All-black Enders Gains 250 Complaints
EastEnders’ which saw one episode last week feature an all-black cast has had around 250 complains logged by the BBC.
The episode in question of the ‘controversy’ centered around Rudolph Walkers character of Patrick Trueman and his experiences of being a young black man back in 1950s Britain.
Part of the experiences Patrick discussed within the storyline involved the Notting Hill race riots; the BBC confirmed that a number of the complaints made to them were about that historic event being discussed within EastEnders.
The BBC said 239 noted complaints had been received by the corporation about the programme; 57 of which had been logged before the edition had even aired. Over 8 million viewers watched the episode which was broadcast on BBC One on Tuesday February 24.
“It is not unusual for EastEnders to devote a whole episode to a single storyline or set of characters, and this episode was one of these occasions. This was an opportunity to explore in some depth the background and experiences of Patrick Trueman, one of EastEnders’ longest-standing and most popular characters,” the beeb said in a statement.