Drink-drive Katie documentary backlash
THE BBC has come under fire for scheduling a documentary on Katie Price and her disabled son Harvey after she escaped jail for driving under the influence of cocaine and alcohol.
Katie Price: What Harvey Did Next, which airs tomorrow, features the former glamour model calling from the Priory clinic, where she underwent treatment for mental health issues instead of going to prison.
It is understood she was paid to take part in the programme, which was commissioned three weeks before she flipped her BMW X5 into a hedge close to her £1.5m home at 6am last September. The documentary has prompted fierce debate at the station in Britain, with critics claiming the decision to commission the film sacrificed morals for viewing figures.
A BBC documentary in January last year, Katie Price: Harvey And Me, was deemed a success after it pulled in five million viewers and was popular with the 16-to-24 age group that TV bosses treasure.
One source said: ‘This show has gone down like a lead balloon among some staff. They can’t believe Katie is being paid and given airtime after she could have killed someone.’
The show has also prompted fury on social media, with outraged tweets questioning why they would give her airtime. The documentary shows Harvey, 19, moving to a specialist further education institution equipped to deal with his medical needs.