Constance Mary Whitehouse, CBE (née Hutcheson, 13 June 1910 – 23 November 2001) was an English social activist known for her strong opposition to social liberalism and the mainstream British media, both of which she accused of encouraging a more permissive society. She was the founder and first president of the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association, through which she led a longstanding campaign against the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). A staunch social conservative, she was disparagingly termed a reactionary by her socially liberal opponents. Her motivation derived from her traditional Christian beliefs, her aversion from the rapid social and political changes in British society in the 1960s and her work as a teacher of sex education.Born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, Whitehouse became an art teacher, at the same time becoming involved in evangelical Christian groups such as the Student Christian Movement and Moral Re-Armament. She became a public figure via the 'Clean-Up TV' pressure group, established in 1964, in which she was the most prominent figure. The following year she founded the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association, using it as a platform to criticise the BBC for what she perceived as a lack of accountability, and excessive portrayals of sex, violence and bad language. As a result, she became an object of mockery in the media, especially by the BBC.During the 1970s she broadened her activities, and was a leading figure in the Nationwide Festival of Light, a Christian campaign that gained mass support for a period. She initiated a successful private prosecution against Gay News on the grounds of blasphemous libel, the first such case for more than 50 years. Another private prosecution was against the director of the play The Romans in Britain, which had been performed at the National Theatre, which she withdrew when it became clear she was about to lose.Whitehouse's campaigns continue to divide opinion. Her critics have accused her of being a highly censorious figure, and her traditional moral convictions brought her into direct conflict with supporters of the sexual revolution, feminists and gay rights campaigners. Others see her more positively and believe she was attempting to halt a decline in what they perceived as Britain's moral standards. According to Ben Thompson, the editor of an anthology of Whitehouse-related letters, in 2012: "From Mumsnet to ... feminist anti-pornography campaigns [and] the executive naming and shaming strategies of UK Uncut, her ideological and tactical influence has been discernible in all sorts of unexpected places in recent years."
Paul Whitehouse, Richard Whitehouse, Christopher Whitehouse
Star Sign
Gemini
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Quote
1
[on Doctor Who: The Deadly Assassin: Part Three (1976)] Violence of a quite unacceptable kind. It permeated the programme but reached a climax when the children saw one of the characters - in modern dress - in flames, and then a shocking sequence in which this character, after a vicious close-up fight - got Dr. Who by the throat and held him under the water until he was drowned. Shots which could only be described as sadistic.
2
The programme contains some of the sickest and most horrific material ever seen on children's television, but no-one has to take my word that such material is likely to disturb. For young children, even a week may be too long to wait for reassurance that the characters with whom they identify are safe. Doctor Who (1963) has turned into tea-time brutality for tots.
3
[on Doctor Who: The Seeds of Doom: Part One (1976)] Strangulation - by hand, by claw, by obscene vegetable matter - is the latest gimmick. And, just for a little variety, show the children how to make a Molotov cocktail.
4
[on Doctor Who: Genesis of the Daleks: Part One (1975)] This series has moved from fantasy to real-life violence with cruelty, corpses, poison gas and Nazi-type stormtroopers, not to mention revolting experiments in human genetics.
5
[on Bergerac: The Dig (1990)] As someone who used to watch and enjoy Bergerac (1981), may I say how disappointed I am with its new style. Last night's episode was almost impossible to watch and indeed we turned it off, not least because of the close-up, rapidly changing camera work. Its mood and style was quite unsuitable for family viewing time and one suspects that many adults went to bed with a headache and many children had nightmares! Can we hope that in future it will be considerably less intense and more watchable.
6
[From her first public speech] "Last Thursday evening, we sat as a family and saw a programme that started at 6.35. And it was the dirtiest programme I have seen for a very long time."
7
If they didn't show it on the screen, most people wouldn't know about oral sex.
8
[on Doctor Who (1963)] I think it's extraordinary that people with a brilliance in many ways, of making a programme of that kind, couldn't have extended their awareness to the effect of what they were doing upon the children who were receiving it. That was almost as though they were a bit dumb.
9
If violence is shown as normal on the television screen it will help to create a violent society.
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Fact
1
Whitehouse's background was as a school teacher. She was the head of the art department and senior mistress at Madeley Secondary Modern School. She was also a devout Christian.
2
She was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1980 for her services to the community.
3
Although she was a regular opponent of the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who (1963) for many years, with the series' script editor from 1968 until 1974, Terrance Dicks, once saying "if there's one thing she hated more than sex, it was Doctor Who (1963)", her criticisms became particularly frequent during the period produced by Philip Hinchcliffe between 1975 and 1977, which she described as "teatime brutality for tots". After viewing Doctor Who: The Deadly Assassin: Part Three (1976), broadcast in November 1976, she wrote a strongly worded letter to the BBC "in anger and despair". She accused the serial of being "permeated with violence of a quite unacceptable kind" and being "shocking", "vicious" and "sadistic", citing in particular three offending scenes: one in which a character was in flames, an episode ending where the Doctor's foot is trapped in a railway track while a train approaches, and another episode ending in which the Doctor's head is held under water by a villain. She finished the letter by accusing the BBC of hypocrisy in ignoring its own Guidance Notes on the portrayal of violence on television and the programme makers of being "engrossed in their own expertise". She received an apology from BBC Director General Charles Curran, which marked a change in the BBC's policy towards the series and Whitehouse's complaints. Hinchcliffe left Doctor Who (1963) after three more serials and his successor, Graham Williams, was ordered to lighten the tone of the series.
4
She was a fierce opponent of Till Death Us Do Part (1965) for its strong language, Doctor Who (1963) for what she described as its "nightmare qualities" and the comedian Benny Hill for his sexy sketches.
5
In 1965 Mary Whitehouse founded the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association in the UK.
6
She was Britain's most vocal critic of the growth of sexual content, violence and bad language on television during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
7
She was a fan of the comedy series Yes Minister (1980).
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
A Timewatch Guide
2016
TV Series documentary
Herself - Nationwide Festival of Light
Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape