Virgin Media pulls David Tennant TiVo ad

Virgin Media pulls David Tennant TiVo ad
Virgin Media pulls David Tennant TiVo ad (Image credit: PA Wire/Press Association Images)

Virgin Media has pulled a TV advert featuring former Doctor Who David Tennant following BBC concerns about perceived commercial endorsement. The ad featured David using Virgin's TiVo service to catch up on old episodes of the BBC One show. It was part of a multi-million pound campaign which launched last month in which David is seen searching for his past episodes using the TiVo personal video recorder and catch-up service. However BBC Worldwide complained that the ad appeared to be a commercial endorsement of the service, breaking BBC guidelines. Virgin Media said it had agreed to pull the ad as 'a gesture of goodwill'. In a joint statement, the BBC and Virgin Media said: "Virgin Media has listened to concerns raised by BBC Worldwide about perceived commercial endorsement by the BBC/a BBC brand relating to the recent Virgin Media advertisement. "As a gesture of goodwill Virgin Media has agreed to withdraw transmission of the advertisement and BBC Worldwide is now satisfied that the issue has been addressed." Two other Virgin Media ads featuring David will continue to be shown, the company said.

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.