British TV and radio stations will be explicitly required to protect the mental health and wellbeing of individuals who take part in their shows, under rules introduced by Ofcom.
The regulator launched a review of what protections were in place due to growing concern about the welfare of some broadcast participants and a steady rise in the number of complaints.
Regulations around reality television came under renewed scrutiny after the death in March 2019 of the former ITV Love Island contestant Mike Thalassitis. He was the second of the show’s cast members to take their own life, following the death in June 2018 of Sophie Gradon, who appeared on the show the year before.
After Thalassitis’s death, ITV said it would increase the level of support and advice given to contestants.
The Commons digital, culture, media and sport select committee also launched an inquiry into the wider reality TV industry after the death of Steve Dymond, who died shortly after failing a lie detector test on The Jeremy Kyle Show. Many former reality stars contacted the committee to raise their concerns.
The new safeguards mean broadcasters have to take due care over the welfare of people who might be at risk of significant harm as a result of taking part in any radio or TV shows.
Ofcom said the measures were aimed at protecting “vulnerable people and others not used to being in the public eye”. This means if a show is likely to attract a high level of social media interest or features conflict or the disclosure of personal information, those running the operation will need to ensure support is in place.
People taking part in programmes must also be informed about any potential welfare risks that might arise from their participation, and any steps the broadcaster or programme-maker intends to take to mitigate these.
Adam Baxter, Ofcom’s director of standards and audience protection, said: “People taking part in TV and radio programmes deserve to be properly looked after. Our new protections set a clear standard of care for broadcasters to meet – striking a careful balance between broadcasters’ creative freedom and the welfare of the people they feature.”
Ofcom is strengthening the wording of its “generally accepted standards” rule, which means anything shown that might cause offence to viewers and listeners must be justified by the context.
Treatment of people who appear to be put at risk of significant harm as a result of taking part in a show is also now included as an explicit example of something that might cause offence to audiences.
The measures will apply to programmes that begin production on or after Monday 5 April 2021. Before then, Ofcom will publish its associated guidance for broadcasters to help them comply with the requirements.
