A number of viewers have complained to Ofcom following a gay sex scene on a recent episode of EastEnders.
The TV watchdog has confirmed that 48 people lodged official complaints with them since the episode aired on BBC One on Friday.
A spokesperson told Evening Standard Online: "Ofcom has received 48 complaints about EastEnders on Friday 17th. We will assess these complaints before deciding whether to investigate or not."
The scene in question involved characters Ben Mitchell and Paul Coker, who were seen stripping off in a funeral parlour, in front of an open coffin.
Defending the scene, a BBC spokesperson said: "The millions of regular EastEnders fans who tune in each week know and expect dramatic storylines. We are always mindful of our time slot in which we are shown and the scenes in question were implied and not explicit."
Harry Reid, who plays Mitchell, recently hit back at Twitter trolls who had bombarded him with homophobic comments following his kiss with Coker's character, played by Jonny Labey.
Reid, whose character has struggled with coming to terms with his sexuality over the years, decided to speak out against the reaction.
Posting a photo of bisexual East End gangster, Ronnie Kray, on his Instagram page, he wrote:
“It's upsetting to read the negative tweets about the gay kiss in last night's episode of @bbceastenders, I only want to ask one question. Would you of called Ronnie Kray disgusting? #whatwouldronniesay."
