ITV admits documentary does not show death
Updated on 01 August 2007
ITV has launched a formal inquiry into a programme supposedly showing the death of an Alzheimers patient.
Publicity material for 'Malcolm And Barbara: Love's Farewell' describes 'moving scenes' as the 66-year old man passes away.
But the final shots were actually filmed three days before he died.
The film-maker Paul Watson denied trying to mislead viewers and blamed the broadcaster for mishandling the story.
Mr Watson claimed ITV refused his request to make clear that the programme did not show Malcolm Pointon taking his final breath.
The closing scenes were actually filmed three days before he died.
The matter only came to light when Mr Pointon's brother, Graham, revealed the truth.
ITV chairman Michael Grade reiterated his "zero tolerance" approach to TV fakery.
"I offered ITV a way of resolving this issue straight and clean, and they turned it down."Paul Watson
Announcing the appointment of legal media specialists Olswang to conduct a "thorough but speedy investigation" into the affair, he said: "We need to discover why the film was originally understood to include the moment of death only for it to be established, after the intervention of Malcolm Pointon's brother Graham earlier this week, that he died some days after the last scene of the film.
"This is a very serious matter. I am on record as taking a 'zero tolerance' approach to deliberate deceit in television programmes.
"I intend to establish the facts in this case as quickly as possible. I will publish the conclusions of the report and then take effective action as necessary."
ITV's promotional material for the documentary, Malcolm and Barbara: Love's Farewell, said: "The film ends when Barbara calls Paul to ask him to come, as Malcolm is about to die. In moving scenes, Malcolm is surrounded by his family and Barbara strokes his head as he passes away."
But Mr Watson said: "I offered ITV a way of resolving this issue straight and clean, and they turned it down.
"I asked to put in five words to explain absolutely that the picture you are looking at at this moment is not of Malcolm's death; he did not regain consciousness and died some days later.
"They turned it down at that instant and came back to me much later and said 'maybe it is a good idea and we lost time'."
He claimed to have been made a "scapegoat" in the affair and insisted: "I did not set out to deceive."
Mr Watson spent 11 years working on the project, charting the decline of Mr Pointon, a talented pianist and composer diagnosed with Alzheimer's at 51, and his devoted wife, Barbara.
But he said: "It's been wrecked by the last one minute of the film.
"A trust that I have had for 11 years to film two very, very nice people enduring one of fate's worst illnesses - that will get wrecked."
ITV admitted that it had been approached by the filmmaker about a clarification.
But it said Mr Watson did not contact them until Monday. The broadcaster issued a clarifying statement the following day.
Amid the claims and counter-claims, Mrs Pointon said the reason for making the film - highlighting the tragedy of Alzheimer's - was in danger of being lost.
She defended Mr Watson as "a very honourable film-maker".
