A photo-shoot at Addolorata Cemetery for the TV programme Venere was offensive to public sentiments, the Broadcasting Authority said today.

It decided to issue a formal warning to the producers and PBS but did not impose penalties since this was the first violation by the producers.

The programme at issue was broadcast on October 10.

The BA observed that this was a lifestyle programme and the cemetery had been used as the backdrop for female models. During the hearings, the producers had argued that they did not intend to offend anyone and one of the purposes of the programme was artistic expression which, in this case, also included emphasising the beauty of the cemetery's Gothic architecture.

The Authority said it had no objection to the theme of the programme (Angels and Demons) or the attire and behaviour of the participants. But it felt it was not appropriate that a programme of this type should be filmed at the cemetery, once this offended many people whose relatives were buried there.

Furthermore, some of the scenes showed a model going around a number of graves and one of them sat on the steps of a private chapel.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.