Catastrophe actor Rob Delaney highlights abuse TV Licensing staff face in new campaign
The Channel 4 star has lent his support to enforcement officers as part of Anti-Bullying Month
Actor and comedian Rob Delaney has starred in TV Licensing’s new video series to raise awareness of the verbal and physical abuse faced by its staff.
The ads see Delaney, best known for his role in sitcom Catastrophe, host a workshop for enquiry officers to provide advice on how to tackle rude and aggressive customers.
Part of Anti-Bullying Month, the candid spots look at the challenging scenarios faced by enforcement employees. The American stand-up offers humourous solutions to disarm incidents involving swearing, abuse and other difficult behaviour by drawing upon his experiences of heckling.
Commenting on the videos, Delaney said: “I’ve lived in the UK for nine months and British television is so far superior to US TV.
“I‘m worried that if the BBC were damaged or harmed by the licence fee being taken away the UK would turn into a grey version of Florida," he added.
Jason Hill, TV Licensing spokesperson said: “As a comedian, Rob has extensive experience dealing with verbal abuse, or heckling, on stage. We wanted him to share his methods of deflecting aggression with humour.”
According to TV Licensing, the campaign aims help raise awareness of the difficulties faced by officers when visiting unlicensed households.
Attacks on staff have more than doubled since 2014 with 89 reported physical assaults taking place in the most recent financial year.