http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6913108.stm
BBC NEWS
Grylls series 'to be transparent'
The US Discovery Channel is to ensure a survival show is "100% transparent" in future after conceding parts could have misled viewers, according to reports.
Man vs Wild - called Born Survivor on Channel 4 in the UK - saw Bear Grylls supposedly abandoned in the wild.
But a consultant said Grylls stayed in a motel and had scenes set up for him.
"Isolated elements" were not "natural to the environment", Discovery said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter, and promised greater clarity in future.
"For health and safety concerns, the crew and host received some survival assistance while in the field," the channel told the publication.
"Moving forward, the programme will be 100% transparent, and all elements of the filming will be explained upfront to our viewers."
Discovery also promised that any repeats of the series would be "edited appropriately".
Matter 'taken seriously'
The issue of scenes being manipulated was raised by Mark Weinert, a US survival consultant.
He told the UK's Sunday Times that Grylls spent nights in a motel in Hawaii when he was claiming to be stranded on a desert island.
Mr Weinert also alleged that a raft was put together by team members before being taken apart so Grylls could be filmed building it.
Channel 4 said the programme never specifically claimed Grylls was coping "unaided".
But it said it took "seriously" any suggestion of its viewers being misled and promised to raise the matter with Diverse Productions, who made the show.
Diverse Productions declined to add to Channel 4's statement, and Grylls' agent was not available for comment.
The integrity of television shows has come under the spotlight in the UK in recent weeks, with claims that some factual programmes were manipulated and winners for phone-in competitions were faked.
The BBC admitted a promotional clip for a forthcoming documentary had been wrongly edited, giving the impression that the Queen had stormed out of a photoshoot.
And last week, Channel 4 admitted that a scene in The F Word, where chef Gordon Ramsay was supposedly seen catching fish at sea, had been faked.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/entertainment/6913108.stm
Published: 2007/07/24 09:23:29 GMT
© BBC MMVII
Bear Grylls... what is happening to humanity...
BBC NEWS
Grylls series 'to be transparent'
The US Discovery Channel is to ensure a survival show is "100% transparent" in future after conceding parts could have misled viewers, according to reports.
Man vs Wild - called Born Survivor on Channel 4 in the UK - saw Bear Grylls supposedly abandoned in the wild.
But a consultant said Grylls stayed in a motel and had scenes set up for him.
"Isolated elements" were not "natural to the environment", Discovery said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter, and promised greater clarity in future.
"For health and safety concerns, the crew and host received some survival assistance while in the field," the channel told the publication.
"Moving forward, the programme will be 100% transparent, and all elements of the filming will be explained upfront to our viewers."
Discovery also promised that any repeats of the series would be "edited appropriately".
Matter 'taken seriously'
The issue of scenes being manipulated was raised by Mark Weinert, a US survival consultant.
He told the UK's Sunday Times that Grylls spent nights in a motel in Hawaii when he was claiming to be stranded on a desert island.
Mr Weinert also alleged that a raft was put together by team members before being taken apart so Grylls could be filmed building it.
Channel 4 said the programme never specifically claimed Grylls was coping "unaided".
But it said it took "seriously" any suggestion of its viewers being misled and promised to raise the matter with Diverse Productions, who made the show.
Diverse Productions declined to add to Channel 4's statement, and Grylls' agent was not available for comment.
The integrity of television shows has come under the spotlight in the UK in recent weeks, with claims that some factual programmes were manipulated and winners for phone-in competitions were faked.
The BBC admitted a promotional clip for a forthcoming documentary had been wrongly edited, giving the impression that the Queen had stormed out of a photoshoot.
And last week, Channel 4 admitted that a scene in The F Word, where chef Gordon Ramsay was supposedly seen catching fish at sea, had been faked.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/entertainment/6913108.stm
Published: 2007/07/24 09:23:29 GMT
© BBC MMVII
Bear Grylls... what is happening to humanity...
