BBC hits 1.7m with Springer opera as 50,000 complain

by Gordon MacMillan,, Brand Republic 10-Jan-05, 08:30

LONDON - 'Jerry Springer: The Opera' proved a hit for the BBC with 1.7m tuning in on Saturday night to watch the expletive-laden musical as 50,000 viewers voiced their protest and legal action is threatened.

Prior to the BBC Two broadcast, things were starting to turn ugly as personal details of BBC executives, including the channel's controller Roly Keating, were made public.

Almost 1,500 protesters descended on BBC offices on Saturday to make their feelings known. The protestors included Christian groups, furious over the portrayal of Jesus as a nappy wearer who was described as a "bit gay".

Protestors carried placards reading "Stop BBC blasphemy" and "Christians against blasphemy".

The BBC said that 45,000 had contacted it, and media regulator Ofcom said that another 7,500 had contacted it about the use of bad language in the show, which included hundreds of expletives.

The show was reported to contain a total of 8,000 obscenities -- a total reached by adding up every swear word sung by each member of the 27-strong chorus.

A spokesman for the BBC defended the decision to stand by the broadcast, which is said to have taken opera to a wider audience. On average, without the storm of publicity surrounding 'Jerry Springer: The Opera', a BBC opera broadcast will attract a maximum of 1m viewers.

"We are pleased that a wider audience has been able to see an important piece of contemporary culture," the BBC spokesperson said.

They added that early figures show that 'Jerry Springer: The Opera' was watched by double the number of 16- to 34-year-olds than would normally be expected.

Christian groups are now threatening to take the BBC to court over the broadcast as Stephen Green, national director of Christian Voice, promised a private prosecution against the BBC.

Christian Voice was the group behind the releasing of BBC staff contract details, which Green defended as the only channel left open to the group.

"It reflects that we have no confidence in the current channels of complaint. These people are public figures and the information is in the public domain," Green said.

He added that the BBC would never had broadcast the programme if it had concerned Muslims or Sikhs.

"Because we are Christians we are fair game," he said.

Pic: BBC/Avalon PR/Dan Goldsmith

If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the Forum here.