Channel 5 'Foxy Knoxy: Would Ya?' programme pulled

By Mark Banham, mediaweek.co.uk, Wednesday, 05 October 2011 11:39AM

Channel 5's episode of 'The Wright Stuff', in which host Matthew Wright yesterday tabled the controversial question "Foxy Knoxy: Would Ya?", has been pulled from its on-demand platform Demand 5 to allow the broadcaster to "make an on-air apology at the top of this morning's show".

Channel 5: Foxy Knoxy: Would Ya? programme pulled

The programme will be uploaded later today, but the channel has admitted that it delayed its upload in order for the host to, "make an on air apology at the top of this morning’s show."

A Wright Stuff spokeswoman said: "Yesterday's episode of 'The Wright Stuff' was taken offline to enable Matthew Wright to make an on-air apology at the top of this morning's show. It will be back on the Demand 5 website later today."

During this morning’s show, Wright said: "While I’m not going to apologise for discussing Amanda Knox’s future after all the terrible things the media has said about her these past four years, I do want to say sorry for the way I framed the debate.

"The on-screen title was wrong, no doubt about it.  I only wish all those mouthing off about it on twitter had seen the whole 20-minute debate and not just reacted to the 10-second introduction.  But nevertheless, I am sorry."

Channel 5 has been embroiled in controversy following the topic of yesterday’s show, which asked the audience whether they would sleep with Amanda Knox, who was freed on Monday after an appeal trial in Perguia, Italy surrounding the murder of student Merideth Kercher. Knox had been tagged as 'Foxy Knoxy' by the tabloid press in reference to her appearance.

Following the show, in a statement, Wright had described this description as "a disgrace".

The show had asked during a preview trailer, "So if you were a guy who'd met her in a bar and she invited you back to hers, would you go?", in reference to Knox.

During the show Wright also described Knox as "foxy as hell", but also insisted: 'I thought it would be interesting to find out if mud sticks, or whether an innocent young woman could now go out and behave in a perfectly normal way.'

To date, the episode of ‘The Wright Stuff’ has received "fewer than 20" complaints to industry regulator Ofcom, but the body is due to measure the complaints against the Broadcasting Code.

This article was first published on mediaweek.co.uk