ITV’s Vice Documentary Sparks Complaints

ITV’s Vice: The Sex Trade was the subject of a number of complaints to the ITC according to the Commission’s latest Programme Complaints and Interventions bulletin.

The three-part documentary, screened at the end of last year at 9:00pm, investigated the world of prostitutes, their clients and those who attempt to prevent or police the trade. The many images of ‘unusual sexual behaviour’ in which the prostitutes and their clients engaged caused 53 people to complain on the grounds of taste and decency.

The ITC says that many of the complainants felt the programme was too uncritical of its subject and presented most of the sex trade jobs as broadly problem-free activities.

LWT, the documentary’s producers, said that when the programme was edited it was unclear whether it would be broadcast by the Network at 9:00pm or 10:40pm; however, only minor cuts were made for the 9:00pm showing. The Commission decided to uphold the complaints, saying that the first two programmes in the series were, in fact, in breach of taste and decency regulations.

A further 31 people complained about the trailer to the programme, which was shown before the watershed and featured shots of a prostitute undressing a man. The ITC also upheld these complaints.

Independent Television Commission: 0171 255 3000