The show's creators, Enedemol, said it also accepted Ofcom's findings and "sincerely regret the level of offence caused by events in this series". "We are grateful to Ofcom for recognising that the events of this series were in no way engineered or manufactured," the company added in a statement. This year's celebrity version attracted a record 45,000 complaints to Ofcom.
In unseen footage from the show, Goody, O'Meara, Lloyd and Goody's boyfriend, Jack Tweed, were seen making up a limerick about Shetty in which they joked about using a word which they said rhymed with "tacky". The group were reprimanded by Channel 4 for these remarks, which occurred before two of the incidents Ofcom singled out. "Errors of judgment were made which Channel 4 has acknowledged.
I therefore welcome the measures that they have taken to ensure proper and rigorous oversight. We will be watching very closely to ensure that these have the desired effect." The channel published its own review on Thursday, recommending that the Big Brother rules be updated to give clearer guidelines on what might be considered unacceptable behaviour.
It will also implement a new written intervention policy, which spells out how the show will tackle seriously offensive language or behaviour. "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," said Ofcom's chief executive, Ed Richards. Labour MP Keith Vaz, who led protests in Parliament over the issue and introduced Shetty to Tony Blair, has called for Channel Four chief executive Andy Duncan to resign.
"I welcome the adjudication by Ofcom. This is a vindication of the huge number of complaints that were made by viewers," he said. "Andy Duncan should now apologise to Shilpa Shetty and realise that the contempt that was shown by them during this whole episode, in my view and that of many of the viewers who complained, now merits his resignation," he added.
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