Brass Eye
Encyclopedia
Brass Eye is a UK television series of satirical
spoof documentaries
. A series of six aired on Channel 4
in 1997, and a further episode in 2001.
The series was created by Chris Morris
, and written by him, David Quantick
, Peter Baynham
, Jane Bussmann
, Arthur Mathews
and Graham Linehan
. It was a sequel to Morris's earlier spoof news programmes On the Hour
and The Day Today
. It satirised media portrayal of social ills, in particular sensationalism
and creation of moral panics. The series starred Morris's The Day Today colleague Doon MacKichan
and Gina McKee
, Mark Heap
, Simon Pegg
, Julia Davis
and Kevin Eldon.
The second episode was called "Drugs" and is one of the most successful. A voice tells viewers there are so many drugs on the streets that "not even the dealers know them all". An undercover reporter (Morris) asks a purportedly real-life drug dealer in London for fictitious drugs, including Triple-sod, Yellow Bentines and Clarky Cat, leaving the dealer puzzled and irritated. He also asks the dealer if he is the Boz-Boz and says he doesn't want his arm to feel "like a couple of fortnights in a bad balloon". Later, Morris dressed as a baby with a nappy on and a red balloon-like hat on his head and again asked for Triple-sod and then says "last time I came here a friend of mine just got triple-jacked over a steeplehammer and jessop jessop jessop jessop jessop". He explained that possession of drugs without physical contact and the exchange of drugs
through a mandrill
were legal.
David Amess
, the Conservative
Member of Parliament
for Basildon
, was fooled into filming an elaborate video warning against the dangers of a fictional Eastern European drug called Cake and asked a question about it in Parliament
. The drug purportedly affected an area of the brain called Shatner's
Bassoon
(altering your perception of time), can give you a bloated neck due to massive water retention (allegedly known in by-then-dissolved Czechoslovakia
as "Czech Neck") and was frequently referred to as "a made-up drug" (a drug, they were told, not made from plants but made up from chemicals).
Sir Bernard Ingham
, Noel Edmonds
and Rolf Harris
held the yellow cake-sized pill as they talked, with Bernard Manning
telling viewers that "One kiddy on Cake cried all the water out of his body. Just imagine how his mother felt. It's a fucking disgrace" and that "…you can puke your fucking self to death [on this stuff] — one girl threw up her own pelvis-bone… What a fucking disgrace". Manning, with other participants, told the public that Cake was known on the street as "loonytoad quack", "Joss Ackland
's spunky backpack", "ponce on the heath", "rustledust" or "Hattie Jacques
pretentious cheese wog", and told anyone offered it to "chuck it back in their face and tell them to fuck off".
Other episodes dealt with science, animals and sex. Morris posed as a talk-show host in favour of those with "good" AIDS
from a contaminated blood transfusion
against those with "bad AIDS" caught through sexual activity or drugs.
The 1997 series was postponed nearly six months as it made reference to murderer Myra Hindley, who was in the news after her portrait was vandalised in the Royal Academy
exhibition Sensation
.
reading "Grade
is a cunt", and an interview with Graham Bright
MP in the "Drugs" episode. A disclaimer was also added to the "Drugs" episode at the request of David Amess.
and the moral panic
in parts of the British media following the death of Sarah Payne, focusing on the name-and-shame campaign of the News of the World
. This included an incident in 2000 in which a paediatrician in Newport
had the word 'PAEDO' daubed in yellow paint on her home.
Gary Lineker
and Phil Collins
endorsed a spoof charity, Nonce Sense, ("nonce
" is British slang for people convicted or suspected of molestation or sexual crimes), Collins saying, "I'm talking Nonce Sense!" Tomorrow's World
presenter Philippa Forrester
and ITN reporter Nicholas Owen were tricked into explaining the details of HOECS ' onMouseout='HidePop("30248")' href="/topics/Hoax">hoax
") computer games, which online paedophiles were using to abuse children via the Internet
. Capital Radio
DJ Neil "Doctor" Fox told viewers that "paedophiles have more genes in common with crab
s than they do with you and me", adding "Now that is scientific fact — there's no real evidence
for it — but it is scientific fact".
