Nuts vs Zoo

SCRIPT

Part 4

ON JUNE 27, 2006, MPS WOULD VOTE ON RESTRICTIONS ON THE SALE OF ZOO & NUTS. THE MAGAZINE FOES HAD CALLED A TRUCE TO FIGHT A COMMON ENEMY - BRITAIN'S FIRST LITERARY CENSORSHIP LAW IN A GENERATION THAT THREATENED TO DEVASTATE SALES. THE LEGAL CONTROL OF LADS MAGS WAS THE CLIMAX OF A CAMPAIGN BEGUN BY NEWSAGENT, HAMDY SHAHEIN.

Nuts vs Zoo

Hamdy Shahein
That morning I was really hoping that we have a law, not voluntarily, to put Nuts and Zoo on the top shelf.

SPARKED BY THE NEWSAGENT'S CAMPAIGN, MP CLAIRE CURTIS THOMAS DEMANDED NEW LAW ON HOW MAGAZINES COULD BE SOLD.

Clair Curtis Thomas
Honourable members, something must be done.

Phil Hilton
Just extraordinary to find yourself, this thing you produce and work really hard on, is the center of a parliamentary debate of all things.

Parliamentary debate
Publications such as FHM, Zoo, Nuts and the like are sexually explicit and highly sexually denigrating.

Claire Curtis Thomas
An example of the content is a recent issue of Zoo magazine, which features images of girl-on-girl action and jokes about women enjoying being urinated on and having sex with animals.

WHEN THE VOTES WERE COUNTED, CLAIRE CURTIS THOMAS HAD ENOUGH FOR A LAW THAT MIGHT SOON MAKE PHIL HILTON A CRIMINAL FOR SELLING NUTS TO A LAD OF 17.

Speaker
Ayes, nos. The ayes have it. Sexual explicit material regulation of sale and display bill.

Nuts vs Zoo

PHIL HILTON AND HIS TEAM HAD ONLY TEN WEEKS TO RESCUE NUTS, BEFORE THE BILL TOOK EFFECT IN OCTOBER 2006. WHEN PUBLISHER ERIC FULLER CHECKED OFFICIAL POLICY HE FOUND AN ASTONISHING CONTRADICTION - THE GOVERNMENT HAD PREVIOUSLY RULED LAD MAGS WERE LEGAL. HIS PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION SENT WORD TO EVERY PARLIAMENTARIAN.

Eric Fuller
In order to defend our own position we did write to all the MPs in the House of Commons pointing out, as recently acknowledged by the home office themselves, that 'lads' mags do not contain pornographic material and are not adult titles.

Nuts vs Zoo

NUTS AND ZOO HAD WRESTLED IN THE GORE WAR AND THE NIPPLE BATTLE - BUT WHEN THEY JOINED UP TO FIGHT THE LAW - THEY'D WON! THE VERY WEEK THE BILL WAS TO GO THROUGH, THE GOVERNMENT BACKED OFF, DECLARING THERE'D BEEN NO LAWS AGAINST LAD MAGS. THE THREAT TO NUTS AND ZOO WAS LIFTED - JUDGES WERE DENIED THE POWER TO CONVICT TOPLESS FROLICS AS HARD-CORE PORN.

Eric Fuller
There's nothing in Nuts magazine that you couldn't see in the page three of the Sun or on an English beach on a hot sunny day.

Nuts vs Zoo

THE NUTS-ZOO VICTORY SET A NEW MORAL MILESTONE FOR BRITAIN. PUBLISHING TOPLESS PICTURES WAS NOW BEYOND POLITICAL RESTRAINT. THE WAR HAD NORMALISED NAKED BREASTS SO MUCH, EVEN SUPERMARKETS COULD SELL THEM, WITH JUST THE SLIGHTEST HINT OF MODESTY. TOPLESS MODELS EARNED MORE THAN ROCKSTARS & BRITISH GIRLS GOT THEIR BITS OUT FOR THE LADS TO RATE IN CYBERSPACE, IN A REVOLUTION BEYOND WHAT THE MAN WHO HAD INVENTED IT, HAD EVER IMAGINED.

Phil Hilton
Nuts was an extraordinary social phenomenon, really. Nothing I've ever worked on captured so many people so quickly.

TWO YEARS OF NUTS & ZOO HAD DOUBLED TOTAL SALES OF BRITISH MEN'S MAGAZINES TO 32 MILLION COPIES A YEAR. 40 PER CENT OF THOSE WERE NUTS MAGAZINES. NUTS HAD TAKEN OVER BRITAIN.

Eric Fuller
We have Nuts branded books, we have Nuts branded calendars, a Nuts branded pub game, we have Nuts TV. We've built probably the most powerful modern men's media brand and we're very proud of that.

AFTER PAUL MERRILL LOST HIS SALES BATTLE TO NUTS, HE FLEW TO AUSTRALIA TO CONTINUE THE WAR.

Nuts vs Zoo

Paul Merrill
Nuts won that initial circulation war, but Zoo has become the global brand. Zoo has edition in south Africa Australian. It had one in Spain, it's got one coming up in Thailand and there are six or seven other where Zoo will be launching in the next couple of years

BRITAIN NOW EXPORTS ITS LADS CULTURE AROUND THE WORLD, A FOREIGN EXCHANGE THAT LEFT THE THE UK WITH CENSORED SUPERMARKET AISLES AND NEWS STANDS BULGING WITH BREASTS. NUTS HAD WON - BUT PHIL HILTON'S DREAM OF UNITING FATHER AND SON WITH A LAD'S MAG WAS LOST TO ZOO'S MORE SEXUAL VISION OF BRITISH MALE DESIRE. THE PUBLISHING WAR HAD HIT THE BOTTOM LINE OF WHAT MEN WANT IN THE NOUGHTIES: FOOTBALL, FUN, A BIT OF GORE - AND NEIGHBOURLY GIRLS KEEN TO TAKE THEIR TOPS OFF.

Phil Hilton
Nuts spoke to all the young regular guys in Britain at a particular time and gave them exactly what they wanted every week.

Nuts vs Zoo

AND THOUGH IT BROUGHT HIM PARLIAMENTARY ATTACK, THE NUTS EDITOR SALUTES HIS NATION'S CURIOUS UNEASE WITH THE FEMALE BUST AS THE SECRET OF HIS SUCCESS.

Phil Hilton
British men have a lovely, cheeky attitude to the still forbidden, hidden boob. Completely different from the attitude on the continent where it is all out there. It's still exciting and naughty for them, British guy is still thrilled to bits to see a boob.

END

NARRATOR
DAVID MILES


ARCHIVE
IPC IGNITE!

EMAP
BBC MOTION

AERIALS
FLYING TV LTD.

CAMERA
MICHAEL BURKE
PAUL BULLEY

SOUND
JEFF WILLIS
BRIAN GRAY
ADAM HAYLETT

FILM UNIT - AUSTRALIA
ALEX BARRY
MAGIC REAL PICTURE COMPANY

STILLS PHOTOGRAPHY
LIAM KENNEDY

MAKE-UP
SAM NORMAN

MODELS
GIRL MANAGEMENT
BECKY RULE
MELANIE BOORMAN

MUSIC
MOONSHINE MUSIC

PRODUCTION MANAGER
ALISON COOKE

ON-LINE EDITOR
KATIE KEMP

DUBBING MIXING
ANDY SEARS

OFF-LINE EDITOR
MAIRIN O'FAOLAIN

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
MARK WILLIAMS

RESEARCHER
ANDREW JAMES

DIRECTED & PRODUCED BY
DAVID MONAGHAN
DMP
For Channel Four
DMP copyright 2007

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