Ofcom, the regulatory body for broadcasting, has revealed that it has received over 100 complaints from Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway viewers over the most recent show.
When Ant and Dec hosted their beloved ITV show on Saturday (25 February), they revealed that they had been following Amy and Liam, a young expecting couple, for the last year.
Shockingly, they had even accompanied the pair when they went for their baby’s first ultrasound, but what they revealed left viewers outraged.
Dec shared: “Last summer, Amy told us she was three months pregnant.
“All parents know one of the most exciting moments of the pregnancy journey is when you go for a scan and you get to see your baby.”
It turns out, the hosts pulled a prank on Liam during their first ultrasound appointment, using a ‘state-of-the-art 4D scan,’ which was actually fake. During the scan, they made it look as though their baby was waving to them.
And 5 months later, they broke the news to the dad that the scan wasn’t real, in front of a studio audience and viewers at home.
Since then, Ofcom has revealed that they received a whopping 111 complaints about the joke as well as 19 concerns regarding other elements of the same show.
It’s clear it didn’t go down well on social media either, as dozens of Twitter users have shared their thoughts on Saturday’s episode…
One said: “Am I the only one who finds pranking an expectant parents 4g scan or anything to do with pregnancy, extremely inappropriate? I am all for a laugh but not at this expense. What if things had gone the other way? Not cool.”
A second commented: “Not sure how that ‘prank’ got the green light on #SaturdayNightTakeaway unborn babies & scans where people receive bad news every day are not funny & shouldn’t be the subject of jokes.
“Someone might want to tell @antanddec about #babylossawareness.”
“I’m going to say this as honest as I can. There will be women who perhaps have lost their baby while it’s still in the womb in the last few days & have sat down to watch #SaturdayNightTakeaway tonight in the hope they can unwind & not think about it for an hour or so…” another echoed.
While a final added: “I love #SaturdayNightTakeaway and usually love the pranks but I just don’t think any prank involving pregnancy is ever funny. Far too much of a sensitive topic to so many people. I’m surprised no one in the production team pointed that out.”
However, not everyone was offended by the prank…
One argued: “The couple involved absolutely loved the prank and their baby had an £18,000 savings account! What on earth was insensitive when the couple thoroughly endorsed it?”
“Can’t believe people are complaining about the prank. Some people just complain about everything. Typical Karens,” a second wrote.
A final added: “What the heck is wrong with people moaning about the baby prank scan on Ant and Dec Saturday night takeaway?
“Just swap channels instead of moaning? I couldn’t stop laughing.”
What do you make of the prank?