Lineker described paedophile text slang, claiming "BALTIMORA
" translates to "literally, I'm running at them now with my trousers down." Labour MP Syd Rapson
said paedophiles were using "an area of internet the size of Ireland". Richard Blackwood
said internet paedophiles can make computer keyboard
s emit noxious fumes to subdue children. Blackwood sniffed a keyboard and said he smelt the fumes, which made him feel "suggestible"; Blackwood also warned watching parents that exposure to the fumes would make their children "smell like hammers".
The studio was "invaded" by a fictional militant pro-paedophile activism organisation called Milit-pede and the programme appeared to suffer a short technical disturbance. When it returned, presenter Chris Morris confronted a spokesman, Gerard Chote (played by Simon Pegg
) who has been placed in a pillory
. He asked if he wants sex with Morris's six-year-old son. Hesitantly, the spokesman refused, apologetically explaining "I don't fancy him". Morris said the child was not present but added digitally. The scene led to a media backlash.
Around 2000 complaints were received and politician
s spoke out against Morris. Beverley Hughes
described the show as "unspeakably sick" but later admitted she had not seen it, and David Blunkett
said he was "dismayed" by it. Tessa Jowell
, after watching, asked the Independent Television Commission
to reinstate censorship
to ban similar programmes. There was also a tabloid campaign against Morris, who refused to discuss the issue.
The Daily Star decried Morris and the show, placing the story next to a separate article about the 15-year-old singer Charlotte Church
's breasts under the headline "She's a big girl now" and using the words "looking chest swell". The Daily Mail
pictured Princesses Beatrice
and Eugenie
, who were 13 and 11, in their bikinis next to a headline describing Brass Eye as "Unspeakably Sick". Defenders of the show argued that media reaction to the show reinforced its satire of the media's hysteria
and hypocrisy on the subject of paedophilia.
The episode won a Broadcast magazine award in 2002.
"Drugs"
"Science"
"Sex"
"Crime"
"Decline"
"Paedogeddon"
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
spoof documentaries
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
. A series of six aired on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
in 1997, and a further episode in 2001.
The series was created by Chris Morris
Chris Morris (satirist)
Christopher Morris is an English satirist, writer, director and actor. A former radio DJ, he is best known for anchoring the spoof news and current affairs television programmes The Day Today and Brass Eye, as well as his frequent engagement with controversial subject matter.In 2010 Morris...
, and written by him, David Quantick
David Quantick
David Quantick is a freelance journalist, writer and critic who specialises in music and comedy.-Career history:...
, Peter Baynham
Peter Baynham
Peter Baynham is a screenwriter and a British comedian, writer, and performer. He often collaborates with Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris and has worked with Stewart Lee and Richard Herring. He is first heard on Morris' early radio DJ slots, often going out to places...
, Jane Bussmann
Jane Bussmann
Jane Bussmann is a comedian and author who has written for television and radio. Her credits include The Fast Show, Smack the Pony, Brass Eye, Jam and South Park, as well as the radio series Bussmann and Quantick Kingsize with David Quantick...
, Arthur Mathews
Arthur Mathews (writer)
Arthur Mathews is an Irish comedy writer and actor who, often with writing partner Graham Linehan, has either written or contributed to a number of popular television comedies, most notably Father Ted. He is a graduate of the Dublin Institute of Technology...
and Graham Linehan
Graham Linehan
Graham Linehan is an Irish television writer, actor, comedian and director who, often in partnership with Arthur Mathews, has written or co-written a number of popular television comedies...
. It was a sequel to Morris's earlier spoof news programmes On the Hour
On the Hour
On the Hour was a British radio programme that parodied current affairs broadcasting, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1992.Written by Chris Morris, Armando Iannucci, Steven Wells, Andrew Glover, Stewart Lee, Richard Herring and David Quantick, it starred Morris as the overzealous and...
and The Day Today
The Day Today
The Day Today is a surreal British parody of television current affairs programmes, broadcast in 1994, and created by the comedians Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris. It is an adaptation of the radio programme On the Hour, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1992...
. It satirised media portrayal of social ills, in particular sensationalism
Sensationalism
Sensationalism is a type of editorial bias in mass media in which events and topics in news stories and pieces are over-hyped to increase viewership or readership numbers...
and creation of moral panics. The series starred Morris's The Day Today colleague Doon MacKichan
Doon Mackichan
Doon Mackichan is an English comedienne and actress.-Biography:Born in London, Mackichan was brought up in Surrey until the age of 9 when she moved with her family to Upper Largo, Fife. She is a graduate of Manchester University...
and Gina McKee
Gina McKee
Georgina "Gina" McKee is an English actor known for her television roles in Our Friends in the North , The Lost Prince and The Forsyte Saga ; and her portrayal of Bella in the film Notting Hill ....
