BBC rubbishes pathetic complaints about Doctor Who’s gay kiss
Doctor Who’s latest episode saw Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor lock lips with Jonathan Groff’s Rogue. (BBC/Disney)
The BBC has thrown out complaints about Doctor Who’s Regency-era episode, which featured a kiss between Ncuti Gatwa’s Time Lord and Jonathan Groff’s character.
“Rogue” was broadcast in June, as part of the new series of Russell T Davies’ Doctor Who.
After Gatwa’s incarnation of the Doctor found himself in the middle of a Bridgerton-style ball, he came across Groff’s enigmatic character, Rogue.
The bounty hunter, immediately captured the Doctor’s attention, and the homoerotic tension between the pair was evident from the off. They discussed loves lost and ended with a steamy kiss.
While it’s not the first time the two-hearted time-traveller has had a man-on-man smooch – Captain Jack Harkness stole that honour in 2005 – it’s the first time the Doctor embraced a gay kiss with romantic intentions.
According to Deadline, the moment led to at least two viewers lodging complaints with the BBC.
One of the complainants remarked that the kiss was “inappropriate for children”, while a second took issue with the “speed” at which Rogue and the Doctor’s relationship formed, dubbing it “concerning”.
Now, the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) has rubbished the criticism.
“The ECU considered the sexual innuendo to be towards the mildest end of the spectrum and in any case likely to go over the heads of children,” a spokesperson said. “The development of the relationship served the needs of a fast-moving plot and was unlikely to strike viewers of any age as a model for interpersonal relationships outside this particular fictional context.”
Let’s hope the critics in question don’t spend their time denouncing all kisses on TV as “inappropriate” and “concerning” – that would take a lot of time filling out complaint forms.
It’s not the first time that Davies’ new Doctor Who series has come under fire from viewers unhappy with him increasing the show’s LGBTQ+ representation.
After transgender Heartstopper star Yasmin Finney appeared in the first 60th anniversary episode, The Star Beast, in November, as part of a trans storyline, more than 100 viewers complained. The BBC swiftly threw those complaints in the bin, too.
And Davies has had some pretty strong words for those who aren’t loving his queer take on the show.
Before the new series launched, he said he knew that there would be viewers who are “full of absolute hate, venom and destruction and violence, who would like to see that sort of thing wiped off the screen entirely”.
And he added: “Shame on you, and good luck in your lonely lives.”
Doctor Who is streaming now on BBC iPlayer and Disney+.
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