Table of Contents
After its founding in 1922, the BBC was seen for decades as one of the pillars of the nation, an embodiment of British values and the ‘stiff upper lip’.
But in recent years many viewers have accused the national broadcaster of falling prey to obsessive political correctness and left-wing talking points.
The Campaign for Common Sense, an advocacy group which says it ‘champions free speech and tolerance,’ said the Beeb was peddling ‘a steady diet of woke bias’.
And it seems even the broadcaster’s flagship shows like EastEnders and Antiques Roadshow are not immune to ‘moralising’ storylines and endless ‘virtue signalling’.
Beloved family sci-fi series Dr Who has seen the introduction of transgender and non-binary characters.
An Antiques Roadshow expert refused to value an item because of its links to slavery.
Even long-running institutions like EastEnders saw characters launching into monologues about climate change and comparing Brexit to covid.
Join us for a tour through the endless parade of BBC shows that have angered the audience by going woke…
Sci-fi franchise Doctor Who is reportedly facing the axe after its ratings plunged following a series of ‘woke’ episodes which have angered fans – with star Ncuti Gatwa rumoured to be on the verge of quitting
Even long-running BBC institutions like EastEnders have been accused of ‘going woke’ with storylines about climate change and characters comparing Brexit to covid
The Antiques Roadshow was also branded ‘woke’ after expert Ronnie Archer-Morgan refused to value an item because of its links to slavery
Dr Who
Doctor Who, one of the UK’s most beloved science-fictions shows, faces ‘extermination’ after its ‘woke’ storylines enraged viewers.
The long-running sci-fi phenomenon, which has a global following of millions, has seen its ratings plummet after fans were left fed up by some of its recent plots.
Campaigners have accused bosses behind the BBC series of ‘promoting the cult of gender ideology’ in the latest episodes of the time-hopping romp, which is streamed globally thanks to a lucrative deal with Disney thought to be worth £100million.
In the show’s 60th anniversary, fans were introduced to Rose Noble, the transgender daughter of Donna Noble, who blasts the Doctor for ‘assuming the gender’ of a rat-like furry alien.
Fuming ‘Whovians’ have also lamented the introduction of the screeching, deranged, wide-mouthed, ginger-haired non-binary villain, Maestro – played by American drag queen Jinkx Monsoon (pictured).
Returning showrunner Russell T Davies has introduced a string of controversial plots – included David Tennant’s Doctor realising he was gay after developing a crush on the ‘hot’ Sir Isaac Newton.
It comes amid rumours the franchise’s lead star, Ncuti Gatwa, is on the verge of quitting his role as the Time Lord and that the show could soon be cancelled, with Ncuti’s first series attracting between 2.25million and 3.18million viewers – a tiny fraction of what the franchise used to pull in.
The Scottish actor, 32, joined the cast in 2023 after Jodie Whittaker bowed out as the Doctor, but it’s rumoured he’s set to walk away from the show after two seasons.
In the 60th anniversary episode of Dr Who, fans were introduced to Rose Noble, the transgender daughter of Donna Noble, who blasts the Doctor for ‘assuming the gender’ of a rat-like furry alien
Fans also lamented the introduction of the screeching, deranged, wide-mouthed, ginger-haired non-binary villain, Maestro – played by American drag queen Jinkx Monsoon (pictured)
David Tennant’s Doctor said to his companion that Isaac (Nathaniel Curtis, pictured) ‘was so hot’. He added in an apparent reference to his own sexuality: ‘Oh, is that who I am now?’
Antiques Roadshow
In March last year, Antiques Roadshow faced backlash after expert Ronnie Archer-Morgan refused to value an ivory bangle that was linked to the slave trade.
The guest brought in an ivory disc she had purchased 36 years ago for £3.
Mr Archer-Morgan said he was upset as he revealed it was linked to a ‘despicable’ indigenous slave trader from Nigeria.
‘I want to make it absolutely clear that myself and we in the Antiques Roadshow wholly, unequivocally disapprove of the trade in ivory,’ he said.
