CBB To Say Sorry Over Race Row
Celebrity Big Brother will have to broadcast a series of on-air apologies for the Shilpa Shetty race row affair, Sky sources have learned.
Sky has also been told that footage of a racist limerick read out by contestant Jade Goody on the show did exist.
Shilpa Shetty
Producers Endemol had always denied the existence of such footage.
Ofcom will say Endemol breached the TV watchdog's code of conduct.
Goody, ex S-Club 7 singer Jo O'Meara and former Miss UK Danielle Lloyd were all accused of racially bullying the Bollywood actress during this year's show.
All denied they were racist.
In the unseen footage, Goody's boyfriend Jack Tweed makes up a limerick about Shetty.
The limerick begins: "There once was a house that was happy, until......"
The four of them then joke about using a word which rhymes with "tacky".
Big Brother producers ask O'Meara and Tweed into the Diary Room and tell them: "It is clear that this was a reference to the racial insult `****'."
Both agree.
Ofcom singled out another three occasions on which Channel 4 had failed to handle the situation appropriately.
They were: Jade Goody referring to Shetty as "Shilpa Poppadom"; Lloyd saying that Shetty should "******* off home"; and the argument over Shetty cooking a chicken, which ended with Lloyd and O'Meara making derogatory comments about Indian eating habits.
Ed Richards, Ofcom chief executive, said: "An unprecedented number of complaints were received and, whilst Celebrity Big Brother was still on-air, we launched a full investigation.
"It is essential that broadcasters are able to air challenging and controversial material but in doing so they must have effective compliance procedures in place and must exercise their editorial duties responsibly."
Channel 4 will have to broadcast a summary of Ofcom's finding on three separate occasions.
This will be at the start of the first programme of the new series of Big Brother next Wednesday, the first re-versioned programme the following morning, and the first eviction show.
Endemol has not commented on the adjudication.
But Channel 4 said it accepted the ruling.
Chief executive Andy Duncan said: "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."
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Source:
Sky News