to be changed to extend this pin protection system to cover all other shows on cable and satellite channels.

It is understood that audiences would have to enter the pin every time they wanted to watch a peak-time show before the watershed.

The Coba executive director, Adam Minns, said:

The system of pin protection is well established in the UK. It has proven to be effective technically and is something with which audiences are familiar -- it is now used on a range of services. At the same time, it provides consumer protection that is arguably more effective than the watershed regime. Extending such a regime to other services could potentially encourage innovative new forms of content delivery.

It is expected that such a move would need a consultation by Ofcom as it would require changes to the TV censor's broadcasting rules

Donald Trump tried to force the BBC to drop the broadcast of a critically acclaimed documentary on his alleged bullying of residents near his Scottish golf resort.

Lawyers for the New York property magnate contacted the BBC two days before the feature-length film You've Been Trumped was screened on BBC2 on Sunday night, claiming it was highly defamatory, biased and misleading, and demanding a right of reply.

In a letter to the BBC from Dundas & Wilson, a prominent Scottish law firm which has acted for Trump for several years, and seen by the Guardian, the Trump organisation threatened to complain formally to Ofcom and the BBC Trust if the screening went ahead.

The BBC rejected the request and gave the documentary, directed by Anthony Baxter, its network television premiere. It was watched by an estimated 1.1 million viewers and earned praise from reviewers. The film will be screened again on BBC2 on Tuesday night.

In a short statement, the BBC said about the screening:

You've Been Trumped is an award-winning film that has been screened at international festivals around the world.

During the making of the film, Donald Trump declined the opportunity to take part. We are confident that Donald Trump was offered sufficient right to reply in accordance with BBC editorial guidelines. Donald Trump chose not to participate but the film-maker took care to reflect his views on a number of different occasions in the film.

In addition, Donald Trump was offered the chance to be interviewed live on the BBC following the BBC2 broadcast. He has not taken up our invitation.

The BBC's coverage of religion, immigration and Europe is to be scrutinised in an independent review led by former ITV chief executive Stuart Prebble.

Lord Patten, the BBC Trust chairman, said that the review was prompted by complaints that the corporation's coverage of world and religious events is not always impartial. Patten said:

We've been criticised in those areas and we think it's very important to listen to that criticism, not necessarily because it's right but because it reflects real and interesting concerns.

Prebble's review will examine whether the BBC gives due weight to a range of opinions on controversial topics, including immigration, Islamophobia, and the EU.

The inquiry will examine whether editorial decisions to include or omit certain perspectives from news coverage have been carefully reached and with consistent judgment across the corporation.

Comment: Toadying to the Powerful

12th October 2012. From Alan

Yet another example of a right-wing elite group claiming to be victims, methinks.

The BBC is certainly biased, but it ain't to the left. It's worth looking at another anti-censorshup web site, Media Lens , which robustly identifies an acceptance by liberal media of elite discourses. For more evidence, presented in a more scholarly way with footnotes and bibliography, look at the work by Professor Greg Philo and his colleages at Glasgow University.

Looks like the Mail is pushing the Beeb to toady to the powerful even more than it does at the moment.

The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) is engaged in a battle with the BBC over a storyline in EastEnders .

The TV soap featured a social worker removing a baby from a teenage mother, Lola, apparently without sufficient grounds to do so.

Many social workers took to Twitter and Facebook to say the episode made a mockery of their profession.

Bridget Robb, acting chief of the BASW, called the storyline shabby and said it had provoked real anger among a profession well used to a less than accurate public and media perception of their jobs .

The BBC responded to complaints:

It is not our intention to portray social workers in a negative light. Whilst the audience has seen how much Lola loves Lexi, and seen her behaving responsibly in caring for her baby, her social worker has not. Each time the social worker visited, she regularly saw worrying behaviour that concerned her. The social worker also witnessed a series of other incidents and, under these circumstances; we believe the audience will have understood why she had to act quickly to remove Lexi when Lola was arrested for assault. There was no suggestion that the social worker's actions arose from anything other than a genuine desire to protect Lexi, or that her concerns about Lola were unreasonable given the picture she and the previous social worker had formed over a substantial period of time. Although EastEnders tackles many social issues and always carefully researches the details, it is a drama and Lola's story and that of the social worker are not intended to be representative of everyone in the same situation.