Ofcom ‘clamps’ down on This Morning’s breakfast-time bondage broadcast

[dropcap]E[/dropcap]verybody has to begin somewhere as they say, and even Christian Grey must remember the first time his heart was set racing as he savoured the sweet scent of duct tape wafting in from the utility room (there is undoubtedly an origin story on a boardroom table somewhere as we speak). But it seems at least some British television viewers are not keen on the ‘bondage-fever’ (as no-one has been calling it) sweeping the nation, at least not on weekday morning television, as Ofcom received roughly 120 complaints last month about a segment on ITV’s This Morning, entitled ‘Bondage for Beginners’.

The show, presented by silver fox Phillip Schofield, and stand-in for a stand-in for a stand-in, Christine Bleakley, plumbed the depths of how one does bondage. The piece in the magazine-style programme took viewers through some of the paraphernalia that can be utilised in bondage, helpfully illustrating the practicalities with VT clips of two models using the devices and props in question.

The denouement of the segment was Schofield attaching a clamp to his nipple, in what can only be described as a landmark moment in British television history

There is a well-worn argument regarding television and offence: why didn’t they just turn over? This common sense attitude is perhaps not without some merit. Any audience familiar with This Morning would know of its risqué history (from frivolous streakers, to the altogether more serious ‘paedo-list’). These precedents, coupled with Schofield’s on-air warning about the segment’s content makes claiming a complaint about shock seem a little ignorant, and unsteady ground on which to build a case.

Photo: Flickr/Fi&Bert

It is also very clear that the distinctly commercial (QVC style, as Charlie Brooker pointed out) programme section was cashing in on the success of Fifty Shades of Grey, which had recently premiered. As such, the topic of bondage was well within the public domain before This Morning got its hands on it. Moral panic and complaints often follow when a seemingly-taboo minority practice graduates to mainstream culture, and This Morning likes to get in on the ground floor where taboo cultures are concerned (try googling ‘peno-plasty’… actually, don’t do that). With this in mind, we might think of ‘Bondage for Beginners’ as simply reflecting what was on the country’s mind.

However, this argument against the complaints seems to negate the very purpose of the watershed, which is to protect potentially vulnerable viewers who may be watching. One woman on Twitter stated that her children had accidentally seen the programme and she would now have to explain bondage to them.

It could be pointed out that in the age of on-demand television and instant access to audience-specific programming, from children’s cartoons to more graphic content, that the watershed is a redundant safety feature. Also, while there is an un-doubtable validity to the woman’s comment, it is hard to separate the complaint from the previous argument: why not just turn over? Why on earth were the kid’s watching This Morning, instead of Peppa Pig on their iPad like every other child I know?

Complaints of this nature do reveal one thing: that television is still a ubiquitous form

Despite the proliferation of specialisms, channels and format options, there is still a sense that broadcast television is pervasive to the point that it cannot be avoided, and certain groups in our society may need to be protected from it. Not least Schofield, who is likely very sore after his encounter, and me for having witnessed it. Why didn’t I just turn over?