"The Wednesday Play producers saw themselves as challenging its audience, of taking its audience to places maybe they didn't want to go, or didn't know that they wanted to go."

  - John Hill, Royal Holloway, University of London

The makers of 'Up the Junction' were determined to challenge the aesthetics of television, but they also had a strong political agenda. The drama aimed to reflect the daily lives and relationships of working-class young people, but it also highlighted the effects of the continued criminalisation of abortion.

'Up the Junction' was immediately embroiled in controversy for its strikingly realistic depiction of a back-street abortion, at a time when the issue was the focus of a parliamentary debate. This scene - still harrowing to watch even today - alongside the play's alleged bad language, led angry viewers to besiege the BBC with a record number of complaints. It also provoked the wrath of the increasingly powerful 'moral campaigner' Mary Whitehouse, who objected to the language and to the non-judgemental depiction of promiscuity. Whitehouse would battle the producers of 'Up the Junction' for many years.

The film below looks at the influences and motivation behind this scene, considers what made it so innovative for the time, and examining its impact - on those involved in the production and on the public debate.

Click on 'Featured Video' in the right panel to watch.