TV dramas ‘rely on sex & violence’

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PAUL Hollywood takes a break dressed as Father Christmas.

The Great British Bake Off judge donned the traditional red-and-white outfit while filming.

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And he wrote on Instagram: “Well it’s 9 days to go .... #christmas #santa #greyhair.”

CALL The Midwife writer Heidi Thomas has blasted TV bosses for stuffing modernday dramas full of sex and violence in a bid to grab ratings.

Her own BBC series – following the lives of the nuns and midwives in east London during the 1950s and 1960s – has been a huge success.

But in the eight series, there has been no bad language, no graphic sex scenes and hardly any violence. However, Heidi admits she struggles to understand why so many current dramas appear to rely on violence against women and children. She told Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs yesterday: “The primary role of a woman in modern drama is usually to be found dead and the primary role of a child is to go missing.

“You only have to look at the latest roster of drama that has been bought or commissioned by such and such a streaming channel.

“It’s so often about crime and very often about rape and very often about the most debased instincts. I naturally recoil from that.” She added: “Oddly, they are considered to be realistic and Call The Midwife is considered to be a sort of fantasy.

“I find that a very fascinating comment on our own point of view as a society.” ★

I’M A Celebrity finalist Andy Whyment gets back into the swing of everyday life in Manchester. ★

The Corrie star, 38, popped in to a barber shop in the city and munched on a pasty with wife Nicola. Andy said he missed his “normal boring life” while in the Jungle.