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Bad, bad Blue Peter


Kahnee

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From PA:

 

BBC children's show Blue Peter is to apologise after becoming the latest programme to be drawn into the TV phone-in scandal, the Corporation said today.

Viewers were invited to call a premium rate competition line during a live programme to win a toy.

But due to a "technical failure", a telephone caller was not selected. Instead a member of staff asked a child who was visiting the studio to phone in and give their answer.

That child was then awarded the prize.

The BBC was alerted following a complaint by a member of the public.

Blue Peter is to broadcast an apology on today's show. BBC children's controller Richard Deverell called it a "serious error of judgment".

The BBC did not make a profit from the 10p calls - 3.25p from each call went to Unicef.

As a consequence of the Blue Peter incident, the BBC has set up an immediate review of the process for conducting live competitions on Children's BBC (CBBC) and ordered "intensive staff training" on the issues involved.

Jana Bennett, director of BBC Vision, also announced a senior level independent review of the circumstances surrounding the competition.

"Blue Peter enjoys the highest reputation for its relationship of trust and respect for the audience. It is disappointing, therefore, that there has been a serious breach of editorial standards on a live edition of the programme," she said.

"I believe the action that is being taken by BBC Children's will help to reassure children and parents that we take this matter very seriously indeed."

The competition to raise money for the Blue Peter Appeal in aid of Unicef took place during a live edition of the show on November 27.

The winner could select a prize from a list of children's toys.

A viewer contacted the BBC last Friday alleging that the winning call had been made by a child visiting the studio.

The BBC immediately commissioned a report and the findings were issued today.

"The preliminary report has established that there was a technical failure during this live programme," it said.

"The calls were being received correctly by the telecoms operator but the studio staff were having difficulty retrieving the information as originally planned.

"This meant that a caller was not selected to give their answer on air, as was promised at the beginning of the programme.

"A member of staff then asked a child, who was visiting the studio, to phone in to the programme and to give an answer on air. The child was awarded the prize."

The matter has been referred to premium rate phone line regulator Icstis.

Richard Deverell said: "BBC Children's has a deep and genuine commitment to our audiences, and our relationship with them is built on trust.

"Whilst I am satisfied that there was no premeditated attempt to deceive or mislead viewers, the decision to put a child on air in this way was a serious error of judgment, and does not conform to either the BBC's own guidelines or the high standards we set ourselves in children's programmes.

"I would like to apologise unequivocally to viewers, to all the children who took part in the competition, and we have already apologised directly to the child involved and her family for this incident.

"Part of our commitment to a relationship built on trust requires us to disclose this error and try to put it right, which we are now doing.

"It is very important that Blue Peter takes action to do this, and to ensure that lessons are learned."

Blue Peter editor Richard Marson said: "This edition of the programme fell short of the high standards Blue Peter viewers quite rightly expect.

"We are absolutely committed to running competitions that are fair to all entrants and we are very sorry for the way this competition was conducted."

A new winner will be randomly selected from the November 27 entrants under the supervision of an independent solicitor, the BBC said.

A freephone number (08000 565363) has been set up for anyone who took part in the competition and has concerns.

The BBC said the child in question was a girl but did not give her age.

She was a regular viewer who was visiting the studio with one of her parents.

The member of the public who alerted the BBC to the incident was an adult unrelated to the child who was also visiting the studio that day and observed what took place, a BBC spokesman said.

When the girl went on air she declared herself to be "calling from London" - in reality she was in the same studio as the programme presenters.

The spokesman said: "Viewers had been promised that the competition would be concluded by the end of the show.

"A member of the production team took the decision to ask this girl to take part. Blue Peter fans are regularly invited to visit the programme and she was there in that capacity.

"It was a decision made in the heat of the moment and was an error of judgment."

The spokesman declined to say whether or not Blue Peter editor Richard Marson knew that the competition winner was faked.

Blue Peter is the latest show to be tainted by the phone-in scandal.

Yesterday Channel 4 announced the suspension of competitions in its horseracing coverage after a "software glitch" meant viewers were charged even though the contest had closed.

The row first blew up when it emerged that callers to Channel 4's Richard And Judy show were urged to call in for the You Say, We Pay game despite the fact that contestants had already been chosen.

Last week Five admitted "winning contestants" on its daytime Brainteaser quiz were faked.

Other shows under scrutiny over alleged premium rate phone line irregularities include the BBC's Saturday Kitchen and ITV1's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

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