BBC responds to Torchwood: Miracle Day "cut scene" complaints

Earlier this week it emerged that a sex scene from episode three of Torchwood: Miracle Day has been cut for UK viewers.

The scene will be shown in full on Starz in the US, while UK viewers who watch the episode on BBC One will see a slightly different version, sparking controversy among UK fans of the programme.

The BBC have issued a response to complains about the editing:

Complaint

We're received complaints from some viewers unhappy with reports that we have edited out a sex scene from the UK version of Torchwood: Miracle Day.

The BBC's response

It is not unusual for co-productions to have slightly different versions of a show to reflect its different audiences. For episode three of Torchwood, as part of the usual discussions between broadcasters and the production company, small potential edits in two intercutting scenes of gay and straight sex were discussed and made by production. This minimal edit makes little difference to the episode to be broadcast in the UK. Both scenes remain but run a few seconds shorter than the US version. In a later episode a sequence of gay sex is important to the story and therefore both the US and UK will show the same version.

Torchwood continues to be a series that will ask important questions of how we all live in today's society and the drama reflects life as we recognise it. The BBC and Starz have both been huge supporters of the writers' vision for the series.

Torchwood: Miracle Day continues tonight at 9.00pm on BBC One/HD.

(Source: BBC Complaints)