TV shows slammed for ‘shocking’ alcohol airtime
The producers of the UK’s favourite TV shows should “adopt an ethical approach to drink placement”, as the prevalence of alcohol is “shocking” and “unacceptable”, an expert has said.
The Rovers Return Inn is a fictional pub in Coronation Street – one of the shows anaylsed
Commenting on a study for the National Hydration Council (NHC), titled The TV Water Shortage, Emma Kenny, a media psychologist, claimed programme makers had “failed” to take advantage of their ability to positively influence viewers’ lifestyles.
NHC researchers assessed British-made soap operas, dramas and sitcoms set in the present day and shown on BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4 and Channel 5, as well as The Archers on Radio 4.
Analysis of nearly 3,000 minutes of national television revealed that just one in 20 characters’ drinks were a glass of water, while more than a third were alcoholic drinks.
Over two one-week periods, soaps were found to dedicate 39% of “drinks screen time” to alcohol, with sitcoms giving 25%, dramas 34%, and The Archers 44%.
On Coronation Street and Emmerdale, beer was the most popular alcoholic drink, while EastEnders characters were more likely to have a glass of wine.
Kenny said: “I hope that the findings of this report will prove both informative and shocking to the reader in equal measure, and open his or her eyes to the current, unacceptable state of affairs regarding the representation of healthy hydration in some of the nation’s most popular television programmes.”
