NEWS SPEAK
he public reaction to the initial broadcast of prompted numerous reports in the newspapers – which of 13 December, for example, Mrs Edna Burgess claimed the production was “not fit for ordinary decent-minded human beings”. The day after, the reported that 40-year-old mother of two Mrs Beryl Mirfin collapsed and died during the transmission (the doctor in attendance reportedly asked, “Was she watching the TV play?”). One Vivienne van Kampen of Muswell Hill launched a campaign to prevent the repeat performance, and on 15 December five Conservative MPs tabled motions with a similar aim. The MPs deplored “the tendency evident in recent BBC programmes, notably on Sunday evening, to pander to sexual and sadistic tastes”, but were swiftly countered by five Labour MPs who praised the BBC’s efforts to cater to “adult minds”.
