HELL’S BELLS!
Murders galore in Midsomer.. but TV bosses are more worried about jingle-jangle morris dancers
TELLY censors have slapped a warning on Midsomer Murders over scenes of morris dancers with blackedout faces.
Streaming service BritBox tells viewers an episode called Blood Will Out from season two “includes traditional dancing that might offend some viewers”.
The alert comes despite the hundreds of grisly murders in the show.
Many believe the dancers’ blackened faces have a racist element. But it is said the tradition derives from the 1400s, when poor farmworkers covered their faces with soot to disguise themselves to go begging, which was illegal at the time.
An outraged fan of the ITV smash said: “There was a morris dancing scene about which viewers were forewarned (possibly because one of the dancers was in traditional blackface). Woke.”
Another, DJ, said on telly forum Digital Spy: “Midsomer Murders isn’t racist.”
And they claimed: “The blackface device is a throwback to times of poverty and has nothing to do with race.”
Many morris dancing troupes have swapped black make-up for blue or ditched it after accusations of racism. Critics say it is linked to blackface minstrels.
Meanwhile viewers feared for actor John Nettles, 78, who starred in the show as detective Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby from 1997 to 2011.
One said: “Oh no. They’re gonna try and cancel John Nettles now,” while another fan warned: “No one cancels John Nettles.”
Elsewhere, episode Blood On The Saddle about a Wild West day is highlighted for racist content as a Confederate flag is seen.
BritBox tells viewers: “The annual fair becomes terrifyingly real when locals clash over land ownership. Guidance: Contains some violence and racist elements which may offend.”
But one viewer claimed: “The battle flag of the confederacy has nothing to do with America’s cowboys”.
‘Next they will cancel Nettles!’