Is there anything worse than having the ending to a TV show or film ruined by some loudmouth on Twitter? The BBC certainly don’t think so, and they’re prepared to add a social media clause to stop stars letting the cat out of the bag.
The Guardian is reporting that a group of senior executives at the BBC want to introduce a ban on actors, writers and production staff using Twitter and Facebook to leak information on storylines, casting or press announcements.
This moves comes after a well-publicised Twitter rant from BBC writer Stephen Moffat (Doctor Who), in which he railed against people throwing about ‘spoilers’ that threatened to ruin the ending of his latest series.
Other stars have also posted spoilers – with Sophie Ellis-Bextor releasing information about Sting appearing in a new Ricky Gervais production, Stephen Mangan beating a press release to the punch on the recommissioning of the dire adaptation of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, and Armando Iannucci announcing the return of In The Thick Of It while the Beeb’s marketing team were still working on the announcement.
An anonymous BBC spokesman had this to say:
“There’s no doubt that Twitter is a popular communications phenomenon but it can also be quite disruptive if artists tweet about an appearance on a show or announce a new commission before the broadcaster is ready to go with the story.”
“Most talent tweeting fall under the personal usage bracket, and are advised by their agents/producers and we encourage them to read our guidelines.”
Whether this will stop thousands of Twitter users from badgering famous people for inside info remains to be seen.
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