Channel 4's 'Gypsy Blood' documentary attracts complaints

A Channel 4 documentary about travellers featuring animal cruelty and alleged child abuse has prompted almost 300 complaints, and has been criticised by animal protection groups.

Gypsy Blood, part of the acclaimed True Stories strand, was watched by just over 2m viewers when it aired on January 19.

However, the documentary has resulted in 289 complaints being submitted to Ofcom. The media regulator said that it is assessing the complaints to see whether it should launch an investigation.

Channel 4 said that scenes of bare-knuckle fighting, cock-fighting and dog attacks on deer were intended to "accurately reflect the experiences of the filmmaker".

However, animal welfare charity, the RSPCA, confirmed that it would also be making an official complaint about the programme.

In a statement issued to BBC News, the charity said: "The RSPCA has now begun an investigation into activities shown in the programme.

"We would urge anyone who shares our concern at the programme's content to also contact Channel 4 and Ofcom to register their disapproval."

Channel 4, which last year faced criticism over its hit Big Fat Gypsy Weddings series, said that all footage included in the programme was justified by its context.

"To accurately reflect the experiences of the filmmaker who spent years documenting the culture of two gypsy families, including hunting and fighting, some scenes were included that viewers may have found difficult to watch but were justified in context," said a spokesperson for the broadcaster.

"The programme was preceded by on-air warnings and appropriately scheduled."

Photographer-turned-director Leo Maguire created Gypsy Blood as an honest and truthful look at the lives of travellers in the UK.

It was originally commissioned for digital channel More4, but Channel 4 opted to shift the programme to its main network after seeing the footage.

In an interview with the British Journal of Photography, Maguire said that he attempted to show the passage of a traveller child becoming a "gypsy man".

"When I originally set out to make the film, I was attracted by the violence of my two main characters, who are strong macho men. Their kids were kind of too young to make much of an impression on me, two or three years ago," he said.

"That's when I started to see that the kids are the real characters. Their fathers tell their kids these stories about fights. And the kids are just in awe of this. They soak it up like a sponge."

Maguire added: "The film effectively takes you on this journey with him and you hope that he will be able to stay a child a bit longer. But, by the end of the film, you see him die as a child metaphorically and become a gypsy man."