BBC rapped for 'dangerous' stunt

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The BBC has been rapped by media watchdog Ofcom for a children's TV show which featured a potentially dangerous stunt.

In an episode of The Slammer, on the children's CBBC channel, a mime artist put a rubber glove over his head, eyes and nose and blew it up.

Ofcom received a complaint that the stunt was potentially dangerous and young viewers could try to mimic it.

In the show, children in a studio audience judge the performance of professional entertainers who are prisoners in "the slammer".

The BBC said it did not believe the rubber globe trick, performed by one of the professional entertainers, would put children at risk.

It said it modified the stunt so the glove did not cover the performer's mouth.

It added: "No suggestion was made that such tricks could be performed by anyone other than a skilled entertainer with considerable experience."

But Ofcom said the "act could still have been viewed by children as entertaining to copy".

It said that not covering the entertainer's mouth was a "rather subtle adaptation for younger viewers to notice".

It added: "As the trick was presented as entertainment and performed using a common household item, it was likely to be easily imitable by children, possibly with another household item."

:: BBC2 was also told off by the regulator for a pre-watershed repeat of an episode of Who Do You Think You Are?

Viewers heard the actor Jeremy Irons say f and the word was also included in the programme's subtitles, which were watched by a deaf 10-year-old.

The watchdog said: "Ofcom views the inappropriate use of the word f before the watershed as serious. The BBC has admitted that its broadcast on this occasion was not justified.

"The offence caused was increased further by the inclusion of the offensive word in the subtitles."

 

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