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Entertaining ideas: social issues in entertainment television

The educational potential of entertainment television has been acknowledged, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, through research into entertainment-education strategies, intersections of politics and popular media, and the mediated public sphere. This article explores educational possibilities of entertainment programming through a consideration of British television programmes that challenge traditional and typical media framings of crimes against children, immigration and disability. Drawing on interviews with writers, directors and producers, it considers the delicate balance of roles and responsibilities generated by entertainment television content that offers unconventional perspectives on social issues. Programme makers may be hesitant to embrace the role of educator, but descriptions of their work suggest a critical pedagogic approach that encourages deliberation in the popular public sphere.