The BBC is facing criticism for self-censoring its Asia broadcast of the first episode of the new Doctor Who series by cutting a lesbian kiss scene, South China Morning Post reports:
Thousands of fans missed out on the kiss between lizard-woman Madame Vastra and her human wife Jenny Flint, which the BBC says was cut to comply with broadcasting regulations in Asia.
Local gay-rights groups called the edit “outrageous” and “scandalous” and said it was unfair not to treat the kiss the same as a kiss between a man and a woman.
The BBC Worldwide’s London-based compliance team made the cut to conform with laws against homosexuality and broadcast content codes in countries like Malaysia and Indonesia.