Unspeakable Scot

English broadcasters at ITV have been told off for letting a Scot use swear words on television, the Daily Record reported this week. Apparently the broadcasters didn’t know that a Glasgow man in the audience of the Jeremy Kyle Show was swearing because they simply couldn’t understand what he was saying! The broadcasters were able to bleep out most of the swearing but another Scot complained to Ofcom. ITV said at the end of the day that it was sorry but commented “Because of the strength of the man’s accent, the comment was indistinct to non-Scottish viewers and was missed.” In the past both ITV and the BBC have admitted to similar accidents in broadcasting because staff could not understand Scottish accents or, indeed, people speaking in Scots itself.