Purpose The practice of radiographers performing double contrast barium enemas (DCBE) is now widespread and in many centres the radiographer's opinion is, at least, contributing to a dual reporting system [Bewell J, Chapman AH. Radiographer performed barium enemas – results of a survey to assess progress. Radiography 1996; 2:199–205; Leslie A, Virjee JP. Detection of colorectal carcinoma on double contrast barium enema when double reporting is routinely performed: an audit of current practice. Clin Radiol 2001; 57:184–7; Culpan DG, Mitchell AJ, Hughes S, Nutman M, Chapman AH. Double contrast barium enema sensitivity: a comparison of studies by radiographers and radiologists. Clin Radiol 2002; 57:604–7]. To ensure this change in practice does not lead to an increase in reporting errors, this study aimed to compare the perception abilities of radiographers with those of radiologists. Methods Three gastro-intestinal (GI) radiographers and three consultant radiologists independently reported on a selection of 50 DCBE examinations, including the level of certainty in their comments for each examination. A blinded comparison of the results with an independent ‘standard report’ was recorded. Results The results demonstrate there was no significant difference in perception error for any of the levels of certainty, for single reporting, for double reading by a radiographer/radiologist or by two radiologists. Conclusions The study shows that radiographers can perceive abnormalities on DCBE at similar sensitivities and specificities as radiologists. While the participants in the study may be typical of a district general hospital, the nature of the study gives it limited external validity. As a pilot, the results demonstrate that, with slight modification, the methodology could be used for a larger study.