EastEnders producers have defended the gay sex scene between the characters Ben Mitchell and Paul Coker saying the sex was implied rather than explicit.
The scene which attracted 48 complaints to OfCom has been defended by the BBC with a spokesperson saying,
“The millions of regular ‘EastEnders’ fans who tune in each week know and expect dramatic storylines.”
“We are always mindful of our time slot in which we are shown and the scenes in question were implied and not explicit.”
This isn’t the first time the BBC has had to defend gay storylines on EastEnders, in 1987 the BBC received a record number of complaints when Colin kissed a then under age Barry.
The fallout from the kiss raised questions in the House of Commons.
W1A roars back onto our screens with a laugh a minute. Okay, cool, yeah.
Life it seems, goes on – at a snails pace sometimes at the BBC.
BBC 2’s hit comedy, W1A triumphantly returned to our screens last night in a laugh a minute episode, which saw the ‘way ahead taskforce’ and a clueless PR, plan a visit, in the ‘Frankie Howard room’ from royalty.
An episode in which not a lot happens, which seems to be the running joke. The BBC also needs to sex up its Wimbledon offering as the corporation is in danger of losing its contract. Siobhan Sharpe the PR genius, comes up with brand hash… Mixing brand BBC with brand Wimbledon.
“Yes,”
“Brilliant,”
“Cool,”
“Great…”
“The fact is this, it needs to be better.”
Brilliantly observed we assume and expertly delivered. I laughed at least 5 times in this 1-hour mud flinging, stinging satire on what exactly is wrong with our broadcast services in the UK
BBC 3 was corrected after it Tweeted the wrong information to its followers about gay rights in Russia.
The BBC were slammed last night by the Russian Embassy after it tweeted:
“In Russia it’s illegal to tell anyone that being gay is normal. #ReggieYatesExtremeRussia: Gay & Under Attack, now pic.twitter.com/NVyabGblBn”
The Russian Embassy were quick to snap back:
“.@bbcthree This is plain wrong. Care to read http://rusemb.org.uk/press/1436 #ReggieYatesExtremeRussia”
The programme fronted by Reggie Yates was centred around the fight and struggles that many LGBT Russians face after the introduction of a law in June 2013, which makes it illegal for anyone to talk about homosexuality to people under the age of 18.
Since the introduction of the law Russia’s gay community has been on high alert from attacks and abuse. In 2014, Channel 4 broadcast a film called Hunted, which documented the cruelty that many face in their day-to-day living. In Russia it is claimed that only 1% of gay people dare to live openly because of the homophobic attacks on the gay community.
The BBC replied to the tweet,
‘@RussianEmbassy Sorry for simplification. As the show correctly said, in Russia it’s illegal to tell anyone under 18 being gay is normal.”
EastEnders’ favourites, Kat and Alfie, will be taking a break from Walford later this year but even though they are leaving Albert Square they will not be leaving BBC One as they will star in their very own drama series.
BBC
Life has been a rollercoaster for the on/off lovers over the past few months but Kat and Alfie soon reunite and have the opportunity to put their past behind them. Only this time viewers can follow, when the episodes air in 2016 them as they head out of Walford to start a new life in six hour long episodes for BBC1
The six part drama series has been created by Dominic Treadwell-Collins, EastEnders Executive Producer and it will be written and produced by the EastEnders team.
Speaking about the new drama, Dominic said “In the next few weeks on EastEnders, viewers will witness several huge twists for Kat and Alfie Moon that will change their lives forever. Now is the perfect time to take two of EastEnders’ most beloved and enduring characters out of their comfort zone as they head to Ireland to search for answers to some very big questions… My team here are very excited about creating a whole new drama that stands apart from EastEnders while taking our style of storytelling to a place of stories, myth, secrets and immeasurable beauty.”
Charlotte Moore, Controller BBC One added “Life is anything but dull for favourite EastEnders couple Kat and Alfie as they embark on a new life in Ireland in this exciting drama series. Rest assured, their rollercoaster isn’t set to end any time soon.”
Speaking of their new drama Shane said “Both Jessie and I are absolutely thrilled to be given this amazing opportunity. To have a whole drama focussed around Kat and Alfie is a huge honour for us both and we just can’t wait to start filming.”
Jessie Wallace added “I have always loved working on EastEnders so when I heard of this new drama to take Kat and Alfie outside of Walford, I couldn’t believe our luck. To be exploring the next chapter for Kat as well as working alongside my best mate, Shane, is a dream come true and a huge compliment.”
Julian Clary has thrown his hat into the ring in consideration for the role of the new presenter of BBC’s flagship programme Top Gear.
With the news that Jeremy Clarkson has been dropped by the BBC following his suspension from Top Gear due to a ‘fracas’, the conversation turns to who might be JC’s replacement and what better than another JC – Julian Clary. Julian Clary has already secured over 7000 signatures on a petition to take over the presenting job.
