Watchdog hits out at Ali G show disability jibes

A TV watchdog today rapped Ali G’s Channel 4 show for mocking and imitating the disabled.

Comic Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest character Bruno was seen mimicking disabilities in an edition screened in April.

The British Broadcasting Standards Commission ruled the show went too far.

Camp fashion pundit Bruno was seen interviewing figures from the industry about whether they would use disabled models, using terms which prompted complaints from viewers.

Channel 4 said it was intended to highlight the fashion industry’s obsession with the perfect body and a reluctance to use models who might be perceived as “less than perfect”.

But in its latest report the BSC said: “Whilst the questions were intended to ridicule the views of the fashion industry, the language used to refer to people with disabilities, in addition to the mimicking of their physical symptoms, had exceeded acceptable boundaries.

The BSC also upheld complaints about swearing on the Comic Relief Red Nose Night broadcast on BBC1 from show host Jonathan Ross.

And it said that BBC1 consumer show Watchdog should not have used the word “bollocks” in a broadcast.

The BBC said the word had not been considered and given the go-ahead at a senior level.