Play for Today – Brimstone and Treacle

The 1976 titles include Patrick Troughton, Joan Hickson and Denholm Elliott, the star of the controversial Dennis Potter play Brimstone and Treacle. Having tricked his way into the household of a racist, The Devil (Michael Kitchen) rapes a disabled teenager and so restores her to full health. Potter hoped viewers might question their beliefs (for example, would it have been better if an angel raped the girl?) but while BBC Director of Programmes Alasdair Milne found the play brilliantly written and made, he was so nauseated and concerned by its potential impact on viewers that he pulled its intended original screening of 06/08/1976.