Paedogeddon

"Paedogeddon" is a 2001 special of the British satirical current affairs series Brass Eye. It was written, produced, and presented by Chris Morris, and directed by Tristram Shapeero. It first aired on Channel 4 and S4C on July 26, 2001. The special is a parody news programme on paedophilia. It covers farcical stories about paedophiles and sexual crimes towards children. It includes unsuspecting celebrities and politicians duped into advocating spoof child safety campaigns.

After it aired, Channel 4 phone lines became jammed with thousands of callers making complaints about the broadcast. Tabloid newspapers published many articles expressing revulsion, finding its comedic approach to child abuse to be sickening. There was particular concern over the use of child actors in sexually threatening scenarios, and the special was subject to a special investigation by the Broadcasting Standards Commission. Complaints were also made to the Metropolitan Police. Government ministers intervened, who disapproved of the special and suggested new regulatory procedures to more quickly remove programmes from broadcast. Other critics were more sympathetic, noting the reaction to the special vindicated its own satire of media hysteria. In 2019, The Guardian ranked "Paedogeddon" at number 37 in their list of "The 100 best TV shows of the 21st century".^[1]