BBC drama slammed for using dementia as ‘political propaganda’ in trans storyline

BBC One drama Waterloo Road has been accused of weaponising dementia in a story promoting transgender ideology.

In a recent episode, a dying grandmother becomes confused when her teenage grandson describes himself as “Lois, your granddaughter”. The grandmother says she doesn’t have a granddaughter, responding: “It is you Jake, isn’t it?”

‘Lois’, who is acted by a man known as Miya Ocego, questions if his grandmother was “pretending” to approve of his gender-confusion and the dementia “brought out her true self”. The teenager is advised by his friends not to visit her again.

‘Callous’

Viewers criticised a clip of the episode posted on X, which has been viewed over five million times.

One stated: “It perfectly encapsulates the trans mindset. Even when the person next to them is dying, it’s all about them. No one else’s feelings are important.”

Another added: “‘Imagine the level of callous apathy and narcissism required to use a scene about a dying grandmother with dementia to portray her to be the ‘transphobic’ villain and the trans granddaughter to be the brave and suffering victim.”

‘Insensitive’

Maya Forstater, CEO and Co-Founder of Sex Matters, commented: “The storyline about an elderly woman with dementia who forgets to pretend she now has a granddaughter instead of a grandson is a new low for the BBC.

“It is incredibly insensitive to dementia sufferers and the families caring for them to use the symptoms of this devastating disease as political propaganda for the discredited practice of transitioning children.”

But a BBC spokesman defended the storyline, claiming: “There is no inference that the character is transphobic and the episode concludes with Lois declaring that her grandmother was a ‘real superwoman’.”

Disney

In December, it was revealed that Disney ditched a transgender storyline from the animated show ‘Win or Lose’ because it was aimed at children.

The character remains in the show about a co-ed middle school softball team, but dialogue about gender identity has been removed.

A spokesperson from Disney explained: “When it comes to animated content for a younger audience, we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline.”

In some countries, there is the possibility that including LGBTQ+ content could face more restrictions or higher age limits. However, for its shows made for an adult audience, the corporation continues to release several shows with LGBTQ+ content and characters.