 Jessie Wallace wins ban on 'derogatory' ad |
Actress Jessie Wallace, who plays Kat Slater in the BBC's EastEnders, has succeeded in banning an advert which appeared to mock her party image. The advert for Now magazine featured a man and woman lying in bed the morning after a big night out.
The woman is told she started the evening looking like the star of Friends, Jennifer Aniston, but later became "fabulously Jessie Wallace".
Wallace complained to media regulator Ofcom, which banned the advert.
The 32-year-old actress objected to her name being mentioned without her consent and thought the reference was insulting.
'Derogatory' reference
The media regulator ruled that the advert breached the standards code which relates to an individual's privacy and exploitation of the individual.
"A scripted verbal reference to her, made without her consent, appeared in an advertisement for Now magazine and she considered the reference was derogatory," Ofcom said in its report.
It also ruled the advert, which has since been withdrawn by the magazine, could not be shown again without the soap star's permission.
Suspension
Wallace's character Kat became an instant hit with viewers when she arrived in Albert Square in September 2000 as part of the Slater family.
The soap star has in recent years hit the headlines with numerous stories concerning her private life.
Last year she received a three-year drink-driving ban after she was stopped in Chelmsford, Essex, by police, who had spotted her silver Mercedes breaking the speed limit.
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