Channel 4 has said no evidence has been found to support the Minister of Culture Nadine Dorries‘ claim that the Tower Block of Commons program used paid actorsafter an investigation and internal assessment.
In May, the finance minister accused the 2010 reality show of hiring actors to play real people during a hearing of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee.
Dorries was questioned about Channel 4’s future after government controversially announced plans to privatize broadcastingand she stated that Channel 4 is ‘not doing itself any favors’.
At the time, she told parliament she believed the presenters on Tower Block of Commons were ‘actors’, having appeared on the program in 2010 along with Austin Mitchell, Mark Oaten and Tim Loughton.
She had said, “I found out later that they were actually actors.
“The parents of the boys in that program came here to have lunch with me, and they contacted me to tell me that they were actually in drama school, and that they didn’t really live in a flat, and that they weren’t really.
“And even, if you remember, there’s a pharmacist or someone I went to see who made food – she was also a paid actress.”
In response to the allegations, Channel 4 said it had asked programmer Love Productions to conduct a thorough investigation into the concerns expressed.
The broadcaster said it subsequently reviewed the findings and conducted its own internal searches and review.
A Channel 4 statement documenting the process and findings read: ‘At the DCMS committee meeting on May 19, 2022, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Nadine Dorries MP claimed that contributors to the 2010 Channel 4 series Tower Block Whether Commons , in which she appeared, were paid actors, attended drama school, and/or did not live in the houses they were portrayed in the series in.
Channel 4 takes all allegations of misrepresentation very seriously and always thoroughly investigates such claims.
‘As is customary, Channel 4 has asked Love Productions, which produced the programme, to conduct a thorough investigation into the concerns expressed.
The investigation, overseen by their outside attorneys, included employees who were regular members of the public with whom the Secretary of State had significant interaction.
“It involved speaking with many of those involved in the making of the series, including contributors and crew, and retrieving and reviewing relevant documentation and footage, including 85 hours of raw footage filmed for the series.
Channel 4 then reviewed Love Productions’ findings and undertook its own internal searches and document review.
Neither the Love Productions investigation nor Channel 4’s internal investigation have found any evidence to support the allegations about the programme.”
The DCMS committee chair, Julian Knight, added: “The committee has written to the Secretary of State on this matter and urged her to comment.
“Now that Channel 4 and Love Productions have completed the investigation, we look forward to the response from the Secretary of State, which we will then publish.”
It comes as Channel 4, which has been state-owned since its creation in 1982, will go up for sale after the government announced its plans earlier this year.
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