EastEnders knife murder leads to 134 complaints

The BBC received angry responses from 134 viewers after a character was shown being killed on its flagship soap opera this week.

Thursday night's episode saw the death of character Jase Dyer, played by Stephen Lord, as he was set upon by a criminal gang who stabbed him.

Scene of the crime: Some 134 viewers complained the stabbing scene was too violent to be shown before 9pm

Scenes afterwards depicted the character's dead body lying in a hospital.

One viewer complained the episode had left his wife ' physically sick' while his 13-year-old son was reduced to tears.

Yesterday the BBC defended the scenes claiming that the actual violence was 'implied rather than explicit'.

The corporation said it had made it 'clear from the outset' that the character's life was in serious jeopardy.

Self defence: The BBC said they had not glamourised knife crime and believe they had shown the 'devastating consequences of such actions'

A statement from BBC bosses said: 'This was the climax of a long-running story involving Jase and his former "firm", and we believe this was the outcome that many viewers would have been anticipating in the context of this storyline.

'Whilst issues of violence and knife crime may be in the news currently, they were not glamorised or glorified in any way within this episode, rather we saw the devastating consequences of such actions and the clear message was that crime does not pay.'

It admitted that some viewers would have found images of the dead body uncomfortable, but said it was part of showing the emotion of the story.

Drama: Medics fought to save Jase after he was stabbed by a gang member but he died on a pre-watershed episode of EastEnders

The broadcaster claimed it had 'signaled' the nature of the content of the episode through the pre-programme continuity announcement and billings.

Media regulator Ofcom censured the BBC in June this year for EastEnders scenes in which a character was drugged and buried alive.

The regulator had received 116 complaints from viewers who said the scenes featuring character Max Branning were 'unsuitable' for the time when they were aired.

In February the BBC1 soap was once again found to have breached TV regulations after showing a gang attack on the Queen Vic pub.

The episode also showed a pregnant woman going into premature labour after being knocked over during a fight.