‘Big Brother’ had “penetration protocols” during its decade-long run on Channel 4, as producers were tasked with decided which steamy moments would be allowed to air.
The reality TV show was aired by the broadcaster for a decade until 2010, and now the programme’s commissioning executive has revealed the team had plans in place when housemates shared a steamy moment.
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Speaking in upcoming documentary series ‘Jade: The Reality Star Who Changed Britain’, Peter Grimsdale said:
“Channel 4 had this thing – ‘penetration protocols’, which was what to do when there is some kind of sex act live on screen, and it involved a lot of people going into a boardroom and sitting down and saying, ‘What are we going to do about this?’ “
The three part documentary follows the rise and fall of late reality star Jade Goody – who died in 2009 aged 27 after a battle with cervical cancer – and her fling with fellow 2002 housemate Peter James Ellis caused a bit of a headache for the team behind the scenes.
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PJ described their undercover fumble as “the Christmas party snog, but in front of 11 million people”, while Channel 4’s director of programmes Tim Gardam admitted he had a big decision to make at the time.
He added:
“I looked at the tape, and it was then the sort of debate you could only have on TV of what to show. It was, what should you show, what shouldn’t you show?”
The documentary series also features host Davina McCall, paid tribute to the late star, and admitted she couldn’t believe how quickly Jade suffered a fall from grace.
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According to The Sun newspaper, she said in the doc:
“I felt such enormous joy at Jade’s popularity. Then, ‘Oh my God, what happened? How can it all turn in a nanosecond? She’s now become the most hated girl in Britain?’ “
After ‘Big Brother’ ended on Channel 4 in 2010, it was picked up the following year by Channel 5, where it aired until its conclusion in 2018.
