The BBC removed the “lesbian kiss” between the characters of Madame Vastra and Jenny Flint from the Series 8 premiere Deep Breath when it aired in Hong Kong this past weekend the South China Morning Post reports.
Local gay-rights groups have called the decision to treat the kiss differently to that between a man and a woman as “outrageous” and “scandalous,” a move the BBC says was in order to comply with broadcasting regulations in Asia.
The BBC Worldwide compliance team in London are reported to have made the edit in order to comply with laws against homosexuality and broadcast content codes in countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia.
The Post reports that, “Viewers in South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore watched the same censored version.”
Betty Grisoni of Hong Kong LGBT Organisation Les Peches said:
“This obvious case of censorship is outrageous and viewers in Asia have been left out of the buzz created by the kiss among Doctor Who fans around the world. The story line of the show has included this lesbian couple for over three years now without any censorship and the only time that they show a physical sign of affection, which is already outrageous in itself, it is censored. Including LGBT couples in a TV programme is becoming incredibly popular even in Asia, which is in itself a good thing. However, these couples need to be portrayed as equally as heterosexual couples would, public display of affection included. This is not about tolerance, it is about equality.”
Jeanne Leong, Director of Communications at BBC Worldwide, meanwhile said as that as an international broadcaster the BBC had to comply with the broadcast regulations of the countries in which its channels were aired.
Deep Breath premiered in Hong Kong last Sunday night on the BBC Entertainment channel, which broadcasts as a subscription channel on PCCW’s NOW TV.
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