The petition set by Robert Claxton-Ingham has attracted nearly 7500 signatures and has suggested that Clary is up for the challenge.
However, a BBC insider told THEGAYUK that former Big Breakfast star and now Radio 2 presenter Chris Evan’s is hotly anticipated to take over the role now that Clarkson has been removed but questioned whether the presenter could ‘cut it’.
To celebrate the fact that Eastenders has been one of the beacons of LGBT storylines, we’ve decided to discover the gayest moments of the landmark soap, which has been at the forefront of gay storylines.
In date order….
10) Underage At The Time 1987
In 1987 Colin Russel (Michael Cashman) And Barry Clark (Gary Hailes) labelled by the Sun, as “two yuppie poofters” were the first gay couple on EastEnders. Their first kiss received a record number of complaints, even more than a Celebrity Big Brother with Perez… At the time, the age of sexual consent for gay people was 21. The police were more concerned with the pairs’ relationship rather than a break-in at their home. Barry ends his relationship when the police tell his parents.
9) Dot Starts AIDS Rumours 1988
9) Dot Cotton (June Brown) spreads rumours that Colin has AIDS when she discovers Colin and Barry share the same bed. This was at the height of the AIDS epidemic and the storyline help frame the nation’s discussion towards the issue. Her rumours cause some of Walford to shun Colin. Despite this, Dot and Colin forge a strong relationship.
8) The Most Watched Gay Kiss 1989
Colin and Guido Smith (Nicholas Donovan), had a cheeky snog in 1989 in front of an audience of 17-million viewers – the world’s most watched gay kiss in a soap.
7) When The Curious Guy And The Bi Guy Get It Together 1996
Tony Hills (Mark Homer) And Simon Raymond (Andrew Lynford), Tony was a bit of bisexual lothario, having numerous relationships with men and women, most notably with Tiffany (Martine McCutcheon) – however after confiding with Simon, her brother, that he was confused about his sexuality, the pair get together. Tony and Simon drew some criticism for not being “gay” enough. Their first kissed caused controversy in the UK. Seeing a pattern here?
First Civil Partnership 2005
Christian Clarke (John Partridge) and Syed Masood (Marc Elliott) caused near hysteria with Daily Mail readers with their pre-watershed romantic moments. Hurrah we say. They were the first gay couple to celebrate a civil partnership.
5) Curious Steven Beale 2008
4) Steven Beale (Aaron Sidwell) A confused Steven tries to get together with Stacey, however, can’t, forcing him to question his sexuality, leading to kissing Christian Clarke. Speaking about the kiss, Aaron, who identifies as straight said it was a ‘cracking scene.’
4) Youngest Coming Out 2011
A 15-year-old Ben Mitchell(Joshua Pascoe) tells Christian Clarke that he gay, being the youngest character to come out on EastEnders.
3) When Johnny Kissed Gary 2013
3) When Johnny Carter (Sam Strike) and bisexual Danny Pennant (Gary Lucy) shared a kiss the BBC received just two complaints, however, comments on social media weren’t so kind.
2) When Johnny Came Out 2014
Johnny Carter coming out to his pa, Mick Carter was a landmark moment for EastEnders, so well judged and superbly acted – it brought a tear to our eye.
1) The death of Paul Coker
Beaten in a tragic anti-gay attack, Ben Mitchell’s boyfriend dies in hospital. Many people took to social media to say how important the storyline was to highlighting violence against LGBT people.
If you’ve not seen the BBC’s new show W1A – you simply must. It is BBC comedy at its best. Here are our favourite 12 quotes so far.
Things are getting complicated for the Britain’s Tastiest Village production team. Having wooed and won Carol Vorderman as Clare Balding’s replacement to co-present with Alan Titchmarsh, they have discovered at the very last minute that Clare Balding is unexpectedly available and she is keen to do the show. The problem is that no-one has told Clare that they were moving on and she unhelpfully turns up for her first production meeting at the same time as Carol Vorderman is leaving.
Lets nail this puppy to the floor
Not being funny or anything…
You totally are on Twitter – as of now you have 14,000 followers
You’ve pre-tweeted this Ian, you’re totally ahead of trend
No I don’t want that
I AM Fletcher @ BBC, just got retweeted by Dannii Minogue
Is that good?
Good? It’s like instant penetration to the gay community… it’s Huge….
You mentioned Carol Vorderman as well, you’ve practically hit gay oil here
Enjoy your water and we’ll talk soon…
Could you go down to reception and meet Clare Balding?
Yeah
You know who she is?
oh yeah i know… Horses
We’ve been retweeted by Enrique Iglesias…. Seven million people around the world – This has pre happened.
Grimshaw and Mills, sounds like it could be a romance book publisher, however this morning the gay presenters and friends of BBC Radio 1 were snogging and stripping down for bath time, though not with each other.
Grimshaw and Mills, sounds like it could be a romance book publisher, however this morning the gay presenters and friends of BBC Radio 1 were snogging and stripping down for bath time, though not with each other.
