ITC Shows LWT The Yellow Card
The Independent Television Commission (ITC) has shown LWT the yellow card for its sporting mishaps series, Best And Worst II, but has failed to blow the whistle on Tarrant On CCTV‘s “toilet humour.”
The ITC has upheld complaints against LWT’s Best And Worst II series after viewers complained that some of the scenes of violence featured in the show were unacceptable “given that they were shown immediately after Saturday morning children’s programmes.”
Viewers objected to scenes which included sportsmen fighting with each other and complained about a brawl between to football players which showed one stamping on the other.
LWT accepted that the transmission of the programme “was an error” saying they had intended to broadcast an edited version, but had accidentally shown the wrong one. They called the mistake an “isolated failure” and have taken steps to “avoid repetition.”
The ITC accepted that this “was an unusual situation involving human error” and noted that LWT do not expect the mistake to be repeated. The complaint was upheld.
LWT also came under fire from viewers claiming that a programme in the Tarrant On TV series called Tarrant on CCTV, which showed bizarre footage taken from CCTV systems around the world, was “unacceptable.”
Viewers objected to a clip in the programme, which featured a women allegedly “dipping a used tampon in her bosses’ coffee” and to another that “involved a man seemingly defecating in his neighbour’s washing machine.”
LWT admitted that the clips were “in dubious taste” and said that after omitting a large amount of material that was unsuitable, only clips which were “indistinct” and “not explicit” were shown. They added that it was only through Chris Tarrant’s commentary that viewers understood what was happening and pointed out that: “Tarrant’s comments were by no means approving of such behaviour.”
The ITC said it is aware that “what some may find funny others see as simply disgusting” and warned LWT that showing exerts from CCTV, never intended for broadcast, “required a higher level of justification.” The authority concluded that while the items “came close to failing” the taste and decency test, they “were not unacceptable in that particular style of programme.” The ITC did not uphold complaints.
ITC: 020 7306 7743 www.itc.org.uk
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