Why is the BBC censuring Kenneth Clark’s ‘Civilisation’?

‘What is Civilisation? I don’t know. I can’t definite it in abstract terms – yet. But I think I can recognise it when I see it; and I am looking at it now.’ So suggested Kenneth Clark, looking towards Notre Dame at the start of Civilisation, his magisterial televisual guide through Western art, architecture, and philosophy. From the ruins of a ravaged Roman Empire to the skyscrapers of modern New York City, the series covers Clark’s ‘personal view’ of the development of European civilisation. Now, more than fifty years since its creation, the BBC has decided its viewers need protecting from this ‘personal view’.

First broadcast in 1969, Civilisation was the BBC’s first ambitious documentary series in colour. Costing £500,000 to produce, it proved a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, introducing millions to Clark’s insightful charm. Director of the National Gallery by the age of 30, Clark then made a surprise career move to head up the nascent ITV, making him perfectly quipped to write and present the 13-part epic.