Reception
In June 2007, 80 people complained to the BBC following the airing of a storyline that saw a pregnant Dawn chained to a bed by Dr May Wright, with her intention being to give her a forced Caesarean section. It has been noted by the media that no specific warning about the content of the episode was given by the broadcaster; however, a continuity announcer said before the episode began, "Dramatic EastEnders now on BBC1 - it's misery for poor Dawn as mad May puts her evil plan into action."
A BBC spokesman said, "Last night's episode involving the characters Dawn, May, and Rob reached the climax that many viewers would have been anticipating. We are sorry if some people were offended by this drama unfolding, and will be addressing complaints fully in due course." It was stressed that of the typical 9 million viewers who watched EastEnders, only 80 people complained. However, The Guardian reported that 200 viewers complained, 183 complaints to the BBC and a further 12 to the media regulator, Ofcom. The episode garnered an average audience of 8.9 million viewers and a 42% share to BBC1.
Tointon was awarded the "Sexiest Actress" in 2008 for her role as Dawn Swann; it was the second time she won the award. Tointon was also nominated for a National Television Award in 2007 for "most popular actress".
In 2009, Ruth Deller of entertainment website lowculture.co.uk, who runs a monthly feature of the most popular and unpopular soap opera characters, criticised Dawn, branding her as a 'spare part', also stating: "There is a fair bit of dead wood in Walford at the moment, and most of it is centred around Garry, Minty and their associates. Of all of those, Dawn serves the least purpose. With no family in the square and with Jay living with Billy rather than her, isn't it time she was sent away for some happy ending or other? If she can take Garry with her, so much the better." Upon Dawn's exit, Deller once again criticised her stating: "Thankfully, after several years of hanging around being spare parts (was Dawn ever anything other than a spare part?), Garry and Dawn departed this month in the least plausible exit scene ever."
Read more about this topic: Dawn Swann
Famous quotes containing the word reception:
“Aesthetic emotion puts man in a state favorable to the reception of erotic emotion.... Art is the accomplice of love. Take love away and there is no longer art.”
—Rémy De Gourmont (1858–1915)
“I gave a speech in Omaha. After the speech I went to a reception elsewhere in town. A sweet old lady came up to me, put her gloved hand in mine, and said, “I hear you spoke here tonight.” “Oh, it was nothing,” I replied modestly. “Yes,” the little old lady nodded, “that’s what I heard.””
—Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)
“To the United States the Third World often takes the form of a black woman who has been made pregnant in a moment of passion and who shows up one day in the reception room on the forty-ninth floor threatening to make a scene. The lawyers pay the woman off; sometimes uniformed guards accompany her to the elevators.”
—Lewis H. Lapham (b. 1935)