BBC plans documentary "I Love The C-Word".

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LORD REITH'S GYROSCOPIC TOMB, White City, Saturday (Al-BBCzeera) — The BBC came under new fire on Saturday after it announced plans for a £200,000 TV documentary, I Love The C-Word, devoted to the most offensive word in the English language.

I Love The C-Word is the latest in a growing number of BBC programmes to feature the C-word in recent years, despite internal BBC research showing that it is the one thing viewers hate the most. It has been used frequently in the award-winning BBC Four political sitcom The Thick Of It, starring Tessa Jowell.

The horror! THE HORROR!

Shadow culture secretary Hugo Broke attacked the proposal. "People expect high standards from the BBC and many might well be offended by effectively subsidising programmes of this nature. The BBC have got to recognise this is a concept that still offends a large number of people. The change in what's acceptable discussion is an entirely good thing to look at, but I don’t see why they have to sensationalise the subject."

A BBC spokeswoman said I Love The C-Word's presenter — who is expected to be a comedian, rather than an academic — will interview pundits, academics, artists and marketers about the increased use of the word over the past thirty years, and the word itself will be broadcast uncensored. "It will be a grown-up discussion about how we have got to where we are now without being either sensationalist or po-faced. It is perhaps one of the last words that has the ability to stop someone in their tracks, and it is fascinating to see how differently it is perceived around the world."

She noted how something previously unacceptable to discuss in public had these days lost its power to shock younger BBC viewers. "A lot of people think it's just a horrible word to say. I do personally love the C-word, and hate that the BBC net nanny doesn't. I never use it as a curse, but only to describe the thing it actually means. It's all a matter of context — it's all in the delivery, especially the timing." She said that the production team was in constant dialogue concerning editorial policy.

"Basically, we should be able to talk about running commercials on the BBC without being taken out and *BLAM*" ... the line went dead at this point.

• Derek N. Clive "What a pack of liaising marketers". Sky News, January 13, 2007

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