He started the discussion by explaining that he had wanted to commission a programme that could be watched by families together – to appeal to teenagers and tackle the issues in a frank and open manner that would stimulate a discussion with parents and other members of the family after the show. He thought there were two important overriding points: for teenagers to extend their views of sex beyond the limitations of what they have probably seen in pornography, and for adults to see how easy it is for their children to access pornography using the internet.

Looking at the complaints that some viewers had made about the series, there were several common themes, the first of which was that the series did not spend enough time setting the discussion in the context of relationships. Walter thought that these complaints may have come from people who only watched the first two programmes in the series, as he thought that relationships were covered extensively in programmes three and four, while programmes one and two focused more on the nuts and bolts of anatomy. The second criticism was that the series had appeared to be entirely based around heterosexual relationships. Walter accepted this may have been true, but explained that the next series would explore all the many individual approaches to sexual relationships, including homosexuality and disability, as well as covering HIV and Aids more extensively than this series had done.

The third theme raised by viewers was that the programme itself might promote pornography. Walter defended strongly the candid and honest approach taken by the series which he felt was the antithesis of the furtive and closed nature of pornography, adding that the nudity was presented very carefully to be anatomical and informative rather than suggestive. The trail for the programme, which had attracted some criticism for being broadcast during the day, had contained no nudity but had tried to be very clear about the content of the programme. While it mentioned pornography and sex, these were referenced quite frequently in day time shows of all sorts, from sitcoms to chat shows.

Although the previous series of the programme prompted over 200 complaints to Channel 4, none of these were upheld by Ofcom, as they make clear in their latest Broadcast Bulletin published yesterday.

Having pitched up in the sunny city centre, The TV Show team asked passers by to share their views, both good and bad, on the recent Channel 4 programmes they had watched.

Take a look at the video to find out what Birmingham viewers thought of programmes including The Sex Education Show, Hollyoaks, Big Brother, The Family, Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty and more.

Do you agree with what the people of Birmingham had to say? Let us know by posting your comments below…

If you’d like to share your views with The Big 4, please keep an eye on our Take Part section to find out where it’ll be later this month.

Many of the viewers who joined our studio audience were able to voice their opinions live on air, but for those who didn’t, we sent our viewer video camera backstage to give everyone a chance to speak directly to Channel 4.

Watch the video to find out what our audience members thought of programmes including The Sex Education Show, The Family and Bring Back Star Wars.

Do you agree with the comments made? Do you have a different point of view about the programmes discussed? Please let us know what you think by leaving your comments below.

The TV Show is broadcast live from west London on the first Saturday of each month – if you’d like to join the studio audience and have a chance to put your questions to Channel 4, please see our Take Part section for more information.

If you missed the live show, or would like the opportunity to watch again, you can now watch the full programme here on the blog and let us know what you think. Do you agree with the comments that were made about The Sex Education Show? Do you have any more questions for The Family?

Joining Krishnan in the first half of the show were Simon, Jane and Emily Hughes from The Family. They, along with executive producer Nick Curwin, answered a number of questions from the audience about the series. Watch the video to find out why the Hughes family were picked to take part, learn more about how The Family was made, and find out whether they’ve learnt anything as a result of watching themselves on screen.

Also on this month’s programme were Anna Richardson, presenter of The Sex Education Show, and commissioning editor for the series, Walter Iuzzolino. Find out what they had to say in response to the comments from the studio audience – and let us know whether you agree with their points.

After the show, as always, a number of audience members took the chance to record their backstage viewer videos – keep an eye on the site over the coming week or so to see what they had to say.

We also conducted an exclusive web chat with The Family – visit The TV Show forum to find out what they had to say.

The next edition of The TV Show takes place on Saturday 1 November – if you’d like to join the studio audience please contact thetvshow@princesstv.com.

There are so many questions I want to ask Mum and Dad about why they did it, how it felt, how it changed them and what they’ve experienced since it started being broadcast. So if the hands don’t go up in the studio audience I’ll be quite happy to fill the airtime myself. But I rather suspect my guests will be as intrigued as I am.

And then there is The Sex Education Show. And where do we start with this one? Is this an honest attempt at public service broadcasting about an important subject? Or an entertaining and slightly titillating show about sex that you can get away with watching because its on Channel 4 and not Virgin + 1 at three in the morning? Take a look at the clip below and let me know what you think.

The format is certainly bold – and so are the images they show and the material they discuss. But is it on at the right time? Is it putting people off their dinner?! And do we really care that much about Anna Richardson’s sex life – charming and funny though she might be? There has been a rash of programmes on tv about sex recently. Maybe it is just a coincidence, maybe commissioners are trying to cheer us up from the desperate financial crisis or maybe they are reflecting changing social attitudes. But who is The Sex Education Show really aimed at? Is it aimed solely at teenagers? Why has Channel 4 really put this on? I think this might just be a pretty lively debate.

In response to the hundreds of comments Channel 4 has received about The Family (via our very own blog, through the official site and on the C4 forums) The TV Show will be dedicating the first half of the live programme to the Hughes family.

Dad Simon, mum Jane and daughter Emily are confirmed as guests for the Q&A session and will also be staying back after the show to take part in a TV Show web chat – check out The TV Show forum on Saturday to find out how you can take part.

In part two, Krishnan will be hosting a debate on The Sex Education Show. The show – in which presenter Anna Richardson aims to “tackle the nation’s sexual ignorance and reticence” – was, excluding Big Brother, Channel 4’s most complained about programme in September (mostly due its pre-watershed broadcast) but has been a huge online success with people around the country openly sharing their sexual experiences and problems with others.

Have you watched The Sex Education Show? Do you think its suitable pre-watershed viewing? Have you found the programme educational? Tune in to The TV Show this Saturday and to find out what the programme makers have to say.

As ever, if you’d like to contribute your views to Saturday’s show – either as part of our live studio audience or over the phone – please see our Take Part section for more information.

The Sex Education Show

You navigate the Sexperience site mainly through questions – ranging from “Have you ever had a problem using contraception?” to “What impact did abortion have on you longer term?” and for any given question you’ll find a range of answers which may even be mutually contradictory and will certainly be diverse. The idea behind this is to offer something which goes beyond the easy answers of self-help manuals and acknowledges the complexity and individuality of sex.

In the three hours after the show went out this week there were 480,000 page views on the site, taking it to the top of the hit parade on channel4.com. There were 2,000 (pre-moderated) comments and questions posted in the first week, a large proportion evidently from 16-18 year olds, clearly hungry  for answers and often astonishingly ill-informed. So there are strong indications that the interest, the engagement and the need are there. One of the first viewer enquiries that made its way through to me was an NHS teen pregnancy unit in Lincolnshire which asked to use the site in their advice literature.

In the same way, you can take it as read that The Guardian may well understand the rationale of The Sex Education Show and its pre-watershed scheduling, needless to say the Daily Mail gave it a bit of a rough ride:

“Channel 4 has been accused of peddling obscenity… school pupils asked to discuss pornography… In the programme a group of boys were shown close-up images of penises and asked which they thought was the average size… A male model’s genitals were also shown in close up as a female doctor described in depth the anatomy of the penis… “

So it seems only appropriate to give the last word to the Daily Mail readers who posted 167 comments in 108 minutes under that article… (for copyright reasons I can’t reproduce the comments verbatim so allow me to paraphrase):

Annie from Lincoln recounts how she watched the show with her husband and 12-year-old son and how, “it sparked a really honest and helpful discussion.” She says that she didn’t find the images of genitalia prurient or arousing and with reference to her son confirms, “it was actually helpful for him to see how other normal people looked, without resorting to porn.” The message she took from those sequences was to be happy with your body.

Jeff from Chester, a parent of teenagers, found the programme “very informative and real”. He thought it would be much more useful to show teenagers a programme like this than “the tepid sex education stuff they usually get at school”. He felt this kind of real-life education is what is needed to reduce the prevalence of STIs and unwanted pregnancies.

David Burns of Coventry thought it was “not vulgar or seedy in any way at all”. As a 48-year-old with four children he even learnt new things himself – he had never realised that condoms come in different sizes. Shouldn’t teenagers know that? he asks.

Ali from Liverpool reminds readers of Channel 4’s particular remit, feels the Channel is the only UK broadcaster which could make a programme like this and defends the scheduling at 8pm, confirming it as “the right time but no earlier.” He sees The Sex Education Show as clearly educational with responsible pre-warning of the frank and sometimes explicit nature of the content.

Ellie from London highlights how children and teenagers are exposed through the internet to what she calls the “soft pornographic side of sex which is zero education”. She appreciates the honesty and reality of the portrayal of sexual anatomy and feels it is what responsible parents should be doing anyway. She is wary of glossing over these realities when addressing say a 13 year old child otherwise they are “then more than likely going to naively get into trouble”. She wishes more parents would speak to their children as honestly.

Arwen from Edinburgh concisely states, “This show is educational” and believes society needs to be less scared of talking about sexn concluding “unless you prefer teen pregnancy that is.”

Whether you’re an alpha Mail or a Guardian of free expression, I’d be delighted to hear whether you feel Sexperience and/or The Sex Education Show achieves its underlying educative intent. Please leave your comments below…