A 1987 children’s drama, Two of Us, was suppressed by the BBC before airing in 1988 with scenes cut, but the director secretly ensured the original version reached some audiences.

The 1987 BBC children’s drama Two of Us, directed by Roger Tonge and written by Leslie Stewart, was pulled from its scheduled broadcast amid political controversy surrounding Section 28 and the HIV/Aids crisis. The film, which depicted a love story between two teenage boys, was eventually aired in March 1988 after the BBC demanded the removal of a kiss and an ambiguous ending. Despite these mandates, the original version was later broadcast in secret.

Production and Political Pressure

Commissioned for the BBC’s Scene strand, the film was intended for classroom use and early evening broadcast. During production in 1986, the crew faced intense scrutiny from BBC executives regarding the intimacy of the scenes. The project coincided with a period of rising anti-homosexual sentiment and the introduction of Section 28, which led the BBC to delay the broadcast, citing concerns that teachers would find the content difficult to use.

Secret Broadcasts and Defiance

After the film was finally aired in 1988 at 11:30 p.m. with cuts, director Roger Tonge took steps to ensure the original version remained available. He provided the uncut film to international markets and LGBTQ+ festivals. In 1990, during a daytime broadcast, Tonge worked with an internal contact to reinsert the cut kiss scene into the version aired by the BBC without the knowledge of senior executives.