BBC to air 'c-word' documentary

A new BBC documentary will explore the origination of the 'c-word', and the way it which has moved into mainstream use in recent years.

The 90-minute show, provisionally titled The History of the C-Word, is being made by independent production house North One for BBC3, and will air in the spring.

Using a mixture of archive footage, interviews and current usage, it will also explore the changing nature of language and of our attitudes to obscenity. Contributors will include feminist academic Germaine Greer and Eve Ensler, the author of The Vagina Monologues.

North One's head of factual entertainment John Quinn, who will be one of the show's executive producers, said: "It will be a grown-up discussion about how we have got to where we are now with this word without being either sensationalist or po-faced. It is perhaps one of the last words that has the ability to stop someone in their tracks and it is fascinating to see how differently it is perceived around the world."

Meanwhile, Ofcom has cleared Five of broadcasting the word unedited, only 12 minutes after the watershed.

Shown during Britain's Fattest Teenager, which was shown at 9pm on August 7, the word was used three times by the subject of the documentary, a teenager called Jonathan.

Five said it was important for viewers to understand the kind of insults he faced and their impact on him. It said bleeping out the swearing would have "undermined the impact of the story".

Three complaints were made about the programme, but Ofcom ruled Five was not in breach of its broadcasting code and accepted the channel's explanation that the show was a serious documentary, but added the pre-show warning about strong language could have been clearer.