When killing of chicken in Udaipur upset BBC viewers

LONDON : Did many people in the United Kingdom turn vegetarian on Wednesday night after the BBC showed a butcher in Udaipur decapitating a chicken?

As the first episode of the third season of The Real Marigold Hotel aired during prime time, many took to social media to express horror at seeing the head of a chicken being graphically chopped off, prompting several counter-responses.

The latest series of the show features nine British celebrities – including former MP Stanley Johnson, father of former foreign secretary Boris Johnson – travelling across north India, mostly amazed and delighted at the many hues of everyday life in the country.

The series is inspired by the 2011 film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which starred Dev Patel and Judi Dench and in which a group of cash-strapped British senior citizens travel to Jaipur to spend their last years. The previous two seasons on BBC won a wide audience.

“There was absolutely no need to show a chicken having it’s (sic) head taken off. Half the UK have just gone vegetarian,” tweeted Jo Gattenberg. Another user, ‘el’, added: “That chicken decapitation scene was horrific im definitely being a vegetarian now.”

Anil Mohanlal countered: “Hypocrites showing disgust at the chicken being killed and skilled in The Real Marigold Hotel must think their chickens in Waitrose and Tesco are still born with plastic wrapping.”

Thee latest season stars comedian Syd Little and TV presenter Selina Scott, among others.