Thames Television - Controversy

Controversy

Dallas

In 1985, the company made a deal with international distributors for US production company Lorimar to purchase the US drama Dallas, at that time transmitted on BBC1. This broke a gentlemen's agreement not to poach each other's imported shows. Thames paid $60,000 a show compared to the $33,000 of the BBC. The deal brought condemnation from the BBC and from other ITV stations, who feared the BBC would poach their imports, pushing up prices. The BBC delayed transmission of the episodes of Dallas that they already had, planning to broadcast them at the same time Thames broadcast their new purchases. Ultimately, pressure from other ITV companies (notably Yorkshire Television) forced Thames to sell them back to the distributor at a loss.

Morecambe and Wise

In 1978. Thames secured British entertainers Morecambe & Wise, the stars of the BBC1 Christmas schedules which overshadowed ITV programmes with 27 million viewers. They had worked with the BBC since 1968, after leaving ATV because it would not make their shows in colour. Thames offered them a film through the Euston Films subsidiary and clinched the deal. Their leading scriptwriter, Eddie Braben, did not initially move to ITV with them, and with Eric Morecambe's failing health, the shows never repeated the audiences they once had. Productions were delayed while Morecambe recovered from heart surgery. The film he and Wise wanted to make – Night Train to Murder – was eventually screened on New Year's Day 1985.

Benny Hill

In 1989, Thames sacked Benny Hill, a stalwart at the station since 1969. It was widely believed that he was dismissed because his shows were considered offensive. Thames' decision was taken on ratings grounds: Hill made only 58 hour-long episodes in the 20 years. He stayed in the public eye by repeats and by re-edits of hour-long productions into a half-hour format. The show at its peak had 21 million but the last episode had nine million viewers.

Bill Grundy and the Sex Pistols

In 1976, the punk band The Sex Pistols uttered obscenities on the live show evening news programme Today. They were being interviewed by Bill Grundy. Grundy made it clear he did not like their lifestyle. When singer Johnny Rotten uttered shit, Grundy asked him to repeat it. One band member, Steve Jones, called Grundy a dirty old man and a fucking rotter. Grundy claimed he had allowed bad language to show the Sex Pistols as they were. There had, however, been claims that he had been drinking; he introduced the group as ...being drunk as I am. The transmission was not stopped. There were 30 seconds to the end of the show and producers feared trouble in the studio if the show were halted. Grundy was suspended and Today ended soon afterwards; his career never recovered.

This Week: Death on the Rock

The most controversial act was the documentary "Death on the Rock", part of the current affairs This Week series. The programme questioned the authority of British troops who had gunned down suspected Provisional IRA members allegedly planning a terrorist attack on a British military ceremony on Gibraltar. The documentary was regarded almost as treason by many Conservative politicians, and by newspapers such as The Sunday Times.