‘But this ivory bangle here, it’s not about trading in ivory, it’s about trading in human life. It’s probably one of the most difficult things that I’ve ever had to talk about, but talk about it we must.
‘This is an amazing object and a testament to the callous trade that went on in the 17th, 18th, and 19th century.’
He revealed the name was of a slave trader and said: ‘A despicable human being. I think he was an indigenous trader, somebody from Nigeria. He wouldn’t have been trading in his own people, it was another nation, another tribe.
‘And then we have “honest fellow”. I’d like to meet him and teach him how honest I think he is.’
Antiques Roadshow expert Ronnie Archer-Morgan refused to value an object on an episode of the BBC show last year
The guest had brought in a disc of ivory, which she revealed she had purchased 36 years ago for £3, which the expert revealed came from the slave trade
The guest revealed she had worked for a family ‘looking after them’, when the item was put up for sale and she bought it, saying: ‘I thought it looked interesting. I had no idea what it was’
He continued by noting: ‘These objects are really rare. I know of the existence of about half a dozen of these only. It’s extraordinary.
‘I mean, this is a document for living proof in a way, the surviving proof that this awful trade went on, and look how beautiful the calligraphy is.
‘The beauty of the calligraphy, it just belies the awfulness of the message.’
The bangle was inscribed with the ship name ‘Anna’ and the year 1782, with the guest revealing that that particular ship contained 535 slaves.
A number of users on X said they won’t by watching ‘anti British’ Antiques Roadshow anymore.
One user wrote: ‘Watched Antiques Roadshow since I was a kid. Used to be fascinated but now, along with the rest of the poisonous anti British garbage the BBC churns out, can’t be bothered with it anymore!
‘There are better shows about antiques elsewhere on TV that don’t push endless lefty [cow emoji] [poo emoji].’
Another user wrote: ‘That is positively the last time I watch Antiques Roadshow. The politicisation of everything by the BBC is absolutely depressing.’
Viewers have criticised Antiques Roadshow for being woke and say the show has become ‘politicised’
Waterloo Road
The BBC was accused of using an elderly character’s dementia to boost a ‘trans agenda’ in its school drama Waterloo Road.
In an episode in February 2025, a trans schoolgirl visits her dying grandmother in her care home and is offended when the old woman ‘deadnames’ her – calling her by her former male name.
Viewers reacted with fury, claiming the plot portrays the grandmother as transphobic.
During the bedside conversation, the teenage trans girl says: ‘It’s Lois, nan. It’s Lois, your granddaughter.’
In her confused state the grandmother replies: ‘I don’t have a granddaughter. Only a grandson. It is you Jake, isn’t it?’
Lois, played by trans actress Miya Ocego, is aghast and tells friends, who advise against seeing her grandmother again.
The character complains to the headteacher: ‘What if she never saw me as Lois at all and she was just pretending? What if the dementia didn’t make her forget, it just brought out her true self?’ The headteacher praises the pupil’s bravery.
And, in what some saw as a nauseating ending, after the grandmother dies hours after the visit, the trans girl finds she’s left an envelope full of photos of the two of them together.
The BBC has been accused of using an elderly character’s dementia to boost its woke trans agenda in its school drama Waterloo Road
In last Tuesday’s episode, a trans schoolgirl (pictured) visits her dying grandmother in her care home – and is offended when the old woman ‘deadnames’ her, calling her by her former male name. Viewers reacted with fury, claiming the plot portrays the grandmother as transphobic.
During the bedside conversation, the teenage trans girl says: ‘It’s Lois, nan. It’s Lois, your granddaughter.’ In her confused state the grandmother replies: ‘I don’t have a granddaughter. Only a grandson. It is you Jake, isn’t it?’
The grandmother has labelled it ‘me and Lois’, apparently proving she respected her gender identity after all.
But viewers lambasted the plotline and took to X – some even calling for the BBC to be defunded.
More than 4.6 million people watched a clip of the scene posted on X. One user wrote: ‘My mum died of Alzheimer’s last September. This is so offensive.’
