Wank Week
Wank Week was a controversial season of television programming that was due to be broadcast in the United Kingdom by Channel 4, expected to consist of a series of three documentary programmes about masturbation. However, plans to broadcast it in March 2007 came under public attack (from senior television figures), and the planned broadcasts were pulled amid claims of declining editorial standards and controversy over the channel's public service broadcasting credentials. While Wank Week itself was cancelled, the films it was meant to showcase were left open to be broadcast at a later date.[1][needs update]
Commissioning and programming
The season was commissioned by James Hindle, the channel's factual entertainment commissioning editor, and announced in July 2006. It was to consist of three films broadcast in the 11pm slot, headlined by a documentary on mass public masturbation. This kind of programming was not unprecedented: the Channel had previously screened a '
The first show to be announced centred on a
A week later, plans for an as yet unnamed second documentary about compulsive male masturbators were announced, to be produced by the independent company Spun Gold. The film was to be an hour long and focus on men trying to cut down
Controversy and cancellation
Wank Week was criticised in the prestigious
Criticisms of Wank Week were echoed later in 2006 by Sir
Although these public attacks led to reports of concern in Channel 4 management, postponement of Wank Week did not take place until early February 2007, only a month before its planned screening. There had been a
According to the media section of The Guardian, the films commissioned for Wank Week were likely to be broadcast at a later date, but probably not as part of a dedicated season of programming, and certainly not under the Wank Week banner.[1][needs update] Dan Wootton, senior reporter at Broadcast, criticised the decision, calling it "wimpy". Contrasting it with the way that Channel 4 executives had been prepared to defend Celebrity Big Brother, he accused them of acting hypocritically.[15]
See also
References
- ^ Media Guardian. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
- ^ "Channel 4 - Penis Envy". Channel 4. Archived from the original on 22 May 2009. Retrieved 17 July 2008.
- Media Guardian. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
- ^ "Broadcasting Code (Section One)". Ofcom. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
- ^ Lewis, Paul (19 July 2006). "C4's pleasure principle to raise eyebrows". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
- Media Guardian. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
- Media Guardian. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
- ^ Welsh, James (2 February 2006). "Channel 4 'abandons' "wank week"". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
- ^ Young, Kevin (25 August 2006). "ITV's chief tears into Channel 4". BBC News Online.
- Media Guardian. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
- ^ Allen, Charles (27 August 2006). "In Full: Allen's MacTaggart speech". Digital Spy.
- Media Guardian. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
- ^ Herbert, Ian (14 November 2006). "Isaacs condemns Channel 4 for being obsessed with sex". The Independent. Archived from the original on 17 November 2006. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
- broadcastnow.co.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
- broadcastnow.co.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2009.