NZ cameraman in BBC reality show fake furore

Craig Harman. (Image best quality available) Photo / Supplied

The BBC has admitted scenes on reality shows were faked, following revelations a New Zealand cameraman posed as a member of the public in a bargain-hunting programme.

It had suspended all business with production company Reef Television for three months as it investigated claims staff had posed as contestants.

The BBC Trust has ruled that on Sun, Sea and Bargain Spotting - which is coming to the Living Channel this month - employees, including New Zealand-born Craig Harman, posed as members of the public seven times which, on two occasions, affected the outcome of the show, the Mirror.co.uk reported.

Reef also restaged two scenes, with one dealer asked to pose as another and a researcher standing in for a genuine dealer.

In one of the episodes, two competitors travel to Dinan in France to go bargain-hunting for antiques and then sell the goods at a London market stall.

One of the contestants is struggling to sell an acrylic panel when Mr Harman buys it for €25 ($60).

The episode was shown on BBC2 in the UK last July then repeated on August 19. Mr Harman, aged in his early 30s, is the son of TV3 chairman Brent Harman and the nephew of Herald managing editor Wayne Harman. The Trust also slammed the independent firm for 11 staff purchases made on another show, Trash For Cash, and for a case on Dealers: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is where a friend stood in for someone who was selling a sofa but did not want to appear on television.

It has been ordered to pay compensation to the BBC and apologise on air.

Chairman of the Trust's Editorial Standards Committee, Richard Tait, told the Mirror: "The practices routinely misled the audience and are totally unacceptable. We know they directly undermine the public's trust."

The Trust is said to have been unaware of the breaches.

The committee added that, although the shows were presented as entertainment, viewers expected to see real events unfolding.

Reef would have to compensate the BBC and reimburse competitors on the shows who would have won if the breaches had not occurred.

The BBC said it has lifted the suspension on Reef as the company had mended the the errors.

Reef has said it believed the breaches were acceptable.