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Banned! The Mary Whitehouse Story

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The story of a Midlands housewife and her 30-year battle to save Britain’s morals.

In 1963, armed with just a typewriter, a Midlands housewife began a 30-year battle against the permissive society. But how successful was the original ‘cancel culture’ warrior?

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Hannah Berryman

Abigail Priddle

Janet Lee

James Gold

Sam White

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Tracey Bagley

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Banned! The Mary Whitehouse Story: Series 1: Episode 2

Episode 2

Series 1

BBC Two - Banned! The Mary Whitehouse Story, Series 1, Episode 2

Mary's campaigns against pornography and 'video nasties' raise her profile still further.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Mary's campaigns against pornography and 'video nasties' raise her profile still further. But new media forms overtake her efforts to censor content.

During the 1970s, Mary's battle with permissive society is hotting up, as ideas of progress and suggestions that nothing should be censored gain currency. Nude actress and men’s magazine columnist Fiona Richmond publicly objects to Mary’s ‘bullying’ desire to standing in the way of her personal freedoms, and the then pornographer, now co-owner of West Ham FC, David Sullivan, decides to take the fight to Mary with the audacious move of calling his flagship porn magazine Whitehouse.

In her final campaigning phase, Mary gets closer to the seat of power than anyone thought possible through her relationship with Margaret Thatcher. The birth of home video and her railing against so-called ‘video nasties’ raise her profile even further. But the growth of entertainment media, culminating in the internet, overtakes anything Whitehouse can do to censor content.

Banned! The Mary Whitehouse Story: Series 1

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