2:37pm Friday 13th August 2010
By Anna Mansell
THE PC brigade has been ranting again this week.
This time, it’s about the pre-watershed drugs binge indulged in by Walford Square’s finest addict Phil Mitchell.
Violent, formerly recovering alcoholic Phil has finally sunk so low as to be tempted by arguably the hardest of drugs — crack cocaine.
He’s lost both his children to the authorities and blames his mum for this. EastEnders has never been a show to shy away from society’s biggest issues — it was the first soap to feature homosexuality in the 1980s, it tackled euthanasia face-on, and has addressed familial rape and prostitution all among central characters.
So should the graphic scenes from Monday’s episode really be that shocking?
We all know that the soap regularly takes on these kinds of topics.
Yet the PC brigade has a field day, arguing it shouldn’t be seen by children.
The end responsibility should lie with a parent to censor what is shown on the TV screen in their home.
Personally, the sight of a red-faced, raging baldy is enough to put me off crack for life and the issues surrounding the episode could form a starting point for a sensible discussion about drug addiction.
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