You can now watch British TV's first lesbian kiss for the first time in 40 years

LONDON -- A TV drama featuring the first lesbian kiss to appear on UK television has been made available to the public for the first time in 40 years.

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Girl-- which aired in 1974 on BBC Two -- has been re-released via the BBC Store as part of its Prejudice and Pridecollection for Pride in London.

The collection is intended to explore how LGBTQ lives and communities have been represented on BBC Television through drama and comedy. 

The kiss was deemed so shocking that the BBC controller issued a special announcement prior to the broadcast. Credit: bbc images

The half-hour play told the story of Jackie (Alison Steadman), a young army recruit who is made to leave her position in the army after getting pregnant, and her affair with Chrissie (Myra Frances), her superior.

Steadman later went on to portray Mrs. Bennett in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.  

"The director, Peter Gill, was great because he didn't fuss about the fact they were two women or that they had to kiss; he said it was just a love story," Steadman said in a statement. 

The show was a landmark moment in British TV history. Credit: bbc images

"I was worried about my parents watching it, only because I thought my mum would be a bit embarrassed by comments from neighbours, but they took it well. My mum said she thought it was great and was very moved by it,” Steadman continued.   

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According to the British Film Institute (BFI), Girlwas "extremely controversial" at the time of its broadcast.

"The BBC's anxiety was evident in the decision to precede its transmission with a special announcement by the controller of BBC Two," read a post on the BFI website. 

Furthermore, the show's producer came to watch rehearsals to make certain things didn't go "too far," according to the Guardian. 

“There hasn’t been a dry eye among the secretaries who have previewed Girl in the Birmingham studios,” read a 1974 review of the show in the Guardian. 

However, viewers were shocked by the show's “depravity", with one commenting "my husband and I found it vulgar, nauseating and repulsive." 

Forty years on, the BBC describes it as "a yardstick of '70s prejudice. A milestone in TV history." 

Girl is available for purchase and download via the BBC Store. 

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