''Sex'', also known as ''Sex with Sophie Lee'', is an Australian

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

series that ran from 1992 to 1993 on the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

. It was hosted by

Sophie Lee Sophie Lee (born 7 August 1968)TV Hits Sophie Lee Collect-a-Card is an Australian film, stage and television actress and author. Career Lee worked as a model early in her career, both in Australia and Japan''Lunch of Blood'' by Antonella Gambo ...

in its first season and

Pamela Stephenson Pamela Helen Stephenson, Lady Connolly (born 4 December 1949) is a New Zealand-born psychologist, writer, and performer who is now a resident in both the United Kingdom and the United States. She is best known for her work as an actress and co ...

in its second. As the title of the show suggests, the program was about

sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...

and its related aspects. The series was created by Tim Clucas.

Controversy

The program caused controversy for a number of reasons, these mainly being the graphic depictions it featured of the subject and featuring such depictions in the early 8:30pm timeslot. ''Sex'' pushed boundaries, with explicit shots of genitalia, simulated sex and discussion of controversial topics such as abortion and homosexuality. Viewer reaction to ''Sex'' varied. Some saw the program as useful and valid television, while others felt uncomfortable or found the program exploitative.

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last thre ...

announced that it would not advertise during ''Sex'' because it wanted to be associated with "wholesome" topics. In 1993, the show was moved to a later timeslot but despite good ratings, the controversy became too much for then managing director

David Gyngell David Liam Barr Gyngell (born 1966), an Australian businessman, was the former Chief Executive Officer of Nine Entertainment Co. which owns a string of businesses including the Nine Network and Nine Radio. Gyngell was the CEO of the Nine Networ ...

, who announced its departure on the ''

Midday Noon (or midday) is 12 12-hour clock, o'clock in the daytime. It is written as 12 noon, 12:00 m. (for 12-hour clock, meridiem, literally 12:00 noon), 12 p.m. (for 12-hour clock, post meridiem, literally "after noon"), 12 pm, or 12:00 (using a 24 ...

'' show with the final show airing on 27 May. However, the show's success sparked a similar series on

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

, ''Sex/Life'' hosted by

Tottie Goldsmith Caroline "Tottie" Goldsmith (born 27 August 1962) is an Australian actress and singer. Career Television In the early 1980s, Goldsmith acted in the Australian television series ''The Young Doctors'', '' Starting Out'', ''Prisoner'', '' Saturd ...

and

Alyssa-Jane Cook Alyssa-Jane Cook (born 16 February 1967) is an Australian actress, singer and TV presenter currently on TVSN. Actress roles She is best known for her regular role as ''Lisa Bennett'' on the Australian television soap opera '' E Street''. Sh ...

, which ran from 1994 to 1998.

Cast

's reputation for sexual appeal, from her time as host of ''

The Bugs Bunny Show ''The Bugs Bunny Show'' is a long-running American animated anthology television series hosted by Bugs Bunny that was mainly composed of theatrical '' Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' cartoons released by Warner Bros. between 1948 and 196 ...

'', delivered a very high rating for ''Sex'', a 32 share for its premiere. By the end of 1992, she became disenchanted with the show and left the program.Sophie Lee
Museum of Broadcast Communications {{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224700/http://www.museum.tv/eotv/leesophie.htm , date=3 March 2016 In 1993, comedian

took over as host, presenting in a more humorous style. At that time she was known as a performer, but in later years earned a PhD as a psychologist, specializing in the area of human sexuality. One of the reporters on the show was Dr Kerryn Phelps, who would later go on to become president of the

Australian Medical Association The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is an Australian public company by guarantee formed as a professional association for Australian doctors and medical students. The association is not run by the Australian Government and does not regul ...

and a member of parliament.

References

1990s Australian documentary television series Nine Network original programming Sex education television series 1992 Australian television series debuts 1993 Australian television series endings Television controversies in Australia Obscenity controversies in television