Complaint
A viewer complained about the inclusion of quotations from Foxe鈥檚 Book of Martyrs, first published in 1563, arguing that as a work of Protestant propaganda it was unsuitable to be cited as a piece of historical evidence, and that its use constituted anti-Catholic bias. 聽The ECU assessed the programme against the standards on accuracy and impartiality set out in the 大象传媒 Editorial Guidelines.
Outcome
In this edition of the genealogy series, the composer Andrew Lloyd-Webber discovered that his great grandfather twelve times removed had been married to the Duchess of Suffolk, Katherine Willoughby. 聽This prompted a search of Tudor records which unearthed references to the Duchess in the Book of Martyrs and elsewhere. 聽The programme also included, by way of historical background, an explanation of the political and social upheavals of that period.聽
The ECU accepted the veracity of the Book of Martyrs is open to challenge, but the events described in the programme were corroborated by at least one other source and the inclusion of the historical context gave audiences a proper frame through which to understand the events described.聽 There was a powerful editorial reason to include this work, alongside a variety of source material, as it mentioned two of Andrew Lloyd-Webber鈥檚 distant relatives, and the extracts used did not contain overt propaganda. 聽In such circumstances there would be no requirement to include a critical view of the work itself, either to ensure due accuracy or due impartiality.聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
Not Upheld