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It was not satisfied with the material it received.Dr Ian White, head of the committee and a consultant dermatologist at St Thomas’ Hospital, London, was quoted as saying: “They have not provided ample information that the dye is safe. Isn’t it amazing that a product should have such wide gaps in its toxicological requirements but be on sale?”He added that consumers should not worry unduly as permanent hair dyes containing the suspect chemicals had been on sale for 40 years. Only women using the products over many years could be at risk.A spokeswoman for the Cosmetic Toiletry and Perfumery Association said twice as many men as women contracted bladder cancer – not what might be expected if hair dye were a cause.. The BBC is the favourite to screen the heavyweight title fight between Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson with a bid of close to £5m for the exclusive UK rights to televise the bout. If the corporation’s bid is successful, it will break all of its previous records for expenditure on a single sporting event but critics will seize on it as a waste of money that conflicts with the BBC’s public service remit, especially given Tyson’s penchant for bad behaviour..

Television “Top 10″ lists, shows labelled … from Hell and other jaded formats about the worst of human behaviour dominate commercial television schedules at the expense of serious shows, the industry’s regulator warned yesterday

Television “Top 10″ lists, shows labelled … The number had plummeted by 40 per cent and 50 per cent in the past four years, with arts “disappearing from peak [time]“. Channel 5, more usually associated with sex, films and football, was a rare exception in increasing arts coverage.The report found there was a “preponderance of similar programme formats across channels, the tendency to exhaust generic series, whether Top 10s and other ‘list’ programmes or … from Hells, and a reliance ­ whether overt or covert filming ­ on programmes observing and revealing coarse behaviour”. As examples of “format” programmes, the report cited Big Brother 2, Survivor and Soapstars.

Sarah Thane, director of programmes and advertising for the ITC, said although such programmes were often ‘terrific,’ companies were tempted to run formats beyond their natural life because innovation was costly.One exception was an upturn in religious programmes. “More diverse, engaging and confident” shows were reflecting “a recognition of religion’s role in underpinning many of society’s values”, the report said. The ITC said the year had been among the most challenging for commercial television since its inception, with severe financial pressures after a downturn in advertising. Revenue fell by £323m, or 7 per cent, in the year to September 2001. ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 spent £1.1bn on original programmes but many were commissioned before the financial crisis.

The General Election and 11 September put the spotlight on news and broadcasters produced more coverage than they had to under the terms of their licences. Amid all-round praise for commercial television’s response to 11 September, the ITC singled out Sky for providing the most comprehensive coverage. But it raised concerns about news on ITV, which renewed its contract with ITN but at a substantially lower budget. “The ITC expects ITV to ensure this does not jeopardise the required quality of news output on the channel,” it warned.The ITC said ITV had suffered from “formulaic” coverage of the election.