BBC Flooded With Calls for Soaps’ Return

Fed up with missing their daily fix of soap operas, thousands of viewers have complained that there is too much coverage of the Gulf War on British television, The Times of London reported today.

According to a poll by the Granada Television production company, those who thought war coverage on television was too extensive outnumbered those satisfied with the war coverage by 10 to 1, the newspaper said.

During a live phone-in poll, 8,000 people complained that there had been too much Persian Gulf news, while 800 said broadcasters had “got it right.”

Both British Broadcasting Corp. television and the independent network ITV have canceled programs and rearranged schedules to accommodate up to eight hours of news a day since the war started.

BBC television has received more than 1,000 calls from viewers complaining that their favorite programs had been canceled, The Times of London said.

“We’ve been getting the most abusive calls all day from viewers who will miss (Australian soap opera) “Prisoner Cell Block H” for the second week in a row,” Thames production company spokesman Roy Addison was quoted as saying.

Thames was receiving 250 calls of complaint a day, many motivated by fear from people who would rather not know anything about the war, Addison said.

“To the people that telephone and complain about the disruption to their soap operas and films, I must say it is about time they pulled what little mass of brain cells they have together,” photographer Andy Powell said.