The BBC has defended EastEnders over the rape storyline involving Linda Carter and Dean Wicks.
According to Digital Spy, the broadcaster received 278 complaints following Monday’s episode in which Dean (Matt Di Angelo) attacked Linda (Kellie Bright). A number of viewers apparently felt that the scenes were unsuitable for the pre-watershed timeslot of the soap.
The statement from the BBC read: “EastEnders has a rich history of tackling difficult issues and Linda’s story is one of these. We have worked closely with Rape Crisis and other experts in the field to tell this story, which we hope will raise awareness of sexual assaults and the issues surrounding them.
“We have been extremely mindful of the content within the episode and the timeslot in which it was shown, and at no point have there been any scenes of a graphic nature, in fact the attack on Linda was implied and was not explicit.
“We have also taken great care to signpost this storyline prior to transmission, through on air continuity and publicity, as well as providing an action line at the end of the episode which offers advice and support to those affected by the issue.”
Both of the stars involved in the storyline have also openly spoken out about it. Last week, Matt revealed: “It does almost sound cliché and obvious, but even if there are 100,000 complaints, I couldn’t care less if one person watches this and says, ‘Do you know what? I saw how that played out and I should say something.’”
