Nearly 1 000 people have complained to the British broadcasting regulator about a television programme for teenagers showing nudity.
Ofcom said on Wednesday it had received 930 complaints about the Channel 4 show “Naked Education”, which aired on 4 April.
A spokeswoman said it was “assessing the complaints against our broadcasting rules before deciding whether or not to investigate”.
The programme, which was broadcast before Britain’s 21:00 “watershed” for more adult content, aims to promote a more positive body image among teenagers.
According to the broadcaster, the series is trying to “normalise all body types, champion people’s differences and break down stereotypes“.
Subjects covered include myth busting about body hair and penis size, male body image, the effects of ageing and cosmetic surgery.
Ofcom said the complaints related to adult participants posing nude in front of a class of young people aged 14 to 16.
Channel 4 has a reputation for at times near the knuckle programming and the latest show has triggered heated discussion online, particularly among more conservative viewers.
But the publicly owned channel’s chief content officer, Ian Katz, defended the programme.
“The show counters the dangerous myths and toxic images that teenagers are bombarded with by exposing them to real, normal bodies and engaging them in safe conversation about them,” he said.
“It would be hard to think of a clearer example of valuable public service broadcasting that challenges the kind of misconceptions that too often cause anxiety and feelings of inadequacy in young people,” he wrote on Twitter.