, Mark Heap
Mark Heap
Mark Heap is an English actor. He began his acting career in the 1980s as a member of the Medieval Players, a touring company performing medieval and early modern theatre, and featuring stilt-walking, juggling and puppetry...
, Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg is an English actor, comedian, writer, film producer, and director. He is best known for having co-written and stared in various Edgar Wright features, mainly Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and the comedy series Spaced.He also portrayed Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the 2009 Star Trek film...
, Julia Davis
Julia Davis
Julia Davis is an English comedy writer and performer, best known for writing and starring in the BBC Three comedy Nighty Night.-Background:...
and Kevin Eldon.
Original series (1997)
Brass Eye aroused controversy because public figures were fooled into supporting fictitious, and often absurd, charities and causes.The second episode was called "Drugs" and is one of the most successful. A voice tells viewers there are so many drugs on the streets that "not even the dealers know them all". An undercover reporter (Morris) asks a purportedly real-life drug dealer in London for fictitious drugs, including Triple-sod, Yellow Bentines and Clarky Cat, leaving the dealer puzzled and irritated. He also asks the dealer if he is the Boz-Boz and says he doesn't want his arm to feel "like a couple of fortnights in a bad balloon". Later, Morris dressed as a baby with a nappy on and a red balloon-like hat on his head and again asked for Triple-sod and then says "last time I came here a friend of mine just got triple-jacked over a steeplehammer and jessop jessop jessop jessop jessop". He explained that possession of drugs without physical contact and the exchange of drugs
DRUGS
Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows are an American post-hardcore band formed in 2010. They released their debut self-titled album on February 22, 2011.- Formation :...
through a mandrill
Mandrill
The mandrill is a primate of the Old World monkey family, closely related to the baboons and even more closely to the drill. Both the mandrill and the drill were once classified as baboons in genus Papio, but recent research has determined they should be separated into their own genus, Mandrillus...
were legal.
David Amess
David Amess
David Anthony Andrew Amess is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been a Member of Parliament since 1983, first for Basildon, and since 1997 for Southend West.-Early life:...
, the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Basildon
Basildon (UK Parliament constituency)
Basildon was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
, was fooled into filming an elaborate video warning against the dangers of a fictional Eastern European drug called Cake and asked a question about it in Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
. The drug purportedly affected an area of the brain called Shatner's
William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
Bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
(altering your perception of time), can give you a bloated neck due to massive water retention (allegedly known in by-then-dissolved Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
as "Czech Neck") and was frequently referred to as "a made-up drug" (a drug, they were told, not made from plants but made up from chemicals).
Sir Bernard Ingham
Bernard Ingham
Sir Bernard Ingham is a journalist and former civil servant who is best known as Margaret Thatcher's Chief Press Secretary while she was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Today Ingham lectures in Public Relations at Middlesex University in London...
, Noel Edmonds
Noel Edmonds
Noel Ernest Edmonds, is an English broadcaster and executive, who made his name as a DJ on BBC Radio 1 in the UK. He has presented many light entertainment television programmes, including Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, Top of the Pops, The Late, Late Breakfast Show, Telly Addicts, Noel's Saturday...
and Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris, CBE, AM is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, painter and television personality.Born in Perth, Western Australia, Harris was a champion swimmer before studying art. He moved to England in 1952, where he started to appear on television programmes on which he drew the...
held the yellow cake-sized pill as they talked, with Bernard Manning
Bernard Manning
Bernard John Manning was an English comedian and nightclub owner. He was born and raised in Manchester in northwest England....
telling viewers that "One kiddy on Cake cried all the water out of his body. Just imagine how his mother felt. It's a fucking disgrace" and that "…you can puke your fucking self to death [on this stuff] — one girl threw up her own pelvis-bone… What a fucking disgrace". Manning, with other participants, told the public that Cake was known on the street as "loonytoad quack", "Joss Ackland
Joss Ackland
Sidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland CBE , known as Joss Ackland, is an English actor who has appeared in more than 130 films and numerous television roles.-Early life:...
