Moving Wallpaper
Moving Wallpaper was a British satirical comedy-drama television series set in a TV production unit. It ran on ITV for two series in 2008–2009. The subject of the first series was the production of a soap called Echo Beach, each episode of which aired directly after the Moving Wallpaper episode about its production. The second series was based around the production of a "zombie show" called Renaissance. Ben Miller confirmed in May 2009 on his Twitter account that no further series will be made.
The title, "Moving Wallpaper", is a disparaging term applied to uninspiring TV shows, or to television in general, referring to the perception that modern television viewers are "mindless absorbers of images", as if staring at wallpaper.
The show was created by Tony Jordan and produced by Kudos for ITV. Filming for series one started in July 2007 and the show began airing on ITV on 10 January 2008, continuing at 9pm on Fridays thereafter for twelve weekly episodes. The "fictional" soap opera Echo Beach was itself shown immediately afterwards at 9:30pm.
A six-episode second series of Moving Wallpaper was commissioned and began airing on ITV on 28 February 2009, again in the Friday 9pm slot. The companion soap Echo Beach was cancelled, however, and the storylines of series two instead revolved around a "zombie show" called Renaissance. Unlike Echo Beach in series one, which was a full broadcast series, Renaissance was a half-hour pilot screened after the conclusion of the second series only on the ITV website, itv.com.
Trans Media Watch was created in response to massive concern among trans people about an episode of Moving Wallpaper. In the programme, a new character called Georgina was ridiculed because she was trans. She was given little opportunity to stand up for herself and many viewers felt that a scene in which she rode away on a motorbike at the end was intended to suggest that she was 'really' a man.
Members of Trans Media Watch complained about this programme to the watchdog body Ofcom. The complaint was turned down, as was a subsequent appeal. Ofcom rejected the suggestion that the programme could cause harm by arguing that recent changes in the law mean trans people are no longer subject to prejudice and discrimination.
