Channel 5 Erotic Dramas Criticised By BSC

The Broadcasting Standards Commission (BSC) has denounced the late night erotic dramas shown on Channel 5 as eroding the standards of UK television. In statement issued by the Commission today, C5’s Compromising Situations and Hotline series were described as a step change in the use of sex on British television.

The BSC is concerned that the inclusion of purely erotic material on free to air television blurs the difference between what is available on open access channels and that which is only available through pay-TV services. The Commission adds that its research shows that the majority of the public would like this distinction between the two television delivery methods to remain.

The Commission also draws a distinction between erotic scenes that are placed within a ‘dramatic or informative’ context (considered acceptable), and those programmes whose purpose is ‘clearly erotic’. The Channel 5 shows clearly fall into the latter category.

However, C5 chief executive David Elstein has hit back at the BSC in a letter to The Times. Elstein censures the standards watchdog’s position as anachronistic and patronising. The notion that such erotic programmes should not be permitted on free to air television is described as ‘a novel doctrine’ by the C5 chief: “This recalls the prosecution of Penguin Books in 1960 for publishing a paperback – as opposed to a hardback – version of Lady Chatterley’s Lover. ‘Would you like your wife or servants to read this book?’, prosecuting counsel asked the jury,” says Elstein.

The BSC, however, has no statutory rights and is therefore unable to prohibit the broadcast of any of C5’s programmes. Furthermore, a Channel 5 spokesman said that the Independent Television Commission (ITC), which does have the power to remove programmes or licences, has not backed the BSC on any of the issues raised in its statement. He added that the late night uncut movies were part of C5’s original licence application and are therefore effectively already cleared by the ITC.

Elstein believes that the BSC is “seeking to assert its own aesthetic judgment over the clearly stated preferences of Channel 5 viewers.”

Broadcasting Standards Commission: 0171 233 0544 Channel 5: 0171 550 5555