An ad for climate change programing in which politicians and business leaders were shown with a ‘carbon skid mark,’ which attracted the ire of Conservative lawmakers, was Channel 4‘s most-complained-about content of 2023.
Releasing its complaints list for the first time, which is separate from regulator Ofcom‘s annual breakdown, the Channel 4 Change Climate Season promotional vid was shown to have comfortably topped with 1,100 complaints, more than double the next in line. Watch the vid below.
Titled What Are Those In Power Doing About It?, the one-minute promotion preceded a wealth of Channel 4 climate change shows. It was slammed by an MP, Simon Jupp, when Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon faced the Culture, Media & Sport Committee in November, with Jupp saying it “cheapened debate” as he labeled the concept of a ‘carbon skid mark’ “embarrassing.” Mahon responded by stressing Channel 4’s desire to be “provocative.”
Next on the Channel 4 complaints list with around 500 was hoax doc Gregg Wallace: The British Miracle Meat, which pretended to reveal a new development in food technology that could engineer protein from donated human cells. Wallace presents the BBC’s Inside the Factory and the Channel 4 hoax version was intended to provoke thought on the measures people were being forced to take during the cost-of-living crisis.
Miracle Meat was followed on the list by reality series Scared of the Dark, and one episode in particular in which a live rabbit was used during a task. Next was Naked Education, the body positivity series that aimed to challenge stereotypes and correct misconceptions about the human body including in areas such as penis size.
Channel 4’s landmark Russell Brand doc, In Plain Sight, attracted just less than 200 complaints directly to the broadcaster, with Ofcom separately choosing not to investigate after people got in touch to say that the show was unfair on the former comedy star, who denies the allegations.
“Channel 4 exists to make waves and get people thinking and debating, so it’s a good sign that so many of our shows have provoked a strong reaction in 2023,” said an insider at the network. “If someone isn’t complaining, Channel 4 is probably not doing its job.”
The list was compiled using complaints made directly to Channel 4 rather than Ofcom. Ofcom’s annual list only featured one Channel 4 show, Naked Education, and was topped by Laurence Fox’s highly misogynistic rant towards a female journalist on GB News.
