Truth or Dare: The Reality of British TV

30 January 08

Supported by The Farm Group.

For the first in a series of BAFTA Debates we set out to explore the minefield of reality television.

Moderated by Peter Dale (Head, More 4), an expert panel of leading figures in British television tackled the dilemmas of a specially-created reality show that's going badly wrong.

"Celebrity Press Gang" put a group of celebrities on board an old sailing ship moored a mile out in the English Channel. The hypothetical reality show was discussed as if it were being broadcast with panel members taking the roles of all the major players, from Channel Controllers to Tabloid Editors.

The panel had to navigate a series of crises including involving accusations of racism and child abuse, a dilemma over an alcoholic contestant, a politically charged t-shirt and a viewer vote which names the ship's cat "Mohammed".

Bravely throwing themselves into the ring were:

• Greg Dyke (Former Director General, BBC) as The Chief Executive
• Peter Salmon (Chief Creative Officer, BBC Vision Productions) as The Channel Controller
• Ben Gale (Commissioning Editor, Factual Features & Format, BBC) as The Commissioning Editor
• Natalka Znak (Executive Producer, I'm A Celebrity, Hell's Kitchen and Love Island) as The Executive Producer
• Emily Hogan (Producer, reality TV) as The Producer
• Paul Leather (Head Of Press, Channel 5) as The Press Officer
• Prash Naik (Deputy Head Of Legal & Compliance, Channel 4) as The Lawyer
• Phil Hall (Chairman, Phil Hall Associates) as The Celebrity Guru
• Kelvin MacKenzie (Former Editor, The Sun) as The Tabloid Editor.

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