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ITV’s Jekyll and Hyde draws almost 500 complaints over teatime 'gore' ITV’s Jekyll and Hyde draws more than 500 complaints over teatime 'gore'
(about 1 hour later)
ITV’s new teatime drama Jekyll and Hyde has attracted more than 500 complaints from viewers upset that graphic content was shown before the 9pm watershed. ITV’s attempt to reinvigorate its Sunday teatime viewing with fantasy drama Jekyll and Hyde has run into trouble after more than 500 people complained about the level of violence and disturbing imagery in the pre-watershed broadcast.
The drama, shown at 6:30pm featured graphic and violent scenes including a man being shot in the stomach and another being burned to death. The drama, shown at 6:30pm, featured scenes of a man being bludgeoned to death within the first minute.
By Monday lunchtime ITV had received 280 complaints, while 212 people had got in touch with broadcasting regulator Ofcom to express their concern about the show. ITV said it had received 280 complaints, while 263 people got in touch with broadcasting regulator Ofcom to express their concern about the show.
Based on the Robert Louis Stevenson novel, Jekyll and Hyde is aimed at families and is designed to compete with BBC shows such as Doctor Who. It follows the nephew of the original Dr Jekyll of Stevenson’s book as he encounters monsters and shadowy government organisations in 1930s London.
Related: ITV pins its hopes on Jekyll and Hyde and Beowulf for a Sunday revivalRelated: ITV pins its hopes on Jekyll and Hyde and Beowulf for a Sunday revival
An Ofcom spokesperson said: “Ofcom has received 212 about Jekyll and Hyde, which aired on ITV on Sunday. We will assess these complaints before deciding whether to investigate or not.” An ITV spokesperson highlighted a warning broadcast before the start of show “advising the parents of younger children they may find some scenes scary”.
The premiere drew an average audience of 3.4 million and a 15.6% share of TV viewing between 6.30pm and 7.30pm. ITV was already planning to move Jekyll and Hyde to a slightly later slot of 7pm from 1 November, but the Guardian understands there are currently no plans to move the show to after 9pm for the reminder of its 10-episode run.
The show is available on ITV’s video on-demand service but comes with a warning saying the content would usually be broadcast after the watershed or that “contains themes that might be unsuitable for some viewers”. The show is currently available on ITV’s video on-demand service but comes with a warning saying the content would usually be broadcast after the watershed or “contains content or themes that may be unsuitable for some viewers”.
An ITV spokesperson said: “ITV issued a warning before the transmission of Jekyll and Hyde advising the parents of younger children they may find some scenes scary.”
Well done ITV. This is the warning on ITV Player for Jekyll and Hyde, which aired at 6.30pm (!) last night. pic.twitter.com/sEvHQB0G8XWell done ITV. This is the warning on ITV Player for Jekyll and Hyde, which aired at 6.30pm (!) last night. pic.twitter.com/sEvHQB0G8X
The show’s writer Charlie Higson told the Guardian before the show’s broadcast that children would be happy with the level of violence and gore in the show. Based on the Robert Louis Stevenson novel, Jekyll and Hyde follows the nephew of the original Dr Jekyll in 1930s London as he encounters monsters and a shadowy government organisation that fights them led by Richard E Grant.
Tom Bateman, who plays Dr Jekyll, is at one point seen putting his foot against a child’s throat, and a number of other characters, including a half-man, half-dog creature, meet grisly ends, such as being set on fire.
Ofcom is expected to assess whether to investigate Jekyll and Hyde under rules governing the protection of under-18s and clauses about programming that causes harm and offence. The regulator cannot order a broadcaster to change the time of broadcast, but takes the watershed seriously in assessing whether to impose sanctions.
Last year, US-owned network Discovery was fined £100,000 for daytime broadcasts of a programme about serial killers called Deadly Women during the school holidays. However, that is considered an extreme case and ITV is unlikely to face similarly punitive repercussions.
An Ofcom spokesperson said: “We will assess these complaints before deciding whether to investigate or not.”
The £14m series was created by ITV’s in-house production arm and written by Charlie Higson, the man who helped create The Fast Show, the Young James Bond novels and a slew of zombie films.
The show is designed to appeal to the same family audiences the BBC has previously won over with fantasy shows such as Doctor Who, Merlin and Atlantis and ITV is also hoping it could prove a hit overseas to offset the large budget.
Its premiere drew an average audience of 3.4 million and a 15.6% share of TV viewing between 6.30pm and 7.30pm, some way off the audiences the BBC has been able to attract for its own teatime viewing.Atlantis, which was cancelled after just two seasons, debuted in 2013 with nearly 6 million viewers and Doctor Who continues to be a ratings hit. The first episode of the latest series starring Peter Capaldi began last month with the smallest audience of any series opener since it was brought back a decade ago, but still managed to attract 5 million viewers to its 7:40 Saturday night slot on BBC1.
The BBC has also attracted criticism for overstepping the mark with shows aimed at families. More than 100 people complained about a Doctor Who episode broadcast last year which dealt with theories about the afterlife and references to how the bodies of the dead could feel the pain of being cremated.
However, the repeated episodes of violence in Jekyll and Hyde appears to have provoked an even stronger response.
Higson told the Guardian before the show’s broadcast that children would be happy with the dark tone of the show.
“Kids will be happy with it, they love all that stuff,” he said. “You never want to dumb it down. There’s enough fantasy element to it. We don’t do squirting blood, torn-off limbs. [But] kids know what they can deal with. I’ve always maintained it is good to scare children.”“Kids will be happy with it, they love all that stuff,” he said. “You never want to dumb it down. There’s enough fantasy element to it. We don’t do squirting blood, torn-off limbs. [But] kids know what they can deal with. I’ve always maintained it is good to scare children.”
The furore may raise concerns over the show ITV has lined up for a similar time slot in January once Jekyll and Hyde ends its run. Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands is based on the grisly Old Norse poem about the battle between the eponymous hero and man-eating monster Grendel.