Mary Whitehouse was a thorn in the side of the BBC – what motivated her, how was she married to – and when did she die?
and her moral crusading are explored in the first of a two-part documentary Banned: The Mary Whitehouse Story.
Some famous faces, including Gyles Brandreth and Ken Loach, take a look at Mary’s legacy almost 60 years on.
For anyone who isn’t familiar with Mary Whitehouse and her views on what was become a progressive and liberal society, here’s a quick breakdown.
It’s essentially he story of one woman and her typewriter.
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Who was Mary Whitehouse?
Constance Mary Whitehouse (nee Hutcheson) was a British teacher who became a political activist.
Her opinions were very conservative and she mostly protested against the sexual revolution of the 60s and 70s.
She was extremely religious and protested against the new permissive society that was taking over the developing media.
Mary was often mocked for her views at the time, regarded as a puritan who wanted to keep Britain in the dark ages.
She began her career as an activist by writing letters complaining about the ‘filth’ on family TV.
By 1963, she had become convinced that society had gone far enough and set out to do something about it.
But how did a 53-year-old art teacher from Telford create an entire political movement?
While the rest of the country was mostly embracing a new freedom, Mary was busy with activities such as complaining about the publication of raunchy novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover.
Is Mary Whitehouse still alive?
Mary died in 2001 in Colchester, Essex.
She was 91 when she died in a nursing home on November 23.
The cause of death was old age.
What was Mary Whitehouse famous for?
Mary went to war with former Director General of the BBC, Sir Hugh Greene, for his liberal views on what sort of programmes to broadcast.
As Britain became immersed in ‘sex, drugs and rock and roll’ Hugh Greene spotted the shift and decided the BBC should reflect the new attitudes developing in society.
Mary decided that what they were seeing on screen was affecting the children she taught. So she decided to do something about it.
In 1964 she was one of the driving forces behind the Clean Up TV campaign, along with her husband, Ernest.
They accused the BBC of pouring dirt into Christian homes.
As the campaign grew, Mary became the figurehead for it. A petition was delivered to Parliament with a surprising amount of support.
Archives show that, initially, the BBC weren’t interested in the campaign.
But they underestimated Mary Whitehouse and her National Viewers and Listeners Association.
Where did she teach?
She taught at a school called Madeley Modern School in Madeley, Shropshire.
Mary was primarily an art teacher but previous students recall her standing in to teach religious education and sex education.
Who was Mary Whitehouse’s husband?
Mary’s husband was Ernest Raymond Whitehouse.
They met when they were both members of the Moral Re-Armament Group and married in 1940.
The couple remained married until Ernest died in 2001 in Colchester, Essex, just months before Mary.
Which programmes did Mary Whitehouse campaign against?
One of the first programmes Mary took against was a film – the Wednesday play – called Up The Junction. In it, a woman became pregnant and had a backstreet abortion.
Mary was not happy about this.
Ken Loach recalls in BBC2 documentary Banned: The Mary Whitehouse story, that Mary waged war against the play. But he says that because of this, it became very well known and viewers saw it as a slice of real life.
He joked: “We often wished we could take Mary Whitehouse around with us because she was by far the best publicity we ever got.”
Mary then took on popular sitcom ‘Til Death Us Do Part, blasting it for its blasphemy.
But the show fought back and it often ridiculed Mary in episodes.
In one episode characters burned her book, Clean Up TV and shouted ‘Unclean! Unclean!’
This didn’t work out very well for Sir Hugh Greene as Mary – rightly – lambasted him for burning a book, while apparently being a supporter of the freedom of speech.
A turning point came for the planned televising of The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour.
Apparently Mary wasn’t a fan of some of the lyrics in I am the Walrus – “Boy, you’ve been a naughty girl, you let your knickers down”, according to Ben Thompson, writer of a book about Mary called Ban This Filth.
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Beatles battle
Mary wrote a letter about the line and the film, which was due to screen on Boxing Day 1967.
Thompson recalls how Mary made the point very strongly to Lord Hill, Chairman of Governors at the BBC.
Hill actually took it on board with Sir Hugh, who refused to budge on the matter.
The broadcast went ahead – with the line – but Sir Hugh stepped down from his position as Director General just months later.
Doctor Who got the Mary Whitehouse treatment in the 1970s, in one letter saying it “contained some of the sickest and most horrific material seen on children’s television”.
Mary won a campaign to stop Alice Cooper’s School’s Out broadcasting on Top of the Pops.
Banned! The Mary Whitehouse Story Part One airs on BBC2 tonight at 9pm
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