Home > TV > Broadcast Bulletins > Ofcom Broadcast Bulletins > 106

Standards Cases

Not In Breach

Catherine Tate Christmas Show
BBC1, 25 December 2007, 22:30

Introduction

Catherine Tate is an established comedy sketch series normally broadcast on BBC2. Ofcom received 42 complaints about the second Christmas Special broadcast on Christmas Day 2007 at 22.30 on BBC1.

During the course of the episode, the caricature of an elderly woman living in a council flat was featured. The character appeared to be a good-natured pensioner, but the moment people’s backs were turned she became bad tempered and foul-mouthed. Ofcom received complaints about the use of strong language in this sketch, particularly on Christmas Day.

Another sequence of sketches featured a family from Northern Ireland who had discovered that their son was gay. The family were seen going to great lengths to ensure that the community knew they were happy with their son’s sexuality. Complainants objected to what they considered to be a stereotypical view of a family from Northern Ireland ; for instance the family were seen exchanging Christmas presents such as a balaclavas and a knuckle-duster. However, they also gave their son a present of a chocolate penis.

The episode also featured a promiscuous auxiliary nurse, called Bernie, who attempted to seduce guest star George Michael.

We asked the BBC to respond to the complaints that the material was offensive in light of Rule 2.3 of the Code (generally accepted standards; justification by context).

Response

The BBC pointed out that there have now been three (frequently repeated) series on BBC television and two Chris tmas specials, establishing the show as a “landmark contemporary comedy”. It said that the general tone of the programme is very well recognised, with several Catherine Tate characters having become iconic figures in their own right, to the extent that they are depicted on greetings cards and some of their catchphrases have been adopted into everyday use. In 2006 the profile of the show was such that the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair, agreed to take part in a sketch for Comic Relief, in which he claimed to be “not bovvered” by the character Lauren.

The broadcaster said that it was aware that the composition of audiences on Chris tmas Day is not typical, with a higher than usual proportion of children viewing together with their families at various times. It said that its Christmas Day programming is designed to take account of this.

At 22:30 , The Catherine Tate Chris tmas Show was placed considerably later in the evening than the slots previously occupied by regular editions of the show - well after the watershed. The BBC pointed out that the number of children in the audience for 2007 Catherine Tate Chris tmas Show was thus less than for the equivalent show in 2005, and within the range for the regular series.

It did not agree with the complainants that the show contained material that was out of keeping with normal expectations. Most of the sketches featured well-established characters behaving in their usual fashion (though with some seasonal twists). For example, the Taylor family, featuring the character Nan , has appeared in numerous sketches, with Nan ’s catch phrase “what a fucking liberty” as the standard punch line. The twist in the Christmas show was the introduction of her daughter, Diane, who took after her mother to the extent of mirroring her language and attitudes. Although this led to the f-word being used more often than is usual for the Taylor family sketch, it did not lead to the use of stronger language than has regularly proved acceptable, in this sketch and in other elements of the series. As usual, the pre-transmission announcement alerted viewers to the content of the programme, on this occasion in the following terms: “Plenty of presents still under the tree here on BBC1, including this. If the little ones are still up, be warned, there’s strong language in the Catherine Tate Chris tmas Show” .

As to the use of this language on Christmas Day, the BBC said that it does not regard any word as being more obscene on one day than on another. It did take account of the different audience expectations on different occasions, but in its view it was not the general expectation of audiences that everything broadcast on Christmas Day should reflect its character as a religious festival. Meanwhile, it believed the scheduling of The Catherine Tate Chris tmas Show took due account of any expectations of differing family viewing patterns on 25 December.

Where the family from Northern Ireland was concerned, the BBC argued that, given the degree of exaggeration in this series of linked sketches, they could not reasonably have been interpreted as an attempt to stereotype any community in Northern Ireland . It believed that the sketches employed an established comedy tool of exaggerating an extreme attitude or situation - in this case sectarianism - to the point of absurdity and then undercutting it by the addition of incongruous elements. In the most extended of these sketches, the humour lay principally in the absurdity of juxtaposing the dark symbols of a campaign of terror, with the depiction of a loving exchange of family gifts on Chris tmas Day. Similarly, throughout the sketches, the family’s endorsement and proclamation of their son’s homosexuality stood in absurd contrast with their less than progressive attitudes in other matters.

It went on to say that all Catherine Tate’s characters are extreme in some way, but that there was no suggestion that they are representative - that all elderly women swear like Nan Taylor, that all teenagers are as rude and disobliging as Lauren, or all nurses as incompetent and promiscuous as Bernie. It is the characters’ very extremity which, in their view, guarded against their being taken as stereotypes of whole sections of the population.

Decision

In respect of the broadcast of the most offensive language, Ofcom noted that both the series and the characters portrayed were well-established and in a comedy show. Ofcom took account of the concerns that this show was broadcast on Christmas Day. However, Ofcom bore in mind the fact that it had been broadcast a full hour and a half after the watershed and that there had been very clear information at the start, acknowledging that some children may be up because it was Christmas, but making clear that the programme included strong language. Overall, in Ofcom’s view, this episode was typical of the Catherine Tate Show and would not have gone beyond the expectations of its usual audience. For those not familiar with the content, the information given at the start of the programme was adequate. Therefore, In Ofcom’s view, any possible offence was justified by the context.

In the case of the family from Northern Ireland , we recognise that offence could be caused by focusing on any given community. However, in Ofcom’s view, it would have been clear to the audience that, in a comedy show such as this, exchanging Christmas gifts of terrorist paraphernalia was absurd in the extreme. Comedy has a long tradition of engaging with challenging subjects and confronting taboos. In this respect, Ofcom must regulate potentially offensive material in a manner that best guarantees an appropriate level of “freedom of expression” – the broadcasters’ right to transmit information and ideas and viewers’ right to receive them. Any interpretation of the Code must be seen against this background. Ofcom must therefore seek an appropriate balance between the potential for harm and offence and the broadcaster’s right to freedom of expression, taking into account, for example, such things as the context of any particular programme.

While it is appreciated that sensitivities still remain in Northern Ireland , comedy, especially satirical comedy, frequently explores the darker side of humanity. In our view, this was the effect achieved by this sequence of sketches and consequently they were not in breach of the Code.

Not in Breach

---

The full document is available below

• Issue 106 -14|04|08 [pdf]

Back to top