Gritty Channel 4 Drama Causes Taste Complaints

Tina Goes Shopping, the gritty, realistic one-off drama shown on Channel 4 in September, has led to a number of complaints to the Independent Television Commission (ITC) about some of the programme’s more graphic and disturbing scenes. The programme was centred around life on a Leeds council estate and used the area’s actual residents as the actors in the drama. Tina, a single mother, began shoplifting to earn extra money and her boyfriend, Aaron, was involved in a number of schemes to get money for his drug addiction.

In one of the scenes, Aaron and the room he was in were covered in blood following his slaughter and butchering of a cow. Complainants found this scene disturbing, whilst others were concerned about the amount and severity of violence, swearing and drug use in the programme.

However, the ITC did not uphold the complaints, recognising that it is in Channel 4’s remit to encourage innovation and experiment in the form and content of its programmes. As Tina Goes Shopping carried clear, pre-broadcast warnings and was scheduled late in the evening, the Commission decided that it was not in breach of the Programme Code.

Independent Television Commission: 0171 255 3000