While Billie Piper’s pizza mistreatment got Collateral’s audience talking last week, the most recent episode of the BBC drama sparked serious discussions about the portrayal of women on TV.

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That’s because last night’s instalment saw Sandrine Shaw (Jeany Spark) facing harassment from her army boss Major Tim Dyson (Robert Portal) – a man who went on to blackmail her for sex.

And some viewers at home saw this turn as not only a cliché, but a harmful depiction of women…

Yet, at the same time, other viewers addressed what they saw as another – completely opposing – TV trope: political correctness. Referring to the show’s diverse cast and plot points relating to illegal immigration, sexual abuse, racism and classicism, Twitter users said the show was full of “PC stereotypes”…

However, many didn’t see a problem, claiming David Hare's drama was engaging in legitimate modern issues.

So, will the next episode court more PC controversy? Or will we go back to the good old days of unified anger about the quattro formaggio getting thrown on the floor? We can only hope.

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Collateral is on Monday at 9pm on BBC2

Authors

Thomas LingDigital editor, BBC Science Focus

Thomas is Digital editor at BBC Science Focus. Writing about everything from cosmology to anthropology, he specialises in the latest psychology, health and neuroscience discoveries. Thomas has a Masters degree (distinction) in Magazine Journalism from the University of Sheffield and has written for Men’s Health, Vice and Radio Times. He has been shortlisted as the New Digital Talent of the Year at the national magazine Professional Publishers Association (PPA) awards. Also working in academia, Thomas has lectured on the topic of journalism to undergraduate and postgraduate students at The University of Sheffield.

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