BBC rejects 'Waking The Dead' complaint

The BBC has rejected a complaint by controversial Catholic group Opus Dei over crime drama Waking the Dead.

The organisation had accused the show, which stars Trevor Eve and Sue Johnston, of portraying a "negative and false" view of its members.

Two consecutive episodes entitled 'The Fall' featured devotees of the group taking part in a gruesome double murder .

Opus Dei said the programmes – the first of which drew an audience of 7.2 million when it was screened in January – were "defamatory" and depicted its followers as "murderers, thieves and adulterers".

But the BBC Trust's editorial standards committee ruled that the show was about individuals rather than a group, and that viewers would be aware they were watching a drama.

It also denied that the organisation had been depicted in the "stereotypical" negative manner portrayed in Dan Brown's book The Da Vinci Code, although it expressed regret that offence had been caused.