BBC responds to EastEnders viewers' complaints over Ben Mitchell rape scenes

dailystar.co.uk:

BBC has issued a statement in response to a number of complaints about a recent episode of EastEnders in which Ben Mitchell was raped.The scenes were part of a pre-announced storyline to raise awareness of male rape.During the upsetting story, Ben, played by Max Bowden, came to blows with his husband Callum Highway, played by Tony Clay, over Ben's vigilante actions against homophobes.This caused a rift between the couple, with Ben going home with online hook-up Lewis Butler, played by Aidan O'Callaghan.Ben tried to leave but sex attacker Lewis refused to let him go and raped him in disturbing scenes.A number of viewers took to Twitter to respond to the pre-watershed scenes.One person wrote: "That was awful to watch.

Made me feel physically sick."Another said: "This was not suitable TV before the watershed," while another put: "That genuinely made me feel sick to the core."The BBC has now responded to a host of viewer complaints over the soap's storyline.The broadcaster has confirmed they received complaints from viewers who were unhappy with the content in the episode.They have issued a statement in response, writing: "EastEnders has been a pre-watershed BBC One staple for over 37 years and has a rich history of dealing with challenging and difficult issues and Ben’s story is one of these."We have worked closely with organisations and experts in the field to tell this story which we hope will raise awareness of sexual assaults and the issues surrounding them.