Ofcom reminds programmers about actors under 18 following BBC episode showing teen torturing man
Ofcom has reminded broadcasters about the guidance for actors under 18 years of age, after episodes of BBC drama Line of Duty showed a 13-year-old torturing a policeman with bolt cutters.
In a later episode of the post-watershed show, the boy was later threatened by the police that he would be put in a place where people “knock your teeth out Ryan; they do that so you give a better blow job.”
The Code states “Due care must be taken over the physical and emotional welfare and the dignity of people under eighteen who take part or are otherwise involved in programmes. This is irrespective of any consent given by the participant or by a parent, guardian or other person over the age of eighteen in loco parentis.
“People under eighteen must not be caused unnecessary distress or anxiety by their involvement in programmes or by the broadcast of those programmes.”
The BBC said that the casting director ruled the child actor “could cope with the emotional demands of the role” and that he “well understood the distinction between fiction and reality”.
The BBC told Ofcom that the programme makers were “in constant dialogue” with the child actor’s parents “before, during, and after every filming day.” The production team also assured the BBC that if, at any point in the process, they or the child actor’s parents had felt he was “unsettled or upset by any aspect of his involvement, they would not have hesitated to end it”.
Ofcom noted that the 13 year-old child appeared in this challenging post-watershed drama and was filmed participating in scenes which were of a particularly violent nature and included sexually explicit language.
Ofcom also noted that there was no third party assessment of the actor by a child counsellor or psychologist, and therefore ruled that the BBC has to attend a meeting to reiterate the paramount importance of ensuring its compliance with the Code rules to protect child participants in its programmes.