A cartoon version of Graham Norton who came prancing onto the screen to promote his show during the climactic cliffhanger moments of Saturday’s episode of “Doctor Who” has incurred the wrath of fans and casual viewers alike, who have protested in their thousands to the BBC.
The incident happened during the final minute of “The Time of Angels”, Saturday’s “Doctor Who” episode which saw the much anticipated return of the Weeping Angels, the popular monsters introduced in 2007’s award winning episode “Blink”, used as a device to try and prevent millions of viewers from turning over and not watching the following show, “Over the Rainbow”. Not only did it not work – with two million still switching over or off the moment the “Who” episode concluded – but the incident did nothing but enrage viewers, who felt the cliffhanger was spoiled by the silly cartoon advert.
“Why is the BBC treating its audience like idiots?” one fan wrote on Twitter, while another commented “Don’t blink or Graham Norton will catch you”. The BBC has been forced to apologise, admitting that while trailers of this kind are not uncommon, it was inappropriate for the episode concerned. “We apologise for the timing of Saturday night’s trail.” This isn’t the first time Graham Norton has been an unwelcome addition to an episode of “Doctor Who”, with the first episode of the revived series back in 2005 suffering a technical problem that caused Norton’s voice to be heard over some of the early scenes.
