Silent Witness: hundreds complain to the BBC

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Posted by Gerry Kiernan

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April 27th 2012 at 18:07

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Almost 500 people have complained about violence in an episode of popular crime drama Silent Witness aired on BBC1 on Sunday 22 April.

The scene in question was transmitted well after the 9pm watershed when a prison officer, played by Leo Gregory (pictured), viciously beat a prisoner in a toilet cubicle, towards the end of the programme.

However viewers were shielded from the violence by the cubicle door, leaving only the victim’s blood-curdling screams and his blood seeping out onto the floor.

While the BBC received 483 complaints, Ofcom has only received 35 complaints. However the BBC felt strongly enough to issue a statement defending the show:

“We acknowledge that certain scenes may have been challenging but we filmed and presented them in such a way as to make sure that, although as a viewer the implication was there, it was never actually shown.

As programme makers we take our responsibility to the audience extremely seriously and try to make sure we strike the right balance between compelling drama without being unnecessarily graphic.”

What’s your opinion of Silent Witness? Do you think the violence portrayed in that episode went too far?

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