BBC ‘not doing themselves any favours’ with Casualty’s 'extremist' top surgery scene
The BBC is 'not doing itself any favours'
GB News / BBC
The BBC is under fire over an episode of Casualty which addresses top surgery.
A non-binary character is shown telling their colleagues that they have been given a date for their “top surgery”, a term which commonly refers to a mastectomy carried out on transgender men to remove breast tissue.
The broadcaster opted to show the scene before the 9pm watershed when children could be watching the show.
GB News presenter Nick Dixon said the broadcaster “isn’t doing itself any favours” with their decision to air the scene.
Speaking on Headliners, he said: “This clip is bizarre. The BBC are not doing themselves any favours.
“They’ve just done this interview with Andrew Tate and now he’s done another video where he’s sat back and called them extremist, and this is extremist.
“The person says ‘yeah, going to get this double mastectomy’, then the other guy goes ‘great for you, let’s have a cup of tea to celebrate’.
“Is there any balance here? Is it just propaganda?”
The BBC is under fire
PA
Fair Play for Women, a female rights charity, questioned the broadcaster over whether safeguarding responsibilities had been taken “seriously”.
The group lodged a Freedom of Information request to the BBC where they asked for names of external groups consulted about the storyline.
The charity said: “Let’s see whether the BBC team took its safeguarding responsibilities seriously.”
Arin Smethurst, the non-binary trans actor who plays the character referencing “top surgery”, previously told the Metro: “Sah is really interesting for me to play for a number of reasons. I think that I’ve figured out more about my queer identity than they have when you meet them in the show.
“I am familiar and comfy with my sexuality and I’m uncovering new parts of my gender identity at a rapid pace. I am non-binary and also transmasculine, which means that I consider myself to lean more towards masculinity. I’m more boy than anything else, but still not a man.”
Some BBC viewers have praised the show for its decision to run the storyline.
One Twitter user commented: “Watching Sah on #Casualty getting the date for their top surgery was an utterly joyful moment.
“@ArinSmethurst continues to be a delight EVERY WEEK.”
The BBC has been contacted for comment.