Nigel Farage calls Ukip: the First 100 Days a ‘biased, partisan depiction’ of his party as broadcaster defends programme, watched by 1m people, as part of its remit to engage viewers in politics

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Channel 4’s spoof Ukip documentary that depicted riots on Britain’s streets in the wake of the party’s general election win has prompted nearly 1,000 complaints from viewers.

Ukip leader Nigel Farage described the programme, Ukip: the First 100 Days, as a “biased, partisan depiction” of his party and suggested it “may well have backfired on Channel 4”.

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Ofcom said it had received 731 complaints following Monday night’s broadcast, which used actors alongside real life documentary footage for its fictional portrayal of Britain under Ukip rule.

Channel 4 said it had received 250 comments about the programme from viewers. It did not specify the nature of the comments but it is likely that the majority were critical.

Despite the controversy in the run-up to last night’s broadcast, Ukip: the First 100 Days was the least-watched programme in its slot with just over a million viewers on Channel 4.



The broadcaster said the programme was made in accordance with broadcasting rules and said it would feature a “broad range of programming” in the run-up to the election as part of its role to “encourage debate and engage viewers in political issues”.



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The programme depicted riots between protesters following tough anti-immigration raids and featured a factory being shut down after the UK withdraws from the European Union.

Ukip MEP and parliamentary candidate Gerard Batten called on Ofcom to launch an investigation to establish whether the programme breached broadcasting regulations.

Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) Look like #100DaysOfUKIP may well have backfired on Channel 4. A biased, partisan depiction of the only party that Believes in Britain.

“Political debate is one thing … but this wasn’t that,” he told LBC radio.

“I’m not quite sure what you would describe it as apart from a piece of bile and vitriol from our political opponents, who don’t happen to be in a political party - they’re in a TV channel and don’t have to go through the inconvenience of running for office.

“They can just spout their views and don’t actually have to go out and defend them in elections, which we do.”

To put the magnitude of the number of complaints in context, the Ukip docudrama would already be fifth in the list of last year’s shows that generated the most complaints to Ofcom, behind Benefits Street, also on Channel 4, which prompted 967 complaints.

Priyanga Burford as Deepa Kaur, Ukip’s newly elected fictional MP for Romford in Ukip: The First 100 Days. Photograph: Rory Mulvey/Channel 4/PA

A spokesman for Ofcom said: “We will assess these complaints before deciding whether to investigate.”

Farage said on Twitter: “Look like 100 Days of Ukip may well have backfired on Channel 4. A biased, partisan depiction of the only party that Believes in Britain.”

The one-off programme featured actress Priyanga Burford playing the part of the party’s only Asian woman MP.



Her character is elected for Romford in an imagined landslide which puts Mr Farage in Number 10 and she is left grappling with her conscience amid the raids and protests.

In a statement, Channel 4 said: “This rise of Ukip’s electoral support is one of the biggest political phenomena in recent years and this is reflected in The First 100 Days, which used policies and statements made by the party and its members to create a fictional future where the party is in power.



“The programme was produced in accordance with the Ofcom Broadcast Code and its obligations to be fair, accurate and duly impartial. The election period set out in the Ofcom Broadcasting Code has not started.

“Channel 4 has a role to encourage debate and engage viewers in political issues – and the schedule will include a broad range of programming in the build up to the election including news and current affairs investigations, a party leader debate and a major new political drama on the formation of the coalition government.”

Channel 4 previously said “a lot of research” went into the film and that Farage had been invited to watch it before it was broadcast and then to do an interview afterwards but he declined.

The spoof docudrama was made by Raw TV, the same production company behind last year’s Channel 4 drama documentary Blackout, exploring the effects of a cyberattack on Britain’s national grid, which also combined fictional scenes with archive material.

The man behind the docudrama was the film-maker Chris Atkins, writer/director of Channel 4’s Starsuckers. He said on Twitter during the show’s broadcast that the channel had been “strong and bold to put this out”.

Chris Atkins (@scatatkins) Ch 4 been very strong and bold to put this out and have been rock solid throughout. Doing exactly what the channel is here for #UKIP100Days

With an audience of 1.09 million (a 4.6% share) between 9pm and 10pm and a five-minute peak of 1.33 million, the Ukip spoof was beaten by Channel 5 documentary Benefits Britain: Life on the Dole, which had just over 2 million viewers (8.5%).

The slot was won by ITV’s Broadchurch, with 6 million viewers (25.1%) between 9pm and 10pm, ahead of BBC1’s coverage of Manchester United’s 3-1 win over Preston North End, which had 5.7 million viewers (24.6%) between 7.30pm and 10pm.

Ofcom received nearly 20 complaints about the broadcast before it had even aired last night. The senior Ukip MEP Roger Helmer said on Sunday that the film was a “hatchet job”.