The British Society for Human Genetics has formally complained to Ofcom - the independent regulator authority for the UK communications industries - about the TV programme 'Killer in Me'. The ITV programme, broadcast on 8 November 2007, followed four celebrities who were offered genetic screening tests to discover their risks of serious illnesses such as cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer's.
Dr Rob Elles, chairman of the British Society for Human Genetics (BSHG), said in the letter of complaint: 'The BSHG is concerned that the uncritical journalistic and broadcasting standards demonstrated in this programme risk undermining the confidence of the public in the application of genetics, which has great potential to improve healthcare'. He added that 'the programme could have shown the balance between the benefits of health advice, against the potential harm following assurances given to the clients that they were at low risk of particular health conditions'.
The BSHG complaint accuses ITV and Genetic Health, the company that offered the on-screen tests, of failing to provide any information about the scientific validity of the tests. The tests, say the BSHG, are 'unsubstantiated and unvalidated' as a way of discovering who will and will not develop the illnesses being tested for. ITV is also accused of providing 'undeclared advertising' for the company, without giving the audience sufficient detail or discussion to allow viewers to understand the content of the programme.
An ITV spokesman said the key criticisms of the programme were 'misdirected', and that he was confident the programme complied with the Ofcom broadcasting code. 'It was It was about the journeys of four celebrities facing the dilemma of finding out only the genetic likelihood of developing certain conditions', he told BBC News Online, adding 'It never claimed the tests would act as a guaranteed diagnosis of illness and the importance of environmental and lifestyle factors in developing illness was made abundantly clear throughout'.
A spokeswoman for Ofcom confirmed that it had received one complaint about the programme, and said 'We will consider it in relation to our code and decided whether to take the matter any further'.
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