Nick Grimshaw’s Breakfast show raised over £250,000 after they embarked on a morning of Red Nose Day challenges, which all started with Sara Cox, Greg James and Nick stripping off to reveal their ‘swimwear’ look, which got the show’s fundraising efforts off to a flying start raising £10,000.
Later on in the programme the team were joined by openly gay Scott Mills, who was made to don a pair of roller skates and told he would be randomly pushed into three masked celebrities. Whichever person he bumped into he would have to kiss – “with full on tongue.”
The three celebrities were revealed as Olympian Louis Smith, Vanessa Feltz and Union J’s Josh. Scott landed on Vanessa and the two enjoyed a lingering kiss, which Mills described as ‘soft and tender’.
It was only after the snogging that the challenges became harder as Grimmy was told by Domino singer Jessie J that he would have to face his worst fear and bathe with over 2 million mealworms, if they raised £120,000, which of course they did.
Grimmy screamed and whined throughout saying: ‘Ooh. It’s horrible! They stink. They absolutely stink. They’re biting my ankles.’
He added: ‘You have to text now. Text the word HELP now to 70005. They are all over me. It’s horrible.’
Nick will now have to dye his famously massive brown hair style to a fabulous shade of pink, after he vowed he’d make the startling change if the breakfast team fundraised £250,000. The listeners of Radio 1 were clearly backing the makeover idea. By the time the show came off air, the team had hit their target.
The team tweeted: ‘we’ve raised a quarter of a million pounds – thank you so much from everyone here at @R1Breakfast and @bbcr1 we love you! #RedNoseBreakfast.’
To make a donation text the word HELP to 70005. Texts cost £5 per message plus standard network rate or donate at comicrelief.com or rednoseday.com.
BBC News was criticised yesterday by Stonewall’s CEO, Ben Summerskill OBE for its lack of coverage of the Parisian ‘Mariage Pour Tous’ (Marriage For All) demonstration which was held in the French capital.
BBC One today announces that all four coaches – Sir Tom Jones, will.i.am, Jessie J and Danny O’Donoghue – will return to the second series of The Voice, to transmit in spring 2013.
Strictly Come Dancing is back for its tenth season on BBC, but why is it proving to be such an entertainment ‘disaster, darling’?
Beginning in 2004, this series came back to life with a blast, relaunching the original 1949 ‘Come Dancing’ version; one of television’s longest running shows. Since then, each year has managed to provide a celebrity spectacular, wowing its TV audiences.
The series reignited its education of Latin and Ballroom dancing by utilising celebrities to attract a new, perhaps youthful, audience. But it is my concern that the original philosophy of the show has been compromised too much by a distasteful ‘theme week’ entertainment; a superfluous addition to the shows integrity. This can be highlighted by this weekend’s ‘Halloween’ show. Dani and Vincent dancing to Scooby-Doo, Victorian and Brendan dressed in some ridiculous living-dead outfits, and Denise and partner James evoking circus freaks? This has gone too far. The show should not be about creating some tacky pantomime, instead, it should be about dancing, which the show is failing to address significantly. A similar kind of cheap entertainment can be seen on ITV’s X Factor, which questions the originality and longevity of its acts.
As a kid, I used to Latin and Ballroom dance every week. Being from Blackpool it seemed apt, with the Tower Ballroom only a stone’s throw away. The magnificence of this ballroom has a magical quality to it, encrusted in its decorative golden surfaces, and the twinkling chandeliers; like a musical box where charm is brought back to life. It is a rare jewel steeped in history and narrative. Over the past couple of weeks, I have taken regular visits to sit and watch the glamour and romance that space offers. There is a sense of naughtiness through expressions of the elderly dancers who come to reminisce whilst eating their cream teas. Here the entertainment, or theatre, comes alive through dance, and not absurd costumes or farcical routines.
But even this World famous Tower Ballroom, which used to host the season’s final, is no longer the case. The show’s bosses have decided not to screen this year’s finale at the centre of dance splendour. While the Strictly bosses keep a tight grasp on BBC budgets, this puts into question other flops for the BBC, such as the £22 million spent to secure The Voice.
Strictly has had its fair share of controversies throughout its history of the show. A major public outrage of disappointment came in 2009 when judge Arlene Phillips, a highly respected choreographer, was axed from the show. It was at this point in the shows history a definite sign of change was coming; change not for the better. With this in mind, it is understandable that the BBC has provoked strong criticism from its loyal viewers. Shows bosses have a duty to their audience, and it is my feeling that this is being sacrificed. Why can’t they see that a shows entertainment will come from quality, and not a ridiculous pantomime?
As an advocate of both quality and integrity, I urge the bosses at BBC to reconsider the fundamental philosophy of this show. If you want to maintain the credibility of longevity and success, then you need to urgently re-address the formula of the show. Step to it, quick quick slow.
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