Another posted: ‘It perfectly encapsulates the trans mindset. Even when the person next to them is dying, it’s all about them. No one else’s feelings are important.’
A third wrote: ‘Imagine the level of callous apathy and narcissism required to use a scene about a dying grandmother with dementia to portray her to be the ‘transphobic’ villain and the trans granddaughter to be the brave and suffering victim.’
Maya Forstater, of human-rights charity Sex Matters, said: ‘The storyline about an elderly woman with dementia who forgets to pretend she now has a granddaughter instead of a grandson is a new low for the BBC.
‘It is incredibly insensitive to dementia sufferers and the families caring for them to use the symptoms of this devastating disease as political propaganda for the discredited practice of transitioning children.’
Ahead of the episode being aired, Ms Ocego, 24, said: ‘When I got the script, I knew they wanted to address her gender identity and I was really happy to do so, to bring more awareness to the trans community and remind everyone that we’re still here, we’re not going anywhere.’
A BBC spokesman said: ‘In the storyline about Lois’ grandmother there are many references to the cruelty of dementia.
‘There is no inference that the character is transphobic and the episode concludes with Lois declaring that her grandmother was a ‘real superwoman’.’
Countryfile
The much-loved show, which gives fans a glimpse at country life, came under fire after an episode which aired on March 17.
During one part of the show journalist Datshiane Navanayagam went to Devon and Cornwall to examine the struggles that people living in the countryside have getting access to NHS dentists.
But after the show aired the BBC received complaints from viewers over the dentistry segment – as they said it wasn’t ‘suitable’ for the show that usually focuses on farming and wildlife.
However, the BBC said that the show is intended to cover a ‘wide range of rural affairs issues affecting rural areas and communities’.
They continued: ‘In this programme, Countryfile investigated the lack of NHS dentistry provision in Devon and Cornwall. Our film acknowledged this is a national problem but focused on the stories of those living in rural areas.
‘Previously the programme has produced diverse films including shortfalls in Special Education Needs provision and the difficulties recruiting Midwifery staff in rural areas.’
Nevertheless, fans took to social media to complain about the dentistry segment as they said: ‘Countryfile. Dentists? Am I missing something?’,
‘What have NHS Dentists got to do with The Countryside? More irrelevant guff to pad out #countryfile.’
‘#Countryfile What has lack of dentists got to do with countryside matters?? Is this panorama or Countryfile? My favourite Sunday evening relaxation show ruined.
A Countryfile segment on access to NHS dentists in the countryside caused a backlash from some viewers
Journalist Datshiane Navanayagam (seen) went to Devon and Cornwall to investigate the rural dentistry crisis
But after the show aired the BBC received complaints from viewers over the dentistry segment – as they said it wasn’t ‘suitable’ for the show that usually focuses on farming and wildlife
Gladiators
In its heyday Gladiators, which ran on the BBC from 1992 to 2000, was a groundbreaking production with more than 14 million viewers.
Cheerleaders added glamour as musclemen and women faced off against each other in body-hugging lycra, often leaving precious little to the imagination.
The much-loved Saturday night staple returned with an eleven-episode series in January 2024 – 30 years on from when it first aired.
But for the reboot the BBC decided to axe both cheerleaders and certain ‘skimpy’ outfits.
BBC bosses overseeing the reboot were said to be hell-bent on keeping the series ‘clean as a whistle’ – with the motto being ‘keep it wholesome’.
The tone was also markedly different to the original, in which the ‘mean’ Gladiators would show no mercy to the contestants.
The new show, on the other hand, has an air of sportsmanship with the gladiators often congratulating their opponent.
Former Gladiators’ host Ulrika Jonsson slammed the show’s upcoming BBC reboot, branding it ‘woke’.
‘It brought tears to my eyes,’ the TV personality, 57, told Lorraine Kelly. ‘I don’t know if it some kind of wokery, the whole point, the cheerleads they brought another level to it’.
Jet, one of the stars of the original UK Gladiators, which ran on the BBC from 1992 to 2000
The original Gladiators cast, pictured here, were ruthless and showed no mercy to contestants
The cheerleaders, pictured here in the 1995 version of Gladiators, have been dropped from the rebooted series
The rebooted Gladiators sport a more athletic look (left to right: Gladiators Fire, Comet, Athena, Dynamite, Diamond, Sabre, Electro and Fury)
Wolf Hall
The BBC caused outrage over its ‘jaw-achingly stupid’ decision to cast black and ethnic-minority actors in historical drama Wolf Hall.
The controversy has been heightened by claims from show bosses that the move was supported by author Dame Hilary Mantel, who died in 2022.
The Mirror and the Light, the TV adaptation of the final book in Dame Hilary’s Wolf Hall trilogy, broadcasts on BBC1 on Sunday, with several black actors in ‘very significant roles’.
Starring alongside Mark Rylance’s Thomas Cromwell and Damian Lewis’s Henry VIII, is Jane Seymour’s mother, Lady Margery, who is played by Sarah Priddy, a British-born actress of mixed heritage, while Nan Seymour, Jane’s sister-in-law, is played by Cecilia Appiah.
Maisie Richardson-Sellers, a London-born actress of Guyanese heritage, plays Lady Bess Oughtred. Egyptian-British actor Amir El-Masry appears as poet and politician Thomas Wyatt.
Black actors were not cast in leading roles when the critically acclaimed show first aired in 2015.
The criticism over ‘colour-blind casting’ has been led by viewers of colour, who noted the measure has become commonplace since Bridgerton, Netflix’s period drama which was led by a black cast, first aired in 2020.
Sonya Douglas, a black writer and artist, wrote on social media: ‘The really stupid thing about ‘Bridgerton-ing’ these top-drawer historical dramas: Everyone suffers. Cast, story, viewers, author, future audiences faced with a simplistically multicultural Ye Olde England. There are plenty of non-white Tudor stories that could be told that would enlighten, inform and entertain, but being ‘woke’ is just easier.
‘What a missed opportunity. I can’t believe Hilary Mantel would approve of something so jaw-achingly stupid.’
The Mirror and the Light, the TV adaptation of the final book in Dame Hilary’s Wolf Hall trilogy, took the decision to adopt ‘colour-blind casting’
Colin Callender, founder of the Wolf Hall producer Playground, said: ‘The world has changed since the first series’
The controversy has been heightened by claims from show bosses that the move was supported by author Dame Hilary Mantel (pictured), who died in 2022
Sherwood
Sherwood viewers were left disappointed by the drama’s second series after they cast a ‘young, queer and female’ Sheriff of Nottingham.
The thriller, based on true events, follows the aftermath of murders in Nottinghamshire.
The show, which has a star-studded cast including David Morrissey and Leslie Manville, was deemed ‘the most compelling show since Broadchurch’ and garnished with five-star reviews by critics.
But a viewer slammed it as ‘woke drivel’ after the show’s creator, James Graham, decided to cast actress Ria Zmitrowicz as a ‘young, queer and female’ Sheriff of Nottingham.
Graham said he hoped it will help modernise the idea of the position of the Sheriff of Nottingham, which is a historical role that is currently held in real life by councillor Liaqat Ali to promote the city – and has long been associated with the Robin Hood villain.
Taking to X viewers fumed: ‘First series was great. This one feels like it’s been written by a BBC left-wing woke unit withe very cliche in the book regarding characters’.
Another user said: ‘I do hope this picks up cos so far it’s drivel. Instead of trying to shoehorn in every diversity category just stick to good acting and script please BBC’.
A third wrote: ‘That’s it!!! Had enough of this woke drivel… how much more sh**e can the BBC squeeze into the slot… boring as f**** to boot!!’: ‘What is this? The Godfather? Sherwood I’m losing it’: ‘I’m a bit lost to be honest, give it time’.
