Irish viewers less shocked by scene

IRISH TV viewers appear to be less shockable than their British counterparts.

Almost 200 complaints were received by the BBC and British media watchdog, Ofcom, about Monday night’s episode of EastEnders in which a pregnant character was chained to a bed and told she would be forced to have a Caesarean section.

RTÉ said yesterday it had not received a single complaint about the programme, broadcast simultaneously on both channels. The BBC soap was in hot water yesterday after a showdown in which Dr May Wright, played by Amanda Drew, threatened to cut an unborn baby out of the womb of her husband’s mistress, Dawn Swann (played by Kara Tointon).

Dawn escaped after grabbing the scalpel the doctor was going to use to carry out the procedure.

An RTÉ spokesperson said no warning was issued about the content before it was shown at 8pm on Monday, but EastEnders carries a PS (Parental Supervision) classification.