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‘Provocative’ life insurance firm hit with advertising restrictions after using Harold Shipman picture

"We have made a mistake and for this we apologise."

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 1st February 2023

A life insurance company that controversially used a picture of Harold Shipman in a recent advertisement is to have all of its future marketing campaigns restricted.

Leicester-based firm DeadHappy – which is known for its strapline ‘life insurance to die for’, and has a reputation for shocking adverts – grabbed headlines last week after it used a picture of the infamous Manchester serial killer alongside the text “Life insurance: Because you never know who your doctor might be.”

The use of Shipman’s picture understandably received a barrage of backlash online, and was consistently branded “tasteless” and “disgusting” by critics.

The advert was even condemned by the families of some of Shipman’s victims.

A “popular” and “well-liked” local doctor, Shipman had been practising in Hyde for over 20 years, but went on to become Britain’s most prolific serial killer after doubts were raised over the validity of the will left by one of his patients following her death in 1998.

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Shipman was eventually found guilty of killing 15 of his patients back in 2000, with his total number of victims said to be around 250.

Life insurance firm used picture of Manchester serial killer Harold Shipman in ‘disgusting’ advert / Credit: DeadHappy

After the advert continued to draw backlash, and a number of formal complaints were made by industry professionals, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – which is responsible for regulating the financial services industry – has now ruled that all of DeadHappy’s future adverts and marketing campaigns must be cleared by its risk carrier before being allowed to run, according to BBC News.

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The FCA now states that the company “must cease to communicate any further financial promotions that have not received prior approval”, which means future adverts will need to be cleared by DeadHappy’s insurance provider, Shepherds Friendly.

On top of being hit with these restrictions, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has also said it is currently in the process of reviewing more than 50 complaints about the Harold Shipman advert.

DeadHappy has now apologised for the advert.

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Addressing the FCA’s ruling, Andy Knott – founder of DeadHappy – said: “In our attempt to be provocative and make people really stop and think about their need for life insurance, we have made a mistake and for this we apologise.

“We will now go away and immediately review all of our current and future marketing campaigns to ensure we learn from this mistake.”

Shepherds Friendly says it is “committed” to its values and the advert “does not align” with them.

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“Following the FCA’s restriction on DeadHappy’s activities, we are ensuring those requirements are complied with,” a Shepherds Friendly spokesperson concluded.

Featured Image – BBC

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Unexpected Manchester city centre street named ‘one of the most polluted’ in the UK

Clementine Hall Clementine Hall

A new fieldwork study has revealed the worst air polluted city centre streets in the UK, and a popular Manchester thoroughfare has been named one of the worst.

Except, it’s really not the street you’d expect it to be.

For some bizarre reason, despite the fact it’s a pedestrianised commercial shopping street in the heart of Manchester city centre, Market Street has been named one of the most polluted streets in the country.

Recordings were taken at high streets in the 25 largest towns and cities in the country over a two-week period, and the results found that 76% are exceeding the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recommended annual level of air pollution, The Hoot reports.

The study enlisted a planning consultancy to collect samples using an air quality monitoring device at 11am on either a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday to ensure as much comparability as possible between the locations.

Market Street has been named one of the ‘most polluted’ streets in the UK / David Dixon (via Geograph)

The study comes after a poll of 2,000 adults found that 36% have concerns over the health of the community due to air pollution, or the health of their family (26%) or themselves (25%).

Speaking on the shocking findings from the new study, Sam Clarke, who is the chief vehicle officer at the sustainable energy business, said: “With millions set to hit the high street this festive period, we wanted to look at the state of the nation’s air quality in the locations people will be doing most of their Christmas shopping.

“It’s shocking to see that so many were above the World Health Organisation’s annual recommendations for air pollution, and that one in 10 shoppers are even planning on foregoing the highstreets altogether due to air quality.”

20 streets in the UK were over the recommended World Health Organisation recommended levels of 5 µg/m3).