Sherwood viewers have been left disappointed by the drama’s second series after actress Ria Zmitrowicz was cast as a ‘young, queer and female’ Sheriff of Nottingham
The show, which has a star-studded cast including David Morrissey and Leslie Manville, was deemed ‘the most compelling show since Broadchurch’ and garnished with five-star reviews by critics
Sherwood creator James Graham (pictured) said he hoped he hoped having a ‘young, queer and female’ Sheriff of Nottingham would help modernise the idea of the position
Despite the great reviews from critics, one X user said the show ‘feels like it’s been written by a BBC left-wing Woke unit’
EastEnders
At the height of its popularity, EastEnders was regularly watched by more than 15 million Brits – a figure now down to just over 3 million.
A large section of the EastEnders fandom have been left alienated by the show’s increasingly ‘woke’ storylines, with social media users making their thoughts resoundingly clear.
In recent years the soap has addressed topical issues including climate change, Brexit and teenage pregnancy, with viewers accusing the show’s writers of preaching at them.
In 2021 schoolgirl character Bailey Baker stood outside Walford East station and urged the residents to sign a petition for meat-free Mondays.
She said: ‘Global mass-produced industrial meat is killing the planet is literally killing the planet. One meat-free day a week is one step to saving the world. You need to start local, and think global. Small changes make a big difference.’
Her message was later tweeted by the official EastEnders’ account, which drew criticism from viewers including several claiming this wokeness was why they no longer watch.
There was also anger the following year when character Sharon Watts compared Brexit to the Covid pandemic, throwing a drink in rival Sam Michell’s face and declared: ‘We’ve had Brexit and Covid, we don’t need you here’.
And in March 2023, the BBC was criticised for screening a ‘sick’ plot about a girl who becomes pregnant at just 12.
In 2021 schoolgirl character Bailey Baker stood outside Walford East station and urged the residents to sign a petition for meat-free Mondays – a message that was later reposted by the official EastEnders Twitter account
There was upset among fans when Brexit was likened to Covid by character Sharon Watts on the show
EastEnders viewers were left less than impressed by a ‘sick’ plot involving a pregnant 12-year-old which audience members said helped to ‘normalise teenage pregnancies’
Great Expectations
BBC viewers were left raging in 2023 when their adaptation of Great Expectations concluded with a different ending to the one Dickens wrote.
Many fans were fuming over the ‘woke’ adaptation, which was mired in controversy over changes made to the story, including the depiction of opium addiction and sadomasochism – and frequent references to the British Empire’s connections to the slave trade and the use of profanities.
Episode one was watched by 4.4 million viewers, but 2 million had switched off by the penultimate episode.
The Dickens Fellowship said the latest ratings slump was a result of ‘appalling dialogue’ and a ‘juvenile attempt to shock’.
Viewers were startled to witness a bare-bottomed Mr Pumblechook, played by Matt Berry, being spanked over a bed by house-wife-turned-dominatrix, Mrs Gargery, played by Hayley Squires.
Miss Havisham was portrayed as an opium addict who frequently smokes with Estella.
Paul Graham, honorary general secretary of the Dickens Fellowship, told the Mail: ‘It comes as no great surprise. Far too many major liberties have been taken with the original story. It is being mis-sold as Great Expectations.
‘Apart from the fact that the majority of the characters bear little resemblance – other than in name only – to the originals as depicted by Dickens, and the rather juvenile attempt to shock by bringing in scenes of sadomasochism, drug taking, and an anti-imperial rhetoric, the dialogue is appalling.
‘That, for me, is the greatest arrogance, to ditch the brilliant dialogue Dickens wrote and replace it with something far inferior.’
BBC viewers were left raging when the latest adaptation of Great Expectations concluded with a different ending to the one written by Dickens
Written by Peaky Blinders creator Stephen Knight, the series stars Fionn Whitehead as Pip and Olivia Colman as Miss Havisham
Fionn Whitehead as Pip with Shalom Brune-Franklin as Estella in the BBC’s ‘woke’ adaption of the Dickens classic