's spunky backpack", "ponce on the heath", "rustledust" or "Hattie Jacques
Hattie Jacques
Josephine Edwina Jaques was an English comedy actress, known as Hattie Jacques.Starting her career in the 1940s, Jacques first gained attention through her radio appearances with Tommy Handley on ITMA and later with Tony Hancock on Hancock's Half Hour...
pretentious cheese wog", and told anyone offered it to "chuck it back in their face and tell them to fuck off".
Other episodes dealt with science, animals and sex. Morris posed as a talk-show host in favour of those with "good" AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
from a contaminated blood transfusion
Blood transfusion
Blood transfusion is the process of receiving blood products into one's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used in a variety of medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood...
against those with "bad AIDS" caught through sexual activity or drugs.
The 1997 series was postponed nearly six months as it made reference to murderer Myra Hindley, who was in the news after her portrait was vandalised in the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
exhibition Sensation
Sensation exhibition
Sensation was an exhibition of the collection of contemporary art owned by Charles Saatchi, including many works by Young British Artists, which first took place 18 September – 28 December 1997 at the Royal Academy of Art in London and later toured to Berlin and New York...
.
Repeats and DVD release
The series was repeated in 2001 to tie in with the paedophilia special (see below), and released on DVD in a revised form. This new version reinstated most of the material cut from the original, although a few items were removed, most notably a subliminal messageSubliminal stimuli
Subliminal stimuli , contrary to supraliminal stimuli or "above threshold", are any sensory stimuli below an individual's threshold for conscious perception. The large majority of research has found that subliminal messages do not produce strong or lasting changes in behavior...
reading "Grade
Michael Grade
Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth CBE is a British broadcast executive and businessman. He was BBC chairman from 2004 to 2006 and executive chairman of ITV plc from 2007 to 2009.-Early life:...
is a cunt", and an interview with Graham Bright
Graham Bright
Sir Graham Frank James Bright is a British politician and businessman. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as a Member of Parliament from 1979-97....
MP in the "Drugs" episode. A disclaimer was also added to the "Drugs" episode at the request of David Amess.
Paedophilia special (2001)
The series was repeated in 2001 along with a new show. It tackled paedophiliaPedophilia
As a medical diagnosis, pedophilia is defined as a psychiatric disorder in adults or late adolescents typically characterized by a primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children...
and the moral panic
Moral panic
A moral panic is the intensity of feeling expressed in a population about an issue that appears to threaten the social order. According to Stanley Cohen, author of Folk Devils and Moral Panics and credited creator of the term, a moral panic occurs when "[a] condition, episode, person or group of...
in parts of the British media following the death of Sarah Payne, focusing on the name-and-shame campaign of the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
. This included an incident in 2000 in which a paediatrician in Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
had the word 'PAEDO' daubed in yellow paint on her home.
Gary Lineker
Gary Lineker
Gary Winston Lineker, OBE , is a former English footballer, who played as a striker. He is a sports broadcaster for the BBC, Al Jazeera Sports and Eredivisie Live...
and Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
endorsed a spoof charity, Nonce Sense, ("nonce
Nonce (slang)
In the United Kingdom and Australia, the term nonce is a slang word used to refer to a sex offender and/or child sexual abuser...
" is British slang for people convicted or suspected of molestation or sexual crimes), Collins saying, "I'm talking Nonce Sense!" Tomorrow's World
Tomorrow's World
Tomorrow's World was a long-running BBC television series, showcasing new developments in the world of science and technology. First aired on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003.- Content :...
presenter Philippa Forrester
Philippa Forrester
Philippa Forrester is an English television and radio presenter, producer and author. Having presented shows such as Tomorrow's World, The Heaven and Earth Show and Robot Wars, she now makes wildlife programmes with her husband, Charlie Hamilton James.-Education:Forrester was educated at Westgate...
and ITN reporter Nicholas Owen were tricked into explaining the details of HOECS ' onMouseout='HidePop("30248")' href="/topics/Hoax">hoax
Hoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
") computer games, which online paedophiles were using to abuse children via the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. Capital Radio
Capital Radio
Capital London is a London based radio station which launched on 16 October 1973 and is owned by Global Radio. On 3 January 2011 it formed part of the nine station Capital radio network.- Pre-launch :...
DJ Neil "Doctor" Fox told viewers that "paedophiles have more genes in common with crab
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
s than they do with you and me", adding "Now that is scientific fact — there's no real evidence
Scientific evidence
Scientific evidence has no universally accepted definition but generally refers to evidence which serves to either support or counter a scientific theory or hypothesis. Such evidence is generally expected to be empirical and properly documented in accordance with scientific method such as is...
for it — but it is scientific fact".
Lineker described paedophile text slang, claiming "BALTIMORA
Baltimora
Baltimora were an Italian New Wave dance outfit active in the mid to late 1980s. The group comprised Jimmy McShane , Maurizio Bassi , Giorgio Cocilovo , Claudio Bazzari , Pier Michelatti and Gabriele Melotti...
" translates to "literally, I'm running at them now with my trousers down." Labour MP Syd Rapson
Syd Rapson
Syd Rapson, a politician in the United Kingdom, was born on 17 April 1942 in the Isle of Wight and moved to the Paulsgrove area of Portsmouth as a young child. After leaving school he worked in the aeronautical industry for nearly forty years until becoming Labour Member of Parliament for...
said paedophiles were using "an area of internet the size of Ireland". Richard Blackwood
Richard Blackwood
Richard Blackwood , is an English comedian, media personality, occasional actor and MC. Blackwood is step-brother of Naomi Campbell after his father was married to her mother for a time...
said internet paedophiles can make computer keyboard
Computer keyboard
In computing, a keyboard is a typewriter-style keyboard, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches...
s emit noxious fumes to subdue children. Blackwood sniffed a keyboard and said he smelt the fumes, which made him feel "suggestible"; Blackwood also warned watching parents that exposure to the fumes would make their children "smell like hammers".
The studio was "invaded" by a fictional militant pro-paedophile activism organisation called Milit-pede and the programme appeared to suffer a short technical disturbance. When it returned, presenter Chris Morris confronted a spokesman, Gerard Chote (played by Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg is an English actor, comedian, writer, film producer, and director. He is best known for having co-written and stared in various Edgar Wright features, mainly Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and the comedy series Spaced.He also portrayed Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the 2009 Star Trek film...
) who has been placed in a pillory
Pillory
The pillory was a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, formerly used for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse, sometimes lethal...
. He asked if he wants sex with Morris's six-year-old son. Hesitantly, the spokesman refused, apologetically explaining "I don't fancy him". Morris said the child was not present but added digitally. The scene led to a media backlash.
Around 2000 complaints were received and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
s spoke out against Morris. Beverley Hughes
Beverley Hughes
Beverley June Hughes, Baroness Hughes of Stretford is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Stretford and Urmston from 1997 to 2010. In 2004, she was appointed to the Privy Council...
described the show as "unspeakably sick" but later admitted she had not seen it, and David Blunkett
David Blunkett
David Blunkett is a British Labour Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, having represented Sheffield Brightside from 1987 to 2010...
said he was "dismayed" by it. Tessa Jowell
Tessa Jowell
Tessa Jowell is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Dulwich and West Norwood since 1992. Formerly a member of both the Blair and Brown Cabinets, she is currently the Shadow Minister for the Olympics and Shadow Minister for London.-Early life:Tessa Jane...
, after watching, asked the Independent Television Commission
Independent Television Commission
The Independent Television Commission licensed and regulated commercial television services in the United Kingdom between 1 January 1991 and 28 December 2003....
to reinstate censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
to ban similar programmes. There was also a tabloid campaign against Morris, who refused to discuss the issue.
The Daily Star decried Morris and the show, placing the story next to a separate article about the 15-year-old singer Charlotte Church
Charlotte Church
Charlotte Maria Church is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter. She rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching into pop music in 2005. By 2007, she had sold more than 10 million records worldwide including over 5 million in the United States...
's breasts under the headline "She's a big girl now" and using the words "looking chest swell". The Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
pictured Princesses Beatrice
Princess Beatrice of York
Princess Beatrice of York is the elder daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York...
and Eugenie
Princess Eugenie of York
Princess Eugenie of York Eugenie Victoria Helena; born 23 March 1990) is the younger daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York...
, who were 13 and 11, in their bikinis next to a headline describing Brass Eye as "Unspeakably Sick". Defenders of the show argued that media reaction to the show reinforced its satire of the media's hysteria
Hysteria
Hysteria, in its colloquial use, describes unmanageable emotional excesses. People who are "hysterical" often lose self-control due to an overwhelming fear that may be caused by multiple events in one's past that involved some sort of severe conflict; the fear can be centered on a body part, or,...
and hypocrisy on the subject of paedophilia.
The episode won a Broadcast magazine award in 2002.
Series
- "Animals" (29 January 1997)
- "Drugs" (5 February 1997)
- "Science" (12 February 1997)
- "Sex" (19 February 1997)
- "Crime" (26 February 1997)
- "Decline" (5 March 1997)
Celebrities appearing
"Animals"- Carla LaneCarla LaneCarla Lane, OBE is an English television writer responsible for many successful sitcoms, including The Liver Birds , Butterflies , and Bread ....
- Sir Peregrine WorsthornePeregrine WorsthorneSir Peregrine Gerard Worsthorne is a British journalist, writer and broadcaster. He was educated at Stowe School, Peterhouse, Cambridge and Magdalen College, Oxford. Worsthorne spent the largest part of his career at the Telegraph newspaper titles, eventually becoming editor of The Sunday Telegraph...
- Oliver SkeeteOliver SkeeteOliver Skeete is a British showjumper turned reality show contestant and actor.-Biography:One of a family of 10 , Skeete travelled to England in September 1964 to join his parents who had settled in Acton, West London, and attended local schools to the age of fifteen...
- Jilly CooperJilly CooperJilly Cooper OBE is an English author. She started her career as a journalist and wrote numerous works of non-fiction before writing several romance novels, the first of which appeared in 1975. She is most famous for writing the Rutshire Chronicles.-Early life:Jilly Sallitt was born in Hornchurch,...
(via phone only) - Britt EklandBritt EklandBritt-Marie Ekland is a Swedish actress and singer, and a long time resident of the United Kingdom. She is best known for her roles as a Bond girl in The Man with the Golden Gun, and in the British cult horror film The Wicker Man, as well as her marriage to actor Peter Sellers, and her...
- Paul DanielsPaul DanielsPaul Daniels, born Newton Edward Daniels on 6 April 1938, is a British magician and television performer. He achieved international fame through his television series The Paul Daniels Magic Show, which ran on the BBC from 1979 to 1994.-Early life:...
- "Wolf"Michael Van WijkMichael van Wijk , is a professional sportsman, bodybuilder, actor and TV presenter in the United Kingdom. van Wijk is most well known for his role as Wolf on British TV endurance sports game show Gladiators, a role he held for seven years, eight series...
- Nicholas ParsonsNicholas ParsonsNicholas Parsons OBE is a British actor and radio and television presenter.-Early life:...
- Alexandra PaulAlexandra PaulAlexandra Elizabeth Paul is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Lt. Stephanie Holden in the television series Baywatch from 1992–97. She has starred in over 60 movies and television programs.-Personal life:...
(via phone only)
"Drugs"
- Bernard InghamBernard InghamSir Bernard Ingham is a journalist and former civil servant who is best known as Margaret Thatcher's Chief Press Secretary while she was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Today Ingham lectures in Public Relations at Middlesex University in London...
- Bruno BrookesBruno BrookesBruno Brookes is a British radio presenter who became prominent in the 1980s.-Early life and career:...
- Rolf HarrisRolf HarrisRolf Harris, CBE, AM is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, painter and television personality.Born in Perth, Western Australia, Harris was a champion swimmer before studying art. He moved to England in 1952, where he started to appear on television programmes on which he drew the...
- Bernard ManningBernard ManningBernard John Manning was an English comedian and nightclub owner. He was born and raised in Manchester in northwest England....
- Noel EdmondsNoel EdmondsNoel Ernest Edmonds, is an English broadcaster and executive, who made his name as a DJ on BBC Radio 1 in the UK. He has presented many light entertainment television programmes, including Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, Top of the Pops, The Late, Late Breakfast Show, Telly Addicts, Noel's Saturday...
- David Amess MPDavid AmessDavid Anthony Andrew Amess is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been a Member of Parliament since 1983, first for Basildon, and since 1997 for Southend West.-Early life:...
- Claire RaynerClaire RaynerClaire Berenice Rayner OBE was an English nurse, journalist, broadcaster and novelist, best known for her role for many years as an agony aunt.-Early life:...
- Jimmy GreavesJimmy GreavesJames Peter 'Jimmy' Greaves is an English former football player, England's third highest international goalscorer, the highest goalscorer in the history of Tottenham Hotspur football club, the highest goalscorer in the history of English top flight football and more recently a television pundit -...
- Jas MannJas MannJasbinder Singh "Jas" Mann is a British song-writer, musician, singer and record producer.-Early life:...
- Graham Bright MPGraham BrightSir Graham Frank James Bright is a British politician and businessman. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as a Member of Parliament from 1979-97....
(cut from repeat broadcasts)
"Science"
- Eve PollardEve PollardEvelyn "Eve" Pollard, Lady Lloyd, OBE is an English author, journalist and a former editor of several tabloid newspapers.-Career:...
- Tania BryerTania BryerTania Bryer is a British television personality, occasional fashion model, journalist, and motivational speaker. She is the daughter of Lionel Bryer and grew up in Knightsbridge.-Biography:...
- John McCririckJohn McCririckJohn McCririck is an English television horse racing pundit. He is notable not only for his racing opinions but also for his old-fashioned style of dress and mannerisms...
- Tamara BeckwithTamara BeckwithTamara Beckwith is an English socialite, noted for her coverage in glossy celebrity magazines such as OK! and Hello! magazine.-Early life:...
- Richard BriersRichard BriersRichard David Briers, CBE is an English actor whose career has encompassed theatre, television, film and radio.He first came to prominence as George Starling in Marriage Lines in the 1960s, but it was in the following decade when he played Tom Good in the BBC sitcom The Good Life that he became a...
- Nick Owen
- Steven BerkoffSteven BerkoffSteven Berkoff is an English actor, writer and director. Best known for his performance as General Orlov in the James Bond film Octopussy, he is typically cast in villanous roles, such as Lt...
- Lynne FranksLynne FranksLynne Franks founded one of the UK’s best-known public relations consultancies in the early 1970s and is currently an advocate, communications strategist, writer and spokeswoman on women’s issues, sustainability and consumer lifestyles....
- Jenny PowellJenny PowellJenny Powell , is a British television presenter.-Early life:Powell's parents are from South Africa, she attended Woodford County High School for Girls in Woodford Green and the Italia Conti school in London.-Career:...
- Caesar the GeezerCaesar the GeezerChris Ryder also known as Caesar the Geezer, Caesar the Boogieman, and Deck Rider is a British radio personality of Greek descent, A friend of Kenny Everett, Caesar emulated Everett's use of imaginative and catchy jingles within his show...
- Hugh DennisHugh DennisPeter Hugh Dennis is an English actor, comedian, writer, impressionist and voice-over artist, best known for his work with comedy partner Steve Punt. He is also known for his position as a permanent panelist on the TV comedy show Mock The Week...
(playing a role)
"Sex"
- Claire RaynerClaire RaynerClaire Berenice Rayner OBE was an English nurse, journalist, broadcaster and novelist, best known for her role for many years as an agony aunt.-Early life:...
- Peter StringfellowPeter StringfellowPeter James Stringfellow is an English nightclub owner.-Early life:Stringfellow was born on 17 October 1940 to Elsie and James William Stringfellow , a steelworker...
- David SullivanDavid SullivanDavid Sullivan is a Welsh-born British businessman and pornographer, who is also joint-chairman of West Ham United.He graduated in Economics from Queen Mary College, University of London. From 1986 until 2007 he owned the Daily Sport and Sunday Sport which he sold for £40 million...
- Peter TatchellPeter TatchellPeter Gary Tatchell is an Australian-born British political campaigner best known for his work with LGBT social movements...
"Crime"
- Sir Rhodes BoysonRhodes BoysonSir Rhodes Boyson is a British educator, author and politician and a former Conservative Member of Parliament for Brent North...
- "Mad" Frankie FraserFrankie FraserFrancis Davidson Fraser is a former British criminal and gang member who spent 42 years in prison for numerous violent offences.-Early life:...
- Tommy VanceTommy VanceTommy Vance was a British pop radio broadcaster, born in Eynsham, Oxfordshire. He was one of the few music broadcasters in the United Kingdom to champion hard rock and heavy metal in the early 1980s, providing the only national radio forum for both bands and fans...
- Geoffrey BoycottGeoffrey BoycottGeoffrey Boycott OBE is a former Yorkshire and England cricketer. In a prolific and sometimes controversial playing career from 1962 to 1986, Boycott established himself as one of England's most successful opening batsmen...
- Michael WinnerMichael WinnerMichael Robert Winner is a British film director and producer, active in both Europe and the United States, also known as a food critic for the Sunday Times.-Early life and early career :...
