[Andrew]

Are ITV suddenly really scared of getting Ofcom complaints

Hardly any episode of Corrie or Emmerdale goes by without being introduced with a warning

Often it is “Now with Strong Emotions…” when in reality it’s just bog standard soap fare

Tonight we had “With scenes of intimidation” which was basically just two teen boys squaring up to each other for a minute. I’m sure you used to get scenes like that in Grange Hill 30 years ago.

Every time Cain Dingle roughs someone up in Emmerdale we have to be told beforehand that there will be “scenes of threat and violence”

I know it’s common to get post watershed warnings of strong language but now it seems they warn about any drama of any description

It’s becoming quite comical to hear what they warn about next.

Are they running scared or are viewers just too soft these days

[Neil Jones]

"Warning,the following programme contains images".

[IanJRedman]

It's especially odd because the whole concept assumes the viewer was watching from the beginning. If you happen to tune in five seconds later, or five minutes later, you're on your own!

[Neil Jones]

It's especially odd because the whole concept assumes the viewer was watching from the beginning. If you happen to tune in five seconds later, or five minutes later, you're on your own!

On occasion you get a warning after a commercial break when you return to the programme.
Obviously this can't happen on the BBC so...

Of course it's like the classic case of Ghostwatch - if you came in after the introduction, you wouldn't a clue what to expect:
www.youtube.com 

Though the main problem here is people thought that was a) real, b) live and c) genuine. In reality it was all scripted and had been recorded weeks in advance. I think there was a phone number in it that if you rang it for some reason I can't recall now you were told the whole thing was a work of fiction.

No amount of warnings can help if you come in late to, well anything basically.

[James2001]

It was the 081 811 8181 phone number that was typical of BBC shows of the time (Going Live especially!), so it just added to the realism if people didn't phone (or did phone but it was engaged, which apparently it was for many people).

[Brekkie]

Hollyoaks has been doing this for years - so frustrating and in ITV's case somewhat goes against their "Britain Get Talking" campaign to warn viewers everytime they might feel an emotion. Emotions are normal, human responses to both real and fictional events and if the soaps are doing their job properly they should trigger an emotion.

The big issue though is it becomes a case of a continuity announcer crying wolf because when a warning really is warranted it isn't effective because they keep adding them when they're not.

[Neil Jones]

Modern day warnings are just that though - backside covering. The number of times I pick up some food intended to be cooked in a microwave and it actually says on the packet or the box or whatever, "warning contents will be hot after cooking". Like, Duh!

Such a concept now appears to apply to TV as well.

[IBM]

This may not be a uniquely ITV thing.

Over the weekend TVNZ aired Mr Bates vs The Post Office over two evenings in post-watershed timeslots. Without giving anything away, the show portrayed self-harm. (at least by NZ standards)

Historically TVNZ would handle this by signposting it before the start of the program and then again before the next program started. On this occasion we got two announcements at the start and end of every break, one containing a helpline number, and then a second one prompting viewers to call emergency services if there was immediate danger to life, which I have never seen aired before.

In recent years, there's certainly been more of a focus put on mental health, maybe the additional signposting is attributable to that

[bilky asko]

Hollyoaks has been doing this for years - so frustrating and in ITV's case somewhat goes against their "Britain Get Talking" campaign to warn viewers everytime they might feel an emotion.

Britain Get Talking is a mental wellbeing campaign, and you think a great idea to help mental wellbeing is to remove the signposts to content that could affect mental wellbeing?

One of the many ways to improve your mental wellbeing is to switch off the TV and talking, and having a moment to think about what you're about to watch could benefit in that regard. Having the signposts can also help people try something new if they feel like they are able to - something that has a positive effect on mental wellness. Indeed, research on content warnings have shown that their major benefit is that it means people are less likely to avoid distressing content.

[Milkshake]

When was the last time we had one of these on ITV:

youtu.be