Brandreth shocked at swearing on TV
WRITER Gyles Brandreth has told of his disappointment that modern TV shows are littered with uses of the F-word and other obscenities.
The former Tory MP expressed his shock at hearing profanities when he appeared on Celebrity Gogglebox and said “these days it’s almost impossible to find a TV programme that doesn’t feature the F-word”.
The broadcaster recalled a bygone golden era of TV and said it has “changed” completely since 1965 when the first ever swear word was said on a chat show.
Brandreth, 72, who stars in Celebrity Gogglebox with actress Maureen Lipman, 74, admitted the pair were left “reeling” at the shows they had to watch.
Writing in the latest edition of The Oldie magazine, Brandreth said: “TV seems to have changed a bit since Kenneth Tynan first said ‘f***’ on the box during a late-night chat show back in 1965. In recent weeks, I’ve been having a lot of fun with my friend Maureen taking part in the Channel 4 series Celebrity Gogglebox.
“Mary Killen and Giles Wood, the regular Gogglebox stars, should have warned us.These days, it’s almost impossible to find a TV programme that doesn’t feature the F-word and worse.
“On Gogglebox you don’t get to choose the programmes you watch. You take what you’re given, and much of it [if you’re a couple of oldies like Maureen and me] leaves you reeling – or at least feeling a tad out of touch.”
Brandreth was left stunned at the fly-on-the-wall documentary Ambulance, where the language turned colourful at points.
He also said “it turns out Mary Whitehouse was right” when in 1967 the campaigner declared “this is the end of civilisation as we know it”, having heard 44 uses of the word “bloody” in one TV show.