The BBC has defended the recent Christmas special of The Goes Wrong Show following complaints.
The Goes Wrong Show is a comedy series from the makers of The Play That Goes Wrong, following the Cornley Drama Society as they (attempt to) perform shows that invariably go terribly, terribly wrong
In the Christmas show, the team presented their take on the classic Nativity story which saw the Angel Gabriel develops a firework obsession, the actors inside a donkey have a terrible falling out resulting in unnecessary nudity and there much more fire than anyone anticipated.
The BBC said that it had received a number of complaints about the episode, which aired just before Christmas Day.
Although the BBC did not detail the number and nature of complaints, they issued the following response: “This programme follows the fictional Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society as they attempt to put on a variety of plays, always with disastrous and comedic results.
“In this Christmas special, the troupe performed the Nativity, with the usual technical hiccups and blunders that viewers of the programme would expect.
“While it’s never our intention to offend or upset our viewers with what we show, it is perhaps inevitable that some aspects of our programmes will occasionally strike some in our audience as inappropriate.
“This is especially so within comedy; one of the most subjective areas of programming.
“Our Editorial Guidelines uphold the right to freedom of expression and the right of programme-makers to include material which some members of the audience may find inappropriate or offensive.
“However, we are always very conscious of how jokes might resonate with those with direct experience of the subjects we cover, and we never set out to mock or undermine their beliefs and experiences.”
A second six-part series of The Goes Wrong Show will air in 2021 after being previously confirmed by the BBC.
You can watch episodes of The Goes Wrong Show online via BBC iPlayer here.
Picture: BBC
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