Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

That's a Comic Relief! Rowan Atkinson's Archbishop of Canterbury sketch cleared by Ofcom

 

Robert de
Monday 01 July 2013 17:09 BST
Comments
Rowan Atkinson in his Comic Relief sketch as Archbishop of Canterbury
Rowan Atkinson in his Comic Relief sketch as Archbishop of Canterbury (BBC)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A Comic Relief sketch starring Rowan Atkinson as a fictional Archbishop of Canterbury did not breach the broadcasting code, according to watchdog Ofcom.

The clip from the charity broadcast showed the Blackadder star telling viewers they should love their neighbour, but adding that "doesn't mean shag your neighbour".

He also said praying "doesn't work" and compared the boyband One Direction to the disciples.

The regulator cleared the programme of breaching the code, with a spokesman saying the decision was made "after careful consideration".

He said: "In reaching this decision we took into consideration the context of the material. This included that Comic Relief is widely known for featuring irreverent and often absurd comedy sketches; the intention of the sketch was to create humour rather than seriously deride Christianity; and that the BBC took immediate action on the night of the broadcast, including issuing an apology for the tone of the sketch, removing it from BBC iPlayer and withdrawing a follow-up sketch due for broadcast later in the evening."

The BBC apologised after the broadcast which it said was "was problematic for a number of different reasons" and "did not translate as we had hoped".

PA

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in