More than 100 viewers have complained to the BBC after a scene in EastEnders in which a character was buried alive. The scene in question involves Max Branning.
As played by actor Jake Wood, he's shown being drugged by wife Tanya (Jo Joyner) and put into a grave dug by her lover Sean Slater (Robert Kazinsky). It has provoked viewers' ire after being shown before the 9pm watershed. The episode prompted complaints from audience members upset at the scene's potential to upset children watching. However the BBC said in comparison with the show's audience figures, the viewers angered by the scene was not representative of a majority. "EastEnders is known for its dramatic and gripping storylines and, from a total audience of ten million, the number of complaints is relatively small," a spokeswoman explained.
Actress Jo Joyner had earlier said she was "really upset" when she found out about the scene while Jake Wood, who plays the adulterous Max, said the burial was "the culmination of a year's storylines. Being buried alive is Max's greatest fear since his dad Jim did it to him when he was a child," he told the Sun newspaper. "It seems quite extreme when you first read about it but the writers have done it justice." He added: "When they do something like this you just hope it's written well so it doesn't seem like it's just come out of nowhere - and I don't think this does. Viewers who have been watching for the last 18 months will see where Tanya's motives have come from."
really wasn't that scary, trust me the episode of dr who called blink was seriously more scary then the coffin scene. the dr who episode made me never see statues in quite the same light lol ;D
I was just reading this thread and had to reply to it coz I think it's soo funny the fuss(albeit small) that people make when they complain about things.
I didn't think it was disturbing in the slightest and he wasn't even buried that far underground.... just under the surface and not traditionally "6 foot". Animals would have dug up the dirt in no time at all!
Harry Hill also picked up on the position of Max's arm... that was hysterical!
It was limp wristed as in a "gay" pose.... I can't really describe it other than that... it was one of those things that you just had to see in order for it to be funny, plus Harry's "particular" way with words!
basically the ep of dr who involved stone statues (weeping angels) moving when you blinked or stopped looking at them, if they touched you, then you were flung back in time so they could steal the days you would of had in the time you were meant to be alive. then at the end it hinted that it could be any stone statues that might do that lol.
Two controversial episodes of EastEnders have been criticised by the BBC's complaints unit.
'Buried alive' storyline criticised.
Two controversial episodes of EastEnders have been criticised by the BBC's complaints unit.
The episodes saw Max Branning being drugged and buried alive before finally being released by his wife Tanya.
Viewers complained that the scenes were inappropriate for a pre-watershed drama series with a family audience.
The plot-line, screened in March, prompted more than 150 complaints.
The BBC's Editorial Complaints Unit said the episodes contained no explicit violence.
But it said: "The nature of the response .... suggested that the emotional impact of the storyline was somewhat stronger than had been considered likely, and that it had caused upset among a segment of the audience which was neither anticipated not intended. The complaints were upheld."
Earlier this year, media watchdog Ofcom ruled that the soap had breached TV regulations in an episode showing a gang attack on the Queen Vic pub.