Complaints were received concerning a programme broadcast by the respondent broadcaster, 
which is currently running on a weekly basis. The programme, which is recorded with a live audience, amounts to a play in which a few characters, who are without a script, respond to instructions from a behind-the-scenes director. The television audience is privy to the content of these instructions. The play is intended to be a comedy, and is generally successful in drawing many laughs from the audience. On the evening in question, a female actor in the group was instructed by the director to mimic a person who has Tourette’s Syndrome. The mimicry drew many laughs.
The Tribunal held that the mimicry amounted to a serious impairment of the dignity of persons who suffer from Tourette’s syndrome, and that the comedic nature of the episode exacerbated the effect.
The Complaint was upheld and a fine imposed. Since the error had been a bona fide error, a broadcast with an apology for the error was not ordered.