War and Peace: Viewers freak out over naked soldier penis shot

There were plenty of bums on display, too

Surprise! A naked soldier emerges from a lake to speak to James Norton's character (BBC)

Most Sunday night TV viewers aren’t used to fully naked men arriving unannounced in their living rooms, but that’s exactly what happened during the latest episode of War and Peace.

Paul Dano and James Norton kept their privates to themselves, thank you very much, but a bunch of others were all too happy to strip off.

The scene in question featured a group of soldiers bathing in a lake when one of them climbed out Baywatch style, completely starkers and smiling merrily, to speak with Norton’s Prince Andrei Bolkonsky.

Elsewhere, the episode focused on the bloody battle of Austerlitz with viewers left shocked at the levels of brutality on display but impressed with the cinematography and make-up.

“Most graphic war I’ve ever seen on telly and most realistic first person shot of an explosion,” one fan wrote on Twitter, while others described hiding behind cushions during the leg amputation scene.

More than 500 complaints were made about the timing of the first episode of War and Peace, which aired last month at 6.30pm and featured fight scenes, a murder and a scary creature called the Harbinger.

War and Peace continues next Sunday at 9pm on BBC1.