Downton Abbey
Downton Abbey Gay Kiss Banned On Greek Television! Network Execs Blasted For Extreme Act Of Homophobia!
Courtesy/ITV
Add Downton Abbey to the list of shows that have been edited by network execs due to a same-sex kiss in the history of television! According to The Huffington Post, “Network bosses at Greece’s state television network have come under fire from politicians and gay rights groups for editing a same sex kiss out of the local broadcast of period drama Downton Abbey earlier this week.”
NET channel executives opted not to show the gay kiss between a visiting duke and Rob James-Collier’s scheming footman character, Thomas, citing parental guidance viewing rules. But leading politicians for the country’s opposition party have lashed out at the decision, insisting the scene was unnecessarily censored.
A statement from SYRZIA party officials reads: “As incredible as it may seem for a democratic country in the 21st century, officials of the NET television channel censored the scene of a kiss between men from the TV drama Downton Abbey. This is of course an obvious case of censorship, an extreme act of homophobia and discrimination.”
Greek state television bosses insist the kiss was not censored, but edited out of the broadcast to comply with rules regarding the primetime slot. They planned to re-air the episode, unedited, on Tuesday at a later time.
So what do you think of this latest television ban that has a scene with a kiss between two men? Weigh-in!
In a statement from her sons as shared by Smith’s publicist, Clair Dobbs: “It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith. She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September. An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end, She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days.”
In 1979, Dame Maggie was awarded a second Academy Award, this time for Best Supporting Actress, for her performance in Neil Simon’s California Suite. She has also received British Academy Film Awards for her work, including for her roles in 1985’s A Room with a View and 1987’s The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne.
Photo: JPI
Smith was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1990, and from then on was widely known as “Dame Maggie Smith” Audiences got to see the widely-acclaimed actress in the US and the UK, once again when she took on the role of Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey. The acclaimed period drama about the British aristocracy ran for six seasons, 2010-2015 in the UK and into the beginning of 2016 in the US. She received three Primetime Emmy Awards for the role, and returned to reprise the part for the Downton Abbey 2019 feature-length film.
Photo: BBC
Several of Smith’s Downton Abbey co-stars have shared their grief, including Michelle Dockery (ex-Lady Mary Crawley) who expressed,”There was no one quite like Maggie. I feel tremendously lucky to have known such a maverick. She will be deeply missed and my thoughts are with her family.”
Hugh Bonneville (ex-Robert Crawley) who played Smith’s on-screen son in the series, wrote, “Anyone who ever shared a scene with Maggie will attest to her sharp eye, sharp wit and formidable talent. She was a true legend of her generation and thankfully will live on in so many magnificent screen performances. My condolences to her boys and wider family.”
Throughout her life, Smith was married twice. Once to Robert Stephens, and later to playwright Beverley Cross, from 1975 until his death in 1998. She is survived by her two sons, Toby and Chris.
Share your remembrances and your condolences for the great Dame Maggie Smith via the comment section below.
So many of us loved the soap opera that was Downton Abbey when it aired on PBS and ITV for six seasons. Then, a few years later in 2019, the highly-awaited Downton Abbey movie hit movie theatres near you.
Now comes word from Focus Features that a big-screen sequel is in the works and is slated for release this Christmas in December of 2021.
In a social media announcement, the film company shared: “We’re thrilled to announce that Julian Fellowes and the entire Downton cast are back for #DowntonAbbey2, with Hugh Dancy, Laura Haddock, Nathalie Baye and Dominic West joining! See the film in theaters this Christmas.”
While, of course, no plot has been teased or given away, Fellowes will write the screenplay, with Simon Curtis (My Week with Marilyn) set to direct.
“There’s no place like home for the holidays, and we can’t imagine a better gift than getting to reunite with Julian, (producer) Gareth Neame and the entire Downton family in 2021 to bring the Crawleys back home for their fans,” said Focus Features chairman Peter Kujawsk in a statement.
So, excited to see your favorites and some potential new ones in the all-new Downton Abbey Movie later this year? Comment below.
Finally, Downton Abbey fans get a preview of the upcoming motion picture that is set for release in theatres on September 20th.
What we know is that the The film is set in 1927 and the plot revolves around the King and Queen of England coming to the estate for a visit and so … the Crawleys must prepare their arrival. In fact, they have to bring back Mr. Carson to help!
Featured in the trailer are series stars, who are also back for the film: Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Michelle Dockery, Matthew Goode, Joanne Froggatt, Jim Carter and Maggie Smith.
Series creator Julian Fellowes wrote the script and Michael Engler will serve as director. Engler directed the two-hours series finale.
As fans know, Downton Abbey ran on PBS Masterpiece for six seasons here in the U.S.
Check out the trailer, and then let us know if you are excited to see the movie? Comment below.
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I haven’t seen this show, and I’m not gay, but if Greece is citing parental guidance viewing rules, then are any kisses allowed? I mean, kids have gay parents too, so what is the big deal? Do they allow women kissing each other? What about people that are, what’s that word, that are born with both sexes… are they shown kissing on tv?
Yeah? And how many gay kisses have we seen on Y&R? Zero. Zilch. Nada.
What happened to OLTL’s gay couple? Fired supposedly because of viewer backlash.
There has never been a gay character in a relationship on General Hospital.
very true !! sadly.
The same thing happened in my country (Italy) with gay kisses on “Dawson’s Creek” and other tv series (movies too, like “Brokeback Mountain” on tv). Sadly, no surprise at all.
I think they should show a black screen and tell people what they’re missing and why!
and a number to contact the network to protest! 😀 Hey protesting works for us daytime soap watchers!
We live in the 21 st century but I guess shows on this entire planet forever will remain backward when it comes to gay/lesbian characters or couples. Out and out homophobia is prevalent in almost every show/movie even though TPTB say their intent is never homophobic; they conveniently lie through their teeth. Gay/lesbain characters are killed, left sad/alone, banned from kissing or PDA throughout history. Nothing new. This issue is likely never to see the light of the day. After going through the ATWT gay SL debacle, it is better not to watch any gay/lesbain SL on any show or movie; the end result is going to be the same always: Total diaster and horrendous endings. I don’t see why the Greeks are being pointed out at when North American shows are many more times worse when it comes to gay/lesbain SLs or characters.
how come the extreme racism of the network execs of the us version of queer as folk season 1 wasn’t blasted by “liberal and progressive” hollywood? gale harold portrayed the lead character and they showed all of his sexual encounters w/ other white characters. but the only instance he was w/ a black character and their kiss was not shown. it was only implied. where were the screams of racism from hollywood? as usual the priorities are w/ gay portrayals but not w/ racial minority representations.
I am from Greece. There have been plenty of gay kisses shown on greek tv (from Dawson’s Creek, Grey’s Anatomy to name a few) so I don’t understand why the censors thought that a gay kiss on Downtown Abbey shouldn’t be shown.
Downtown Abbey is on a channel that is more conservative than the rest (something like PBS I believe) so maybe that’s why it happened. Anyway, the powers that be from that channel issued a statement that the rating for DA and the time it was being broadcasted (10 pm) didn’t allow for that scene to air but they did show it on a midnight rerun.
I am of Greek descent and often consider my ancient people as ones who accepted and promoted love between males. Regardless, gay people are part of our world and I am surprised a forward country as Greece is having issues. Heck, I am troubled by the continued bias in our United States!!!
And I agree with the poster who noted how gay characters are slow to daytime drama and serials. Really? Why is not possible for Y&R to develop a gay storyline or integrate gay characters into the mix without making it a big deal. OLTL was froced to terminate KISH and that was disappointing. I thought other shows did it well: AMC with Bianca; ATWT with Luke and Noah (though their love was so chaste!); and DOOL with its well-acted Will story.
Get with the program, Greece!
I wish American censors were more like the Greeks!!