Michael Portillo documentary victim of woke trigger warning as travel series slapped with alert over wine tasting scene
Channel 5’s streaming service My5 has placed a trigger warning on Michael Portillo’s travel documentary about Andalucia due to scenes featuring alcohol consumption.
Viewers are now required to confirm they are over 16 years old before watching the programme.
A large black alert warns that the show contains “adult themes” and “may not be suitable for children”.
Such warnings are typically reserved for content containing strong language, violence, graphic images or sexual behaviour.
The warning has been applied to the episode which aired last year, featuring the 71-year-old politician-turned-broadcaster’s visit to the Spanish city of Jerez.
In the episode, Portillo takes part in a 15-minute wine tasting session, highlighting the region’s extensive variety of sherry.
“My friends in Andalucia put a couple of bottles of pale sherry in an ice bucket on the lunch table and experiment to see what foods it can be paired with,” Portillo shares during the programme.
“In my experience, the answer is most,” he adds, recommending the region’s distinctive wines.
The half-Spanish presenter visited Jerez, known as the sherry capital of the world, during the fifth episode of series one.
The programme also featured coverage of the annual sherry grape harvesting festival and the finale of the Tall Ships race.
The decision to add the trigger warning has drawn criticism from Conservative politicians.
Tory MP Sir John Hayes told The Sun: “Most people find these types of trigger warnings very bizarre.”
“It’s less about the programs and more about these people who feel we have to protect everyone from any kind of fear or stimulus,” he added.
Hayes further questioned: “If these warnings can go on family-friendly shows, it makes you wonder where this woke Puritan culture ends.”
The trigger warning follows a similar move by the BBC in October, when it added an advisory label to Michael Palin’s 1989 series Around the World in 80 Days.
The BBC warning alerts viewers to “upsetting scenes” in an episode featuring a snake being beheaded and skinned in Guangzhou, China.
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‘The smellier, the runnier, the better.’
Michael Portillo and founder of ‘Crazy Sexy Food’, Hannah Harley Young, review the best cheese pairings for the festive season. pic.twitter.com/fuAdVYk3MR
— GB News (@GBNEWS) December 25, 2024
Conservative MP Sir Alec Shelbrooke criticised the decision, stating: “These things happen around the world, yet the BBC says ‘you better not watch that, it might upset you.'”
Toby Young, head of the Free Speech Union, added: “Surely viewers of Around the World in 80 Days tune in precisely so they can see weird and wonderful things from the other side of the world.”
According to Channel 5 sources, the trigger alert is a generic warning that is applied to many shows on their streaming platform.
The warning appears to be part of a broader content advisory system used across My5’s programming catalogue.
The episode in question also showcased other aspects of the region, including Portillo’s visit to Cadiz, which is known as Europe’s oldest and longest-inhabited city.