Channel 4 show Naked Education has attracted nearly 1,000 complaints for showing nudity to 14 to 16-year-olds and airing the scenes before the watershed. The series, hosted by Anna Richardson, is described by the broadcaster as “body-positive” and aims to “normalise all body types, champion people’s differences and break down stereotypes”.
Episodes have tackled issues including body hair, male body image, the effects of ageing and cosmetic surgery. They have also featured participants posing nude in front of a class of young people.
Broadcasting watchdog Ofcom said it had received 930 complaints from viewers relating to an episode that aired on April 4. It said those complaints related to “nudity before the watershed” and the nudity being “presented to participants in the programme aged 14-16”. One episode of the show sees the hosts test teenagers’ knowledge of the female anatomy, while another sees them discuss what happens to the body as it ages.
A spokeswoman for Ofcom said: “We are assessing the complaints against our broadcasting rules, before deciding whether or not to investigate.”
Naked Education is fronted by television presenter Richardson, best known for presenting Naked Attraction on Channel 4, radio DJ Yinka Bokinni and former Love Island contestant Dr Alex George. The show features “candid conversations and naked exchanges between people who have undergone similar experiences and body transformations”, the broadcaster said.
Naked Education is produced and broadcast in accordance with the Ofcom Broadcasting Code, the PA news agency understands. Channel 4's chief content officer, Ian Katz, defended the show on Twitter on Tuesday.
He said: "Anyone who suggests that the Channel 4 show Naked Education promotes paedophilia or is abusive of children almost certainly hasn't watched it. The show counters the dangerous myths and toxic images that teenagers are bombarded with by exposing them to real, normal bodies and engaging them in an open, safe conversation about them. It would be hard to think of a clearer example of valuable public service broadcasting that challenges the kind of misconceptions that too often cause anxiety and feelings of inadequacy in young people."
