diff --git a/rtv/terminal.py b/rtv/terminal.py
index 6067dcc..b1faf0e 100644
--- a/rtv/terminal.py
+++ b/rtv/terminal.py
@@ -911,7 +911,8 @@ class Terminal(object):
         # Pattern can span multiple lines, allows dot to match newline chars
         flags = re.MULTILINE | re.DOTALL
         pattern = '<!--{token}(.*?){token}-->'.format(token=TOKEN)
-        return re.sub(pattern, '', text, flags=flags).strip()
+        text = re.sub(pattern, '', text, flags=flags)
+        return re.sub( '^[\s\n]*\n', '', text, flags=flags).rstrip()
 
     def clear_screen(self):
         """
diff --git a/tests/test_terminal.py b/tests/test_terminal.py
index 4889f8d..7eac2a4 100644
--- a/tests/test_terminal.py
+++ b/tests/test_terminal.py
@@ -701,6 +701,14 @@ def test_terminal_strip_instructions(terminal):
     text = '<!--{0} instructions {0}--><!-- An HTML comment -->'.format(TOKEN)
     assert terminal.strip_instructions(text) == '<!-- An HTML comment -->'
 
+    # Whitespace at the start of the first line should be preserved
+    text = '    code\n    block\n'
+    assert terminal.strip_instructions(text) == '    code\n    block'
+
+    # But blank lines should be stripped
+    text = '\n    \n    code\n    block\n'
+    assert terminal.strip_instructions(text) == '    code\n    block'
+
 
 def test_terminal_get_link_pages(terminal):