"Behind the sofa" is a British pop culture phrase, used as a metaphor to describe the actions that a state of fear may drive a person to — i.e., a child hiding behind the sofa to avoid a frightening television programme. Although the phrase is sometimes employed in a serious context, its use is usually intended to be humorous and/or nostalgic. Popular culture, or pop culture, is the vernacular (peoples) culture that prevails in a modern society. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

The expression originated from popular media commentary on young children being frightened by episodes of the BBC science-fiction television series Doctor Who, particularly during the 1970s. The apocryphal idea arose in the media that young children would hide behind furniture when especially frightening scenes were being shown, as they were unwilling to miss the programme altogether.^[1] The phrase is strongly associated with Doctor Who in the United Kingdom, so much so that in 1991 the Museum of the Moving Image in London named their exhibition celebrating the programme "Behind the Sofa." The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion... Doctor Who is a long-running British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC, (and a 1996 television movie). ... The Museum of the Moving Image (MOMI) was a museum of the history of moving picture technology and media, including cinema and its forerunners, opened in 1988 and sited below Waterloo Bridge and forming part of the cultural complex on the South Bank of the River Thames, London. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

"Everyone remembers hiding behind the sofa,"^[2] journalist Sinclair McKay wrote of the programme during its thirtieth anniversary year of 1993. "Remember hiding behind the sofa every time Dr Who came on the television?"^[3] the Daily Mirror newspaper asked its readers in a feature article two years later. In a 2006 interview with Sky News, Prince Andrew, Duke of York said that he hid from Daleks behind a Windsor Castle settee while watching Doctor Who as a child.^[4] The Economist has presented "hiding behind the sofa whenever the Daleks appear" as a British cultural institution on par with Bovril and tea-time.^[5] Alternate newspaper: The Daily Mirror (Australia) The Daily Mirror is a popular British tabloid daily newspaper. ... Sky News is a British television News which was founded in February 1989 as part of the four channel Sky Television network. ... The Prince Andrew, Duke of York, KG, KCVO, ADC(P) (Andrew Albert Christian Edward Mountbatten-Windsor; born Windsor, 19 February 1960) is a member of the British Royal Family, the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II. He has held the title of Duke of York since 1986. ... The Daleks (pronounced DAH-lecks; IPA: ) are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Windsor castle, a thousand-year-old fortress transformed into a royal palace. ... The Economist is a weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd and edited in London, UK. It has been in continuous publication since September 1843. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Tea (the meal, as opposed to the beverage), means different things in different countries. ...

Paul Parsons, author of The Science of Doctor Who, explains the appeal of hiding behind the sofa as the activation of the fear response in the amygdala in conjunction with reassurances of safety from the brain's frontal lobe.^[6] Look up Amygdala in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The frontal lobe is an area in the brain of vertebrates. ...

The phrase has also found more general usage in the UK as a humorous or satirical metaphor for being in a state of fear or terror. For example, after he was sacked as the presenter of the comedy programme Have I Got News For You in 2002 due to revelations about his private life, Angus Deayton released a press statement which concluded: "I sincerely wish the show well in the future and look forward to watching this Friday's episode — from behind the sofa."^[7] Another example comes from sports coverage; in a live text commentary on a cricket match in the 2005 Ashes series for the Guardian Unlimited website, journalist Rob Smyth wrote of one moment during the game: "Now that Warne's gone, it's safe for Gilo to come out from behind the sofa: his second ball is chipped tantalisingly over the blundering Hoggard at mid-off by Gillespie."^[8] This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Gordon Angus Deayton (born January 6, 1956) is an English comic actor and television presenter. ... For the insect, see Cricket (insect). ... The Ashes urn This page is about the mens Ashes cricket contest. ... Front page of Guardian Unlimited from August 16, 2005 Guardian Unlimited is a British website owned by the Guardian Media Group. ...

In scripted programming, a reference occurred in a 2001 episode of the BBC sitcom Coupling, where the central character Steve, while extolling the virtues of a sofa, remarks on its usefulness in avoiding Daleks.^[9] A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. ... Coupling is a British television sitcom written by Steven Moffat that aired on BBC2 from May 2000 to 2004. ... Daleks can refer to either: Plural of Dalek, the fictional robot; or Daleks (video game). ...

External links

• Behind the Sofa The Collaborative Doctor Who Blog

References