Complaint against the TV programme ‘I didn’t divorce my kids’ BBC1 10.35PM on February 28th2006.

Dear BBC Complaints Department,

 We the undersigned would like to complain about the programme ‘I didn’t divorce my kids’ BBC1 10.35PM on February 28^th2006.

 The programme is advertised as showing fathers maintaining contact with their children after divorce but instead showed the clinical psychologist Alan Bradley PhD taking advantage of vulnerable fathers and their children for the sake of entertainment.

 In particular the episode featured two teenage girls who Dr Alan Bradley encouraged to express their feelings in a video, which they later watched together with their father. The video showed the girls admonishing their father for breaking his ‘promise’ to them by leaving the family at the time of the divorce.

 Dr Alan Bradley did not specify when the father had given this ‘promise’ to his daughters, nor did he explain how their comments in the video would help the family improve their relationships. It seemed that it was taken for granted that the opinions expressed by the girls were their own and that making their comments would benefit all those concerned.

 After the father was shown the video he said, ‘I have never heard my children use language like that before’. That is because it was not their language and wittingly or unwittingly Dr Alan Bradley had coached the girls to make their remarks.

 Far from seeing a father maintain a relationship with his children in reality we saw the BBC filming the breakdown of a father’s relationship with his children.

 The Baroness Hayman (15th.April 1999) talking on behalf of the Department of Health about Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) stated, 

 “Most practitioners would consider denigration of one parent by the other to be emotionally abusive but if the child was otherwise well cared for the court may feel that it is in the child's best interests to remain with the denigrating parent, leaving the denigrated parent understandably aggrieved”.

 The father had broken his ‘promise’ to his wife not his daughters. The proper recourse within the remit of the programme was to give the children more and longer contact with their father so they could adjust to the change in the family circumstances not allow themselves to be used in this way by the other parent. This was ‘emotionally abusive’.

 In the same programme we saw another father accept the mother’s proposal to take their child on holiday abroad. The father remarked to Dr Alan Bradley, ‘I am on the inside looking out. You tell me if the meeting was a success’. Once again this was portrayed in the programme as a ‘significant’ breakthrough due to Dr Alan Bradley mediation skills when in reality the father had simply given in to the demands made by the mother. There was no mediation involved notwithstanding the father was shown having contact with his daughter after the event.

 We the undersigned do not believe that Dr Alan Bradley is deliberately acting in a vexatious or malicious way but that the BBC is not exercising appropriate editorial control and we fear the BBC has not sought to question his methods or the effectiveness of his interventions with these families in any meaningful way.

 Dr Alan Bradley is not a medical doctor and by screening these programmes the BBC maybe encouraging the emotional abuse of children which is a contravention of the Code of Practice and we respectfully request that these programmes should be suspended until a proper assessment can be made of the appropriateness of the BBC’s involvement. For example, to ascertain or confirm whether any medical checks are in place to assess the damage caused to the children who are involved with this programme in the way described by the Baroness Hayman.

 The BBC editorial guidelines state,

“We should apply the principles of the BBC's Child Protection Policy in our dealings with children and young people. This means that their welfare is our paramount consideration. Their interests and safety must take priority over any editorial requirement.”

 This complaint may find that all necessary medical steps have been taken to protect the children but because this programme involves the welfare of minors we urge the BBC to err on the side of caution.

Yours Sincerely,

Kingsley Miller