The recent controversial EastEnders paedophile storyline has been officially cleared of “breaching broadcasting rules” by TV watchdog Ofcom.

The story involving the Jackson family ran from September to December last year and prompted around ninety viewers to complain to Ofcom that the subject matter wasn’t appropriate for a “pre-watershed slot” audience, many of whom, the complaints suggested, could have been young children…

The story involved Bianca Jackson’s ex-jailbird partner Tony King sexually abusing Bianca’s 15-year-old stepdaughter, Whitney Dean. As the storyline evolved, it was revealed that Tony had begun to sexually abuse Whitney when she was aged just 12.

However, following an investigation, Ofcom ruled that the BBC had “ensured the focus of the story remained on the concept of grooming and did not disproportionately dwell on the physical nature of the abuse”.

The regulator’s statement read: “Ofcom considers that the broadcaster treated the subject matter appropriately and sensitively.

“Such storylines which reach a large audience can actually have a positive impact.”

I think this was a very wise decision on the part of Ofcom… After all, as I pointed out in an article at the time – when the whole debacle was at it’s height – of course the abuse of children happens in real life and if just one child recognised their own plight by watching Whitney’s, and then sought help, then surely that can be nothing but positive?

As I and many others pointed out then too, we all have an off button on our TV sets and if we don’t want our children to watch EastEnders, we should simply disallow it.

What do you think of Ofcom’s decision?