By IPS Correspondents
BANGKOK, Oct 31 1995 (IPS)

At first sight, a television talk show in Thailand may appear similar to those aired elsewhere in the world – for example, the United States or Australia.

But, popular Thai TV host Wittawat Soontornvinate explains there are many differences.

For starters, sex and violence – part and parcel of the programmes of such U.S. hosts as Larry King, Phil Donahue and Oprah Winfrey – are taboo subjects on Thai TV shows.

“Also,” says Wittawat, “we don’t make jokes about people’s personal lives. David Letterman makes jokes about Michael Jackson, the Kennedy family and so on, but we don’t do that here. We can ask personal stuff, like about the guests’ love life. But when I was interviewing Cindy Crawford, the only thing she wouldn’t talk about was Richard Gere.”

Wittawat is host of the Thai TV show ‘Ten O’Clock Square’, which has a huge audience who tune in to see celebrity guests ranging from Penthouse covergirls to Julio Iglesias.

“We don’t bring a person on a show and humiliate them. Donahue can talk about sex, masturbation or people sleeping around. But in Thailand, people would look at it and say, ‘Hey, my kids are watching this show’.”

‘Ten O’Clock Square’ attracts a mostly Thai audience, though some foreigners watching the show are delighted that much of it is in English. “Our audience ranges from 10 to 50 years old,” says Wittawat, sporting a blue, double-breasted blazer, bright tie, tan slacks, styled hair and glasses.

To keep all age groups happy, the host says, “we host comedians, politicians and the new 15-year-old pop singers.”

This show has been on for six years now. Earlier, Wittawat hosted the ‘Tonight on Nine’ show.

“In the ‘Ten O’Clock Square’ show, we have everything on, local guests, and foreigners including Julio Iglesias, Janet Jackson and others. We cover any interesting stories, anything at all, home videos, all compact in a two-hour, weekly show every Thursday night.”

Wittawat, 41, studied TV production and visual communication at Perth’s Curtin University and he worked for Sydney’s TCN Channel Nine. He still speaks with a slight Australian accent.

“My big influence was from an Australian variety show in the 1970’s, the ‘Don Lane show’,” Wittawat says. “It was a live variety show. When I was living in Australia as a student, he was my idol. He still is. (MORE)

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