Scandals mar viewers' trust in TV

More than three quarters (79%) of people who entered TV phone-in competitions have vowed not to do so again because they can no longer trust them, and nearly half (48%) of the population "do not trust (TV) very much to tell the truth".

The YouGov survey was carried out after the TV industry became embroiled in a series of cases involving deception.

The first involved Channel 4's Richard And Judy, with viewers being urged to call the premium rate phone lines for the You Say We Pay competition after the selection process had closed.

The BBC was also drawn into the row when it was hit with its first fine, for faking a competition winner on children's show Blue Peter. An internal investigation then revealed winners were made up during Children In Need, Comic Relief and Sports Relief.

Channel Five was also ordered to pay £300,000 for faking callers on its daytime quiz show, Brainteaser, the largest financial penalty ever imposed on a public service broadcaster.

Other companies have come under fire for so-called editorial fakery.

After ITV documentary Malcolm and Barbara: Love's Farewell was billed as showing the death of Alzheimer's sufferer Malcolm Pointon, it emerged that he had actually died three days later.

The BBC also had to apologise to the Queen after a promotional trailer shown to the media for A Year With The Queen appeared to show the monarch storming out of a photoshoot.

The survey for the Edinburgh TV Festival found almost two thirds (60%) of people believed reality TV was generally misleading as a result of severe and dishonest editing. The issue of trust in broadcasters is at the centre of this year's event, with the likes of Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan and BBC vision director Jana Bennett both expected to address the issue.