TV station sacks producer after guest told about father’s death on air

Manama: A Saudi private television channel has dissolved its management following the outrage it caused when a producer informed a participant in a live reality show that his father had passed away.

Al Bedaya Television sacked the producer and his assistant and appointed a new director and a new content manager in a bid to control the damage to its reputation.

The channel in a new statement distanced itself from the producer’s behaviour, insisted that it was a personal decision that did not represent it and affirmed its policy of “serving society, consolidating positive values and principles, respecting participants and viewers and protecting social fabric.”

According to the statement, the decision to shake up the management and to dismiss staff was taken following an investigation into the incident.

Thousands of social media users have since Saturday been criticising the channel for dramatically failing to respect the participant and his family as well as the viewers.

Bedaya TV was broadcasting one of its reality programmes that made its fame when the producer approached one of the participants, Ebrahim Awad and held his hand.

Ebrahim was perplexed, trying to make sense of the unexpected situation, until the producer told him that his father had died.

The young man could not believe and started jumping in the studio while some of the personnel sought to calm him down.

Several users expressed their indignation over the channel’s behaviour and called for legal action it.

Bedaya TV, launched in 2005, targets mainly young people.