Row over real death film on BBC
CAMPAIGNERS accused the BBC last night of trivialising death in a new documentary showing the final moments of a terminal patient.
Anti-euthanasia supporters said it was bringing Big Brother-style TV to a deathbed.
The decision to film an 84-year-old cancer victim known only as Gerald for Inside The Human Body was taken knowing it would be offensive to many viewers.
Film-maker Michael Mosley wrote in Radio Times: “I know there are those who feel that showing a human death on television is wrong, whatever the circumstances.
I think there is a case to be made for filming a peaceful, natural death
“Although I respect this point of view I think there is a case to be made for filming a peaceful, natural death – a view shared by many who work closely with the dying.”
But the Pro Life Alliance said: “It is trivialising death. It’s unhealthy.”
The scene, the second time the BBC has screened a death, will go out on BBC One on May 12.
