Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Doctor Who series 8: Ofcom will not investigate lesbian kiss

The TV regulator says it does not discriminate against same-sex couples

Jess Denham
Friday 29 August 2014 09:23 BST
Comments
Clara and the twelfth Time Lord embark on their first Doctor Who adventure
Clara and the twelfth Time Lord embark on their first Doctor Who adventure (BBC)

Ofcom has responded to complaints received after a lesbian kiss featured in the first episode of the new Doctor Who series last Saturday night.

The TV regulator confirmed that six viewers had expressed concern over an “inappropriate” scene involving lizard-woman Madame Vastra and her human wife Jenny Flint.

“Having assessed the complaints, we can confirm that they do not raise issues warranting further investigation,” an Ofcom spokesperson told The Independent.

“Our rules do not discriminate between scenes involving opposite sex and same sex couples.”

Madame Vastra and Jenny Flint kiss in Doctor Who (BBC)

Neve McIntosh and Catrin Stewart have played the couple for three years, but their first on-screen kiss sparked some people to attack what they saw as a “gay agenda”.

The moment received a positive reaction from almost all seven million viewers, despite some tweets claiming it was “unnecessary” and “gratuitous” and one reviewer accusing the BBC of “wanting to become a porn channel”.

The sci-fi drama’s eighth run sees Peter Capaldi take over from Matt Smith as the twelfth Doctor.

His co-star Jenna Coleman has returned to her role as sidekick Clara, but reports suggest she might be leaving at Christmas.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in