BBC school drama Waterloo Road has caused outrage over a plotline featuring a dementia patient 'deadnaming' her trans granddaughter in a recent episode.
The rebooted show first returned to screens in 2021 with the latest series 15 beginning earlier this month.
The episode in question aired last Tuesday with reaction growing after a critical viewer posted a clip of the scene to X.
The post has so far received 5.1 million views on the social media platform and more than 1,000 responses – many of which criticised the BBC for its handling of both trans and dementia issues.
In the scene, an elderly grandmother with dementia refers to her trans granddaughter, who is visiting her in a care home, by her former male.
"It's Lois, nan. It's Lois, your granddaughter," the character says, only to be met with confusion from her grandmother who responds: "I don't have a granddaughter. Only a grandson. It is you Jake, isn't it?"
The plot saw an elderly dementia sufferer struggle to remember their trans granddaughter
BBC
Lois, portrayed by trans actress Miya Ocego, later expresses her distress to the headteacher, saying: "What if she never saw me as Lois at all and she was just pretending? What if the dementia didn't make her forget, it just brought out her true self?"
Friends advise Lois against further visits to her grandmother.
The plotline sparked outrage among some viewers who took to social media to share their feelings.
“Imagine the levels of callous apathy & depraved narcissism required to use a scene about a dying grandmother with dementia to portray her to be the 'transphobic' villain,” one fumed.
The storyline sparked outrage among some fans
BBC
Another despaired: “Oh, Idon't know whether to laugh or cry. This is the most pathetic drivel ever!"
“My mum died of Alzheimer’s last September. This is so offensive,” a third added.
“Why does anyone have a TV license anymore?” a fourth asked while others even called for the defunding of the national broadcaster.
However, others have praised the way Waterloo Road handled its trans story line and how Lois had been treated as a regular character since being introduced in 2021.
One pointed out that the show had featured a trans characters as far back as 2011 and that "woke isn't new its just life".
Another wrote it had been a "great wee storyline. This series has been brilliant so far."
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Actress Ocego previously spoke out in defence of the episode
BBC
Actress Miya Ocego, 24, defended the episode before its airing: "When I got the script, I knew they wanted to address her gender identity and I was really happy to do so, to bring more awareness to the trans community."
A BBC spokesperson told GB news: "In the storyline about Lois' Grandmother there are many references to the cruelty of dementia. There is no inference that the character is transphobic and the episode concludes with Lois declaring that her grandmother was a 'real superwoman'."
The episode did indeed draw to a close with a poignant revelation after the grandmother's death. Hours after the visit, Lois discovers an envelope left by her grandmother containing photos of them together.
The envelope was labelled "me and Lois", suggesting the grandmother had accepted her granddaughter's identity all along.
