Viewers complain over 'grossly offensive' line

Benidorm has come under fire over an insult directed at a character with a cleft palate.

The last episode of the latest ITV series, which aired last week, featured former Pop Idol contestant Danny Tetley, pictured, singing in the resort.

It prompted Joyce Temple-Savage, played by Sherrie Hewson, to say he had ‘the voice of a 13-year-old girl and a face like a dropped pie’.

Charities have urged viewers to complain to watchdog Ofcom, which says more than 100 people have done just that.

Changing Faces, the national charity for people who have a disfigurement, called the comment ‘grossly offensive’.

Chief Executive James Partridge wrote to ITV chairman Sir Peter Bazalgette, expressing the charity’s shock and disappointment.

In his letter he said: ‘For any viewer to see someone who has come through surgery described in such a derogatory manner on primetime television is grossly offensive and a likely breach of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code. It could also be seriously psychologically damaging.

‘Programme makers have a responsibility to ensure that their output uses only accurate, fair and sensitive depictions and portrayals of people who have a disfigurement. For the first time in several years, ITV has fallen well short of the standards that we should expect of a public broadcaster.’

Changing Faces has demanded an apology, as has the Cleft Lip and Palate Association.

A spokesman said: ‘Looking or sounding different is difficult enough without truly ugly comments like this making things harder.

‘We wonder what, precisely, did this insult add to the storyline that made it so essential? When is it ever necessary to insult someone about a condition they were born with, or any kind of visible difference? Would the same words be used to describe a newborn baby with a cleft, or would this cross a line?'

One parent told the charity: ‘I have spent the last 32 years supporting my daughter and trying to educate ignorant people, and you get things like this that just take you back to square one." Another remarked: ‘That’s going to be the new insult now. Fab. Good job, ITV.’

However Tetley, who has a cleft palate, seems more relaxed about the affair.

When asked by Chortle what he felt about the line, he deflected the question, replying: ‘The line about being Boycie's nephew? No it was great to be cast, he's a lovely guy…’

An ITV spokesman said: ‘Danny is a very talented performer and hugely popular on the circuit. We were thrilled to have him on the show.’

Here’s Tetley performing in Benidorm - the resort, not the TV show:

Published: 11 May 2017