The Most-Polluted Streets in the UK

  1. Stoke-On-Trent (Parliament Street) – 11.7
  2. Newcastle (Northumberland Street) – 11.5
  3. Leicester (Gallowtree Gate) – 11.2
  4. Coventry (West Orchards Way) – 11.1
  5. Hull (Jameston Street) – 10.7
  6. Bradford (Broadway) – 10.6
  7. Southampton (Above Bar Street) – 8.8
  8. Nottingham (High Street) – 7.7
  9. Luton (George Street) – 7.6
  10. Manchester (Market Street) – 7.6
  11. Northampton (Abington Street) – 7.3
  12. Birmingham New Street – 7.3
  13. Liverpool (Church Street) – 7.1
  14. Derby (St Peter’s Street) – 6.9
  15. London (Oxford Street) – 6.8
  16. Sheffield (Fargate) – 6.3
  17. Brighton (Western Road) – 5.6
  18. Leeds (Briggate) – 5.3
  19. Portsmouth (Commercial Road) – 5.1

“If we’re to reach the World Health Organisation’s annual target of 5 µg/m3 of PM2.5 in our air, collectively we need to change our behaviours,” Sam Clarke added.

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“With vehicle emissions being a key contributor, anything we can do to travel more greenly, from walking more to cycling, and including electric vehicles, is a very valuable set forward to improve the air we breathe daily.”

Featured Image – Matt Taylor (via Flickr)

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A TV special celebrating the life of Caroline Aherne is airing this Christmas

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

A TV special celebrating the “unique life and talent” of Caroline Aherne is set to air on BBC Two this Christmas Day.

There’s absolutely no denying that Caroline Aherne is a true Manc icon.

Although born in London to Irish parents, she moved to Manchester at the age of two, was raised in Wythenshawe, went to school in West Didsbury, and kick-started her illustrious and hugely-influential career on the city’s comedy circuit by performing as a collection of characters, all before developing the iconic ‘Mrs Merton’.

Aherne developed her Mrs Merton character with Frank Sidebottom for his show on Piccadilly Radio, where she worked as a receptionist. 

She made a number of television appearances as the hilarious character, before rising to prominence in 1994 with the mock chat show The Mrs Merton Show, where she was known for asking celebrity guests a series of outrageous fake questions – the most-memorable example being to the wife of magician Paul Daniels, Debbie McGee, asking: “So, what first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?”.

A TV special celebrating the life of Caroline Aherne is airing on BBC Two this Christmas Day / Credit: BBC

Aside from the Mrs Merton character, Aherne was known for appearing on BBC comedy sketch programme, The Fast Show, and then cemented her place in the heart of us Mancunians when she co-wrote and starred as Denise in beloved Manchester-based sitcom, The Royle Family.

The Royle Family ran for three series from 1998 to 2000, and was a largely stereotypical portrayal of working-class family life at the turn of the millennium, with almost all of the episodes taking place in the Royles’ telly-centric living room and showing the hilarious conversations they’d have.

Both before and after her sad death in July 2016, Caroline amassed a loyal fanbase, so it’s only right that we properly celebrate her legacy, right? Well that’s exactly what BBC Two is doing this Christmas Day from 9pm, with the airing of a brand-new TV special, as well as lots of other programmes dedicated to the late legend and all she is loved for.

The 80-minute documentary is described by the BBC as being a “celebration of the unique life and talent of Caroline Aherne”.

Titled Caroline Aherne: Queen of Comedy, it will feature unseen photographs and contributions from a cast of her lifelong friends – including Steve Coogan, Jon Thompson, Craig Cash, and producer Andy Harries.

The 80-minute special is titled Caroline Aherne: Queen of Comedy / Credit: ITV

Caroline Aherne: Queen of Comedy will air on BBC Two at 10:25pm on Christmas Day (25 December), and will be available to stream on BBC iPlayer shortly after.

This new TV special also follows BBC Two’s re-run of The Royle Family’s classic Christmas episode – which is titled ‘Christmas With The Royle Family’, and first aired back in December 1999 – a little earlier in the evening at 9:15pm.

It’ll also be on after a 15-minute long moment of reflection from Ricky Tomlinson at 9pm too.

According to the BBC, Ricky – who, of course, is most famous for his role as the Royle Family’s patriarch, Jim Royle – will sit back in his iconic chair and take a fond look back at the much-loved comedy series, sharing his memories and experiences working with Caroline Aherne.

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And, if all that wasn’t brilliant enough as it is, you can also catch an episode of both The Mrs Merton Show and The Fast Show on the big day too.

Sounds right up our street.

Featured Image – BBC

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