The award winning investigative current affairs programme Dispatches on Channel 4 has stitched up some of the Coronation Street cast good and proper, says The Mirror today. Dispatches set up a fake stall at a Celebrity Retreat event offered “luxury” tonics and creams supposedly from Bali, Indonesia. But none of the items was genuine. A blue bottle of “toner” contained nothing but tap water, despite its impressing sounding label “Puttana Aziendale” – which actually translates as “Corporate Prostitute” in Italian.
And the cameras were secretly rolling as stars and executives from Corrie asked for handfuls of free products in exchange for plugs.
However, The Mirror quotes an ITV source saying: “Allegations have been made that are false and highly defamatory, and ITV have written to the producer threatening legal action if they decide to broadcast the programme.”
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11 comments:
As if Corrie didn't have enough to contend with at the moment..why couldn't they have picked on another show!
And why wouldn't they offer to plug the products for freebies whats wrong with that exactly?
I'm not shocked and not even cynical. These will be the young actresses (all female, I would think) who plaster themselves over the media, and this kind of trade-off is part of the same publicity machine. It isn't just about getting freebies, it's about being associated with a prestigious (possibly) product. Anyway, if the quotes are correct, all they've said is 'Thank you and I look forward to the bracelet working'. They haven't said I've used it for years and it's wonderful. Shrug it off, Corrie cast, you'll survive a lot longer than the Dispatches team. And sign up for some Italian lessons!
So what? Hasn't this rag got better things to do. If you want to engage in a bit of investigative reporting, there are other things that are far more in the public interest to expose. I think the Corrie cast have far more pressing matters on their minds.
Sounds like Channel 4 hasn't got anything better to do with that programme... Let's set up a sting operation for Corrie and have a dig at ITV! Who's next I wonder.
However I hope ITV Bosses will launch legal action regardless of threatening to do so if the programme gets aired. The cast and crew were by the sounds of it were mislead and stupidly agreed to things. Hopefully a lesson learnt and Channel 4 re-think planning a programme and do it on a topic about something serious.
Well if they didnt know what Puttana meant then they are certainly not as streetwise as they obviously think they are! Silly grasping greedy little girls
Congrats Flaming Nora for the sentence "none of of the items was genuine." Most people would have opted for the incorrect 'were genuine'.
I was always under the assumption that this is standard practice in the entertainment world, especially since there were other companies there doing it legitimately. Companies always want free promotion from celebrities. Why else do they hand out swag bags with tens of thousands of dollars worth of products to celebrities at the Oscars, people who can afford to buy their own iPads. So I don't fault the Corrie cast members for taking advantage.
That being said, I got a kick out of them all posing under a sign that said "Corporate Prostitute" with big smiles on their faces.
To the other posters here...
Would you turn down something free?
If the company then tweeted you about the product, would you not thank them for it?
This is a total non-story...
Channel 4, you suck, seriously.
I don't follow on Twitter any of the young actresses referred to as "plastering themselves all over the media," but I DO occasionally look at their tweets. I'm often amazed how regularly this girls and women retweet appeals or sympathy messages from fans: "Please find my dog," or "my sister's got brain cancer," or my daughter died last year," and I wonder how many of them are genuine, and how quickly the actresses go along.
The bosses at Channel 4 are shaking in their boots. There are major changes coming. They have never heard criticism as strongly worded and pointed as " Channel 4, seriously, you suck."
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