Ethnicity and TV Drama

The right ethnic mix

Introducing the Masoods to EastEnders is the latest attempt to make TV more diverse - on-screen and off

The director shouts "Cut!" - and wardrobe, props and make-up people swarm the set. One of the principal actors beckons me over and asks: "Can you pronounce it for us again?" As I say "Alhumdulillah" (praise to God) the rest of the cast repeat it over and over until they are satisfied it sounds right. In the meantime, I am pulled into a discussion about the Indian sweets on set: are they the right ones; by tradition, which character would give them to whom?

I am not on the set of a British Asian film, but rather at the studios of EastEnders. For six months I have been working as one of a group of occasional consultants: looking over scripts, sometimes being on set, and advising on aspects of British Asian culture relating to the Masoods.

Playing unsafe

Albert Square's previous Asian family, the Ferreiras, were criticised as boring and unrealistic - their first names were a mixture of Muslim and Hindu, their surname was Portuguese. "We admittedly came under the spotlight with the Ferreiras," says John Yorke, the BBC's controller of drama production. "We played safe with them and ultimately didn't give them good story lines. We're certainly not doing that with the Masoods, but the devil is in the detail and now pretty much everything we write for them that has a cultural or religious aspect is checked."

While the Ferreiras were "safe", the Masoods' current story line is at the other end of the scale - with the elder son, Syed, embarking on a gay affair. "Part of the reason we chose the Masoods is that it does present us with a whole new set of taboos," admits Yorke. However, he says merely being able to feature such an issue is a positive sign. "Post 9/11, Muslim characters in drama became either saint or terrorist - there was no middle ground. But the fact that we can now actually do a gay Muslim story line is testament to exactly how much we've moved on."

EastEnders is the third most popular series among ethnic minorities, according to Barb, the audience ratings body, behind The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent: on average 43% of the non-white TV viewing audience watch the programme. It also has a long history of featuring black and Asian characters: the first episode included a Turkish cafe owner.

And although cliched roles in soaps and primetime dramas also still exist, ethnic minority representation in drama has advanced across the board over the last decade or so with dramas such as the recent Moses Jones, which focused on issues in London's Ugandan community, and characters such as Anwar in Skins.

But Coronation Street's key Asian character, Dev, is rarely seen through the prism of his religion, and Channel 4's Hollyoaks takes a similar approach with its black and Asian characters. Does that make characters less realistic? Lucy Allan, series producer on Hollyoaks, says the show is keen not to hammer home ethnicity. "We recently had a skin bleaching story line around one of our female Asian characters, and obviously that is a culturally specific issue and it had a big reaction; some viewers were shocked, others identified with it. But as a rule we don't look at any of our ethnic minority characters in terms of just their ethnicity, and if the online viewer forums are anything to go by, we've got it right."

Research and consultation are employed by most broadcasters when it comes to black and Asian characters. But while this is a short cut to accuracy, it would perhaps not be necessary if there were more off-screen talent diversity.

Ade Rawcliffe, diversity and talent manager for Channel 4, believes there is still not enough representation behind the camera. "We're trying hard to make it easier to get in, to make it not about who your dad is, but there is still a way to go. There is no shortage of people from minorities looking to get into the industry, but finding and nurturing that talent is key."

Black Doctor Who

For Ben Stephenson, the BBC's controller of drama commissioning, on-screen representation is potentially even more important than off-screen in terms of attracting minorities to the industry. "The more on-screen we can do with

minorities, the more those groups will feel like television is a realistic part of their experience and therefore a career option for them."

Stephenson insists that desire for more minority representation was not behind the casting of a black actor as Friar Tuck in Robin Hood. "Obviously you wouldn't cast a black actress in the role of, say, Margaret Thatcher but in a fantasy series like Robin Hood you've got leeway to play around with the characters. Similarly with Doctor Who - it's the least of our concerns whether the Doctor is black or white, it really is just about who is right for the part."

Yorke agrees that on-screen portrayal has improved, but acknowledges that diversity in the off-screen teams is still an issue. "We're working hard to rectify that, and what we really need is a long-term strategic investment in talent."

Things are changing - but given that one writer recently asked me "exactly how this praying five times a day works", there is some way to go before the industry can be sure that a lack of off-screen diversity is no longer an issue

Representation of Gender and Ethnicity in TV Drama: MisfitsJanuary 15, 2011

After studying in great detail the representation of people from different ethnicities, genders, sexualities and other sub cultures across the enitre media, including advertising, film, newspaper and television, we have eventually moved on to something more specific in the form of the TV drama Misfits.We were told to pick out stereotypes, note whether or not the conform to gender/ethnic lines, pen examples of where obvious stereotypes appear in the show and make references to the scenes in which they crop up, paying attention to lighting, mise-en-scene and dialogue.

Beginning in episode one, an obvious stereotype appears almost instantly, however it is one that many of the viewers would not recognise, given the racial spread of the programme naturally. It is the White, middle-class, middle-aged professional man who runs the centre that the misfits work for. He turns up in his moderately smart clothes, with his hair slicked back and walks about the place as if he is better than the others. His character almost conforms to the gender lines set by the media. He is careless and seems to be emotionless, only caring for himself.The second is the coloured man, Curtis. In the first few episodes, he is portrayed as what the americans call a ‘buck’ – a violent black male who is irrational and overconfident. In the first episode, Curtis wields a number of different weapons

and ultimately beats someone round the head with an industrial sized wrench. Curtis also displays a primitive aura in most shots inside the community service centre, as if he is the natural born leader, however this is not a stereotypical aspect. In addition to this, Curtis seeks sexual attention a lot from his girlfriend Alysha, again fitting in the American ‘buck’ stereotype. Also, he attacks Simon, one of his closer screenmates. His character seems to be the only one who tries to do anything differently, for instance, he does not wear his overalls done-up to the top.There are only two cast members from different ethnic backgrounds: Curtis and his girlfriend Alysha. Alysha herself is actually portrayed as a ‘jezebel’ – a hypersexualised woman, though this trait has been forced upon her by the powers the misfits have gained. Alysha is almost used as a sex toy amongst different characters, but surprisingly, not often with her boyfriend Curtis. She is part of many sex scenes in the programme and portrayed as lustfully and sexually as possible by the directors.It can be said that there is a fair representation of gender and ethnicity in Misfits, because there are 3 males and 3 females (as of episode 4) and 2 coloured and 2 white characters. (3 coloured as of episode 4). However, the issue of mental health is addressed almost immediately in the first episode and continued throughout the series through Simon. The misfits think that there is something wrong with him and treat him differently, in an attempt to treat him more fairly. The fact is, he is fine, just much more intelligent than the others. Their feeble attempt at consolation seems as if it is hurtful to him.In general, the cross-representation in Misfits is fair and unbiased, but of course, to present the characters with depth and individuality, they veer off the course every once in a while to fulfil a plot objective

Midsomer Murders producer suspended over diversity remarks

Co-creator Brian True-May said ITV crime drama 'wouldn't be English village' if it featured minority groups

Midsomer is 'the last bastion of Englishness' and 'wouldn't work' if ethnic minorities were involved, said Brian True-May. Photograph: Mark Bourdillon/Bentley Productions

The producer of one of ITV1's best-known crime dramas, Midsomer Murders, has been suspended from his job after he suggested in an interview that there was no place in the programme for ethnic minorities and it was the "last bastion of Englishness".

Brian True-May, the co-creator of the show which began on ITV in 1997, said the series "wouldn't work" if there was any racial diversity portrayed in the sleepy village life of the fictional county of Midsomer.

Production company All3Media has suspended True-May while it conducts an inquiry and an ITV spokesman said the broadcaster was "shocked and appalled" by his comments.

"We just don't have ethnic minorities involved. Because it wouldn't be the English village with them," