Neighbours
Cut!		Lucy Robinson and her half-brother Glen Donelley are caught in bed by their brother Paul Robinson.
Why?		This cut was because the BBC felt an incestuous relationship was too much for British viewers and would be viewed as bad-taste. The BBC cut out this entire scene and also any time when Glen and Lucy were seen to be any more than brother and sister. Viewers were left with short episodes, some lasting little more than 15 minutes - also, despite the BBC cutting out these scenes, they did not cut out the odd comments about the affair in later episodes leaving viewers wondering what was being referred to.
Cut!		Cheryl Stark being hit by a car - the impact and her rolling onto the bonnet and off again.
Why?		This scene was felt to be too violent for British viewers. The worst thing about these cuts were that we were left with no indication of what had happened. Did Cheryl get hit by a car? Or did Cheryl just faint or stumble on the curb? Most people I know thought that. The sound of the approaching car was heard faintly, then suddenly cut to Karl’s horrified face, then suddenly cut back to Cheryl lying in the road. The worst cut in TV land ever!
Cut!		Danni’s dream where she wakes up to find Luke has died.
Why?		No idea whatsoever. I cannot tell you why they would possibly cut this scene. It was a very short scene according to people I have spoken to and there cut was not at all justifiable. All I could wonder at the time was why Danni was continually looking at Luke so strangely during the end of their short holiday...of course now I know, but then, like for everyone else, it was a mystery.
Cut!		Danni and Malcolm’s pregnancy scare
Why?		Again, no idea whatsoever. Okay, maybe I am being too hard on the BBC. Maybe it was cut because it was felt to be too adult for a child audience...in other words, they were hiding important issues from the children of today. This could be a reason, but it doesn’t explain why they have shown scenes like this before. Danni and Michael Martin had some pretty raunchy sex scenes at one point on the show - so did Todd and Phoebe. Todd and Phoebe also went through a pregnancy scare after using contraception - except that time they were pregnant. Unlike in the outside world, the BBC obviously think that people are less susceptible to these issues than they were a decade ago.
		I won’t go through every "sex" scene which has been cut from the show - there have been a few. Neighbours hasn’t faced as many cuts as the other soaps, but, seriously, you have never seen a cut as bad as the Cheryl one!

		Prisoner: Cell Block H Until Channel 5 came on the scene, Prisoner was a programme only shown on ITV over here. However, different regions have different ITV stations. So, different stations cut different things - some leave stuff in which others have cut and vice versa. I will let you know which regions cut what.
Cut!		The momentual fight between Bea Smith and the Freak which was the 1982 season cliffhanger and one of the most important storylines of the entire series. This was cut by Yorkshire/Tyne Tees (as they were called at the time).
Why?		I suppose they thought it was too violent to be shown after midnight (stupid, ey?) - I thought the watershed was 9.00pm - I’ve seen far worse scenes than this on Taggart. Cutting this scene ruined one of the best episodes of Prisoner ever. The episode shown lasted 10 minutes less than normal.
Cut!		The entire Edna Pearson storyline. The scenes were cut by all regions - to my knowledge - except for Meridian.
Why?		Edna Pearson was in the prison for fraud. The scenes were cut because her case was similar to another court case that was 10 years old and took place on the other side of the world. This was a ludicrous cut which left viewers totally baffled. Edna Pearson suddenly appeared in the prison, then she uttered a few lines and suddenly left - in fact, we weren’t even told that she had left.
Cut!		Without naming individual scenes, as there have been a few, hanging scenes have been cut from the show.
Why?		It was thought that people would imitate when they saw how it was done. Hmm...okay...without sounding too morbid...suicide is most probably premeditated...just because someone did it on Prisoner does't mean someone is going to suddenly want to see what it feels like...come on ITV.

		Home and Away Again, like Prisoner, Home and Away being an ITV show suffers cuts subject to the region of the country that you are in.
Cut!		The entirety of Chloe's storyline, from where she was originally attacked to the season finale episode where Chloe realised Brad was the rapist, was torn to shreds with cut after cut. Chloe showering after the attack. Chloe cutting her hair after her attack. Chloe escaping Brad’s clutches by hitting him on the head. Chloe luring Brad into the bear trap in the woods. and more....
Why?		According to ITV it was too violent to be shown after Children’s TV - so why not move Home and Away back to a later slot? Most ITV stations cut the season finale 1996 episode to an almost unrecognisable heap. One minute Chloe had escaped Brad’s clutches and had run out to the van, then Brad catches up with her. Then it cuts to Chloe running through the woods brandishing an unrecognisable weapon (I was told that it was a steering wheel clamp) followed by Brad who is bleeding from his head. We see Chloe look at a bear trap which we know that Brad has already set up (except we didn’tknow that it was to trap Chloe with), then it cuts to Pippa’s house where the characters were celebrating Christmas. Then, it cuts back to Chloe who is sitting next to Brad who has his foot (off-camera) stuck in the bear trap and is writhing in agony. Then it cuts almost immediately back to Pippa’s house. The end. The original ending to the show had been censored. Hmmm...how did Chloe get Brad in to the trap? What was Chloe brandishing? How did she escape the van? None of this was explained leaving one of the best-ever episodes of Home and Away a totally unrecognisable mess.
Cut!		A masked man creeps up behind Rebecca, grabs hold of her and puts his hand over her mouth. She screams, and yells "Help!" to Casey who is at the door. She hits the man and he runs off out of the house. All we saw was the man running out of the house and Rebecca throwing a vase at him from a distance.
Why?		This was totally unjustified. Why cut it? Who knows??? Maybe they were playing with the cutting scissors at Carlton, it certainly seems that way with the number of cuts that Home and Away has suffered recently. This was not exactly something which the kids can’t see, Home and Away has shown far worse.
Cut!		"The Hostage Episode", where Donald was held hostage in the school by Keith Williams.
Why?		This episode was cut because it was thought to be in bad taste following the Dunblane tragedy. Well, like the next person, I recognise the tragedy of Dunblane. If this would have upset the relatives of anyone involved in the Dunblane incident then this cut was most probably justified. I have to say that it was to be shown quite a time after Dunblane took place, but nevertheless I won’t argue here. All I will say is, seeing as this episode was axed because it would have been in bad taste - should ITV really have hosted GMTV from Dunblane the morning after the tragedy? - if that wasn’t in bad taste then I think the meaning of "bad taste" needs to be changed.
Cut!		The episode which showed the death of Italian exchange student Laura, when she was hit by a train.
Why?		It was felt to be too violent and disturbing for the British public. I was left wondering what had happened to Laura in the following episode - where had she gone? Why was Curtis sitting by the train track crying? I didn’t know - until I was told that his girlfriend had been hit by a train and killed I did not know what had happened. Why didn’t they just show us a taste of the previous episode. Why not show the scenes where Laura was playing on the track - surely this episode would have sent out an important message to young children about the dangers of playing on railways - oh yeah, but obviously they want to shield the youth of today from that. Haven’t Carlton ever seen any of those youth instructional videos that we get to watch in primary school? These are much more terrifying than seeing Laura being hit by a train - these have blood!
Cut!		Some of Sally and Jack's romance.
Why?		Who knows??? I think that they cut this because some people would have thought it was incestuous, but come on, they are FOSTER brother and sister...and anyway... who can forget Bobby and Frank?
Cut!		Some of Steven and Selina's affair - kissing scenes.
Why?		Hmm...perhaps they thought all schoolkids would suddenly fall in love with their teachers or something...or maybe they thought teachers would get ideas... Why cut this? Love scenes between pupil and teacher have been shown in Neighbours - on many occasions. I suppose these cuts were more discreet than others - they did still allow us to comprehend the storyline.
Cut!		Shane's ashes being scattered. (shots where the ashes were seen falling into the water).
Why?		This is the most unjustified cut on the face of the planet. Did they think that young children would have nightmares because poor Shane was in a million pieces and being drowned? - I don't even think that young children would know what the ashes were - and if they put their parents in a difficult position and asked what they were, then all the parents would have to say is, "that’s dust!" It is that simple. Did they think people would kill themselves just to see what it felt like to be scattered like dust in the air? WHY DID YOU CUT THIS ITV? I bet that if they had shown the scene they would not have received one single complaint.

So, "what now?" I hear you cry. If you feel as strongly about this issue as I do, then why not write to your ITV or BBC station, start a petition, write to the programme makers, do something - Write to your MP, but I don’t think they’d be interested! Or just email us with your thoughts.

Yours Sincerely,

Alan Shade alan.shade@bigfoot.com