The BBC has responded to viewer complaints following a historic same-sex kiss between Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor, and Jonathan Groff’s bounty hunter, Rogue. In an episode from Ncuti’s first season that shares the name of Groff’s bounty hunter, viewers were left upset with what has been described as “inappropriate sexual innuendo” that culminated in a gay kiss during a Bridgerton-inspired episode.
The kiss was described as “unsuitable” for younger audiences, while the development of the relationship between the Doctor and Rogue throughout the story was deemed “concerning.”
The BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) dismissed the concerns reported by viewers (courtesy of a story from Deadline), ruling that the sexual innuendo was suitable for audiences of a younger age, ruling it toward “the mildest end of the spectrum and in any case likely to go over the heads of children.”
Speaking about the development of the relationship between the two characters, the ECU said it “served the needs of a fast-moving plot and was unlikely to strike viewers of any age as a model for interpersonal relationships outside this particular fictional context.”
The Doctor and Rogue encounter each other in 1813, during the Regency Era. Throughout the episode, the two characters flirt and later share a same-sex dance, much to the shock of other guests at a Regency-style ball. The Doctor and Rogue part ways as the bounty hunter sacrifices himself to save the world, but not before leaving with a goodbye kiss.
Similarly, Yaz (Mandip Gill) shared unrequited romantic feelings for Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor, while Captain Jack (John Barrowman), shared a gay kiss with the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston), in 2005.
All eight episodes of Ncuti Gatwa’s first season and more than 800 episodes of Doctor Who and associated spin-offs are available on the BBCiPlayer. In other Doctor Who news, a new audio drama series is in the works, featuring an episode penned by Matthew Jacobs.
