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Axe 'stupid' show, says PM
03/07/2006 11:32 - (SA)
Canberra, Australia - Prime Minister John Howard called on Monday for an Australian reality TV programme to be axed after a woman on the show claimed two male contestants sexually assaulted her.
The government has referred Network 10's Big Brother - a fly-on-the wall series in which a group of strangers live together and compete for a cash prize - to the television standards watchdog over the incident on Saturday, Communications Minister Helen Coonan's office said.
On a Sunday broadcast, the 22-year-old female contestant was shown tearfully telling her housemates that one of the men held her arms while the other rubbed his crotch in her face, although it did not broadcast footage of the alleged incident.
But the footage was sent to police and the three people involved were questioned, Queensland state police said in a statement. The woman did not make an official complaint and no further police action was planned, police said.
Howard appealed to the youth-oriented network, formerly called Channel 10, to cut the long-running programme, which has been subject to complaints of poor taste in the past.
"I don't like heavy-handed regulation. The business community is always saying to me, 'let us self regulate,"' Howard told Sydney Radio 2GB.
"Well, here's a great opportunity for Channel 10 to do a bit of self regulation and get this stupid programme off the air."
Sydney's Daily Telegraph also criticised the network.
"The alleged sexual assault of a female housemate on Big Brother marks another new low in what constitutes entertainment in the modern age," the newspaper said in an editorial, describing Sunday's broadcast of the woman's tearful account of the incident as "a cynical grab for ratings".
Network and programme producers issued a statement on Monday that "reaffirmed their commitment to the highly popular television programme".
"Big Brother is very popular, as evidenced by the strong and broad audiences it draws every night of the week, and will remain on air," Network 10 said, adding that the two men accused in the incident have been pulled from the show "because they broke the rules of housemate conduct".
- AP
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South Africa
