Homophobia row as BBC cuts Doctor Who lesbian kiss scene with lizard woman to avoid offending Asian audience
- Kiss features lizard character Madame Vastra (played by Neve McIntosh) and her wife, Jenny (played by Catrin Stewart)
- 10 million British viewers watched scene since it was aired last Saturday
- But TV chiefs insisted on removing kiss when episode was broadcast in Asia
- Decision to cut first lesbian encounter in show's 51-year history has angered gay right campaigners who have accused the BBC of homophobia
The BBC cut a controversial lesbian kiss scene from Doctor Who to avoid offending audiences when it was screened in Asia.
Ten million British viewers have now seen the erotically charged encounter between lizard woman Madame Vastra and her human wife Jenny Flint since it was first shown on BBC1 last Saturday.
But Corporation chiefs insisted on cutting the scene from the episode, called Deep Breath, when it was broadcast across Asia the next day.
The kiss: The pair appear to kiss passionately - in fact Madame Vastra (left) is helping Jenny (right) to hold her breath by drawing on the excess oxygen Vastra can keep in her lungs
The decision to remove the first lesbian encounter in the show’s 51-year history has angered gay rights campaigners, who accused executives of giving into homophobia.
Campaigner Peter Tatchell said: ‘The BBC should not bow to censorship demands from other countries.
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'If these countries are bigoted and are not willing to show same-sex love, they have no right to demand that the BBC conforms to their standards of prejudice.’
Controversy: Madame Vastra (above - played by Neve McIntosh), shared a lesbian kiss with her wife in the episode but it was later cut for Asian audiences
Richard Lane, of gay rights group Stonewall, added: ‘It’s a great shame that some audiences were not allowed to see the episode in full.’
Doctor Who is a huge hit for the BBC across Asia.
The feature-length edition – the first featuring Peter Capaldi as the Doctor – was broadcast to viewers in Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore last Monday.
BBC insiders say the scene, which lasted just a couple of seconds, was cut to avoid falling foul of a broadcasting code in Singapore which says programmes should avoid any content that could ‘justify’ homosexual and lesbian lifestyles.
The Mail on Sunday has learned that a special BBC compliance team headed by former documentary film-maker Jane Ray insisted the scene was removed.
The kiss, which raised some eyebrows in Britain, was portrayed as an ‘oxygen transfer’ between Madame Vastra and Flint, who were trapped in a room with killer androids.
Sebastian Brook, editor of Dr Who Online, said: ‘Lots of people are saying it was a kiss but it wasn’t. It was an oxygen transfer and should have stayed in all editions.’
George Dixon, BBC Worldwide’s global editorial director, said: ‘When preparing shows for international transmission, we occasionally have to make edits to ensure we’re not breaking any local broadcasting rules.’
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