Cabinet Minister Nadine Doris claims that Channel 4 falsified a reality TV show in which she appeared by hiring actors to play poor people in a residential complex.
The Secretary of Culture has appeared in the reality documentary Tower Block of Commons, in which she briefly lives in a mansion in the south London borough of Acton.
“I found out later that they were actually actors,” Ms Doris told a committee of MPs on Thursday, referring to the residents she lived with.
“The parents of the boys in this program actually came here to have lunch with me and contacted me to tell me that they were actually in acting school and that they were not actually living in an apartment and were not real,” the minister said.
She added: “And even if you remember, there is a pharmacist or someone I went to see who prepares food – she was also a paid actress.
Channel 4 did not immediately respond to a request for comment on allegations made by Ms Doris, who was annoyed by MPs in the Electoral Commission on Digital Technology, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on the channel’s privatization plans.
Asked what she thought of Channel 4 News, Ms Doris said she “got along very well” with host Katie Newman and was asked several times over the past two weeks.
But citing reports that former presenter John Snow shouted “Damn, Tories” five years ago, she said: “I’ve been on Channel 4 news several times. It’s sharp.
“I will not justify a news program whose host came out shouting obscene words about the Conservative Party.
Ms Doris added: “So sometimes they haven’t done themselves a favor in the news program, and I think that’s probably as much as I want to say.”
The secretary of culture also admitted that he shared his Netflix password with four other households during his appearance on the committee.
“My mother has access to my account, the children have. I have Netflix, but there are four other people who can use my Netflix account in different parts of the country, “she told lawmakers.
Laughing, Mrs. Doris added, “Shouldn’t I do this?”
Last month, Netflix suffered its first loss of subscribers in more than a decade, causing its shares to fall 25% in long-term trading.
Ms Doris said Netflix’s potential move towards advertising, not just subscriptions, would have an additional negative impact on public service broadcasters such as Channel 4.
“I think people, even if they try to paint a picture that Netflix is failing or struggling, are probably slightly overloading the pudding,” said Ms Doris.
She added: “Netflix has done what many businesses do. It has reached market saturation … and they are likely to reconsider it in a way that will make it much harder for public service broadcasters to rely on advertising revenue. “
Ms Doris also confirmed the review of the BBC’s funding model and the future of the license fee will start “well before the summer holidays”.
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