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Channel 4 "has accepted" Ofcom's conclusions that Celebrity Big Brother contravened the Broadcasting Code on four occasions during its run in January.
The media regulator's content sanctions committee ruled that Channel 4 breached the broadcasting code - specifically rules 2.3, in which broadcasters "must when applying generally accepted standards ensure that material which may cause offence is justified by the context", and 1.3, in which children "must also be protected by appropriate scheduling from unsuitable material", on four occasions. On January 15, Channel 4 broadcast remarks concerning cooking in India in which former S Club star Jo O'Meara postulated that "Indians are thin because they don't cook their food properly". On January 17, it broadcast a comment made by Danielle Lloyd in which she said that Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty "should f*** off home". On January 18 and 19, it broadcast comments from former Big Brother contestant Jade Goody in which Goody changed Shilpa's surname to "Poppadom". It concluded that "the breaches by Channel Four of the Broadcasting Code when taken together show a serious failure to apply generally accepted standards" and has further required that Channel 4 transmit three apologies: one immediately before the premiere episode of Big Brother 8 next Wednesday, one before the first rerun of that episode, and one before the first eviction episode. The measures also apply to S4C, which retransmitted Channel 4's Celebrity Big Brother programming and will also carry Big Brother.
In response, Channel 4 CEO Andy Duncan said: "“We accept Ofcom’s judgement that on the occasions in question we did not ensure that Big Brother intervened with the necessary promptness or strength. We would like to say sorry once again for the offence caused to viewers as a result.
“Ofcom did not rule this material should not have been broadcast, but that we should have done more to contextualise it by challenging and reprimanding the offending housemates. We believe the initiatives we have announced will help prevent a repeat of the public offence caused by the programme."
Channel 4's chairman Luke Johnson said the channel considers the sanctions imposed "proportionate" but noted that Ofcom ruled "that the breaches were not deliberate and that the channel did not act recklessly."