- Vanessa FeltzVanessa FeltzVanessa Jane Feltz is an English television personality, broadcaster and journalist. She currently presents an early morning radio show on BBC Radio 2, a mid morning phone-in show on BBC London 94.9. In 2011, she started hosting The Vanessa Show on Channel 5. The first series ended on June 24th...
- David SullivanDavid SullivanDavid Sullivan is a Welsh-born British businessman and pornographer, who is also joint-chairman of West Ham United.He graduated in Economics from Queen Mary College, University of London. From 1986 until 2007 he owned the Daily Sport and Sunday Sport which he sold for £40 million...
"Decline"
- John McCririckJohn McCririckJohn McCririck is an English television horse racing pundit. He is notable not only for his racing opinions but also for his old-fashioned style of dress and mannerisms...
- Darcus HoweDarcus HoweDarcus Howe is a British broadcaster, writer, and civil liberties campaigner. Originally from Trinidad, he moved to America in the 1960s, then arrived in England intending to study law, where he joined the British Black Panthers, the first such branch of the organization outside the United States...
- John ChallisJohn ChallisJohn Challis is an English actor.-Career:He is probably best known for his role as Terrance Aubrey "Boycie" Boyce in the long running comedy show Only Fools and Horses, and its 2005 spin-off, The Green Green Grass....
- "Mad" Frankie FraserFrankie FraserFrancis Davidson Fraser is a former British criminal and gang member who spent 42 years in prison for numerous violent offences.-Early life:...
"Paedogeddon"
- Gary LinekerGary LinekerGary Winston Lineker, OBE , is a former English footballer, who played as a striker. He is a sports broadcaster for the BBC, Al Jazeera Sports and Eredivisie Live...
- Andy McNabAndy McNabSergeant ‘Andy McNab’ DCM MM is the pseudonym of an English novelist and former SAS operative and soldier.McNab came into public prominence in 1993, when he published his account of the failed Special Air Service patrol, Bravo Two Zero for which he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal in...
- Kate ThorntonKate ThorntonKate Thornton is an English journalist and television presenter. Early in her career, she was notable for her articles at the Daily Mirror and for her role as editor of Smash Hits magazine...
- Gerald Howarth MPGerald HowarthJames Gerald Douglas Howarth known as Gerald Howarth is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for Aldershot since 1997, having been the MP for Cannock and Burntwood from 1983 to 1992....
- Lord CoeSebastian Coe, Baron CoeSebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, KBE , often known as Seb Coe, is an English former athlete and politician...
- Neil "Dr." Fox
- Syd Rapson MPSyd RapsonSyd Rapson, a politician in the United Kingdom, was born on 17 April 1942 in the Isle of Wight and moved to the Paulsgrove area of Portsmouth as a young child. After leaving school he worked in the aeronautical industry for nearly forty years until becoming Labour Member of Parliament for...
(deliberately captioned as "MP for PaulsgrovePaulsgrovePaulsgrove is an area of northern Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. Paulsgrove existed as a small hamlet on the old Portsmouth to Southampton road for many years. During the early twentieth century Paulsgrove Racecourse was built north of the village on the slopes of Portsdown Hill and a halt built...
" due to the violent protests there) - Phil CollinsPhil CollinsPhilip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
- Nigel QuashieNigel QuashieNigel Francis Quashie is a British footballer who has played more than 300 games in the Football League. He plays as a midfielder, and has represented Scotland, the country of his grandfather, at full international level. He was released by Queens Park Rangers in 2010.-Personal life:Quashie was...
- Barbara Follett MP
- Nicholas Owen
- Michael HamesMichael HamesMichael Hames was a Detective Superintendent in the Metropolitan Police, for many years head of the Obscene Publications Branch , including being involved in Operation Spanner....
- Philippa ForresterPhilippa ForresterPhilippa Forrester is an English television and radio presenter, producer and author. Having presented shows such as Tomorrow's World, The Heaven and Earth Show and Robot Wars, she now makes wildlife programmes with her husband, Charlie Hamilton James.-Education:Forrester was educated at Westgate...
- Richard BlackwoodRichard BlackwoodRichard Blackwood , is an English comedian, media personality, occasional actor and MC. Blackwood is step-brother of Naomi Campbell after his father was married to her mother for a time...