Beyer gives ITV a roasting

February 8th, 2005 by Monitor

The latest series of Footballers Wives includes a “roasting” scene which, according to the Sunday Express (no link to story – very primitive website) “TV watchdogs” are demanding be axed. By “TV watchdogs” they mean, of course, John Beyer of Mediawatch-UK:

Footballer’s Wives has already set a benchmark for explicit sexual scenes. To present such a serious act as rape as an aspect of entertainment is totally unacceptable.  Recent figures show that sexual crime has risen by 22 per cent.  Programmes like this normalise sexual violence and aggressive behaviour.  It certainly does not help in the Government’s quest to reduce violent sexual crime.

Whatever your opinion of Footballers’ Wives, or on the question of depicting a rape scene on the TV, you have to wonder how Beyer can be so sure of the violence-on-TV/violence-in-society link. Does he know something that the rest of the world doesn’t?

Oh wait, he’s right. Mary Whitehouse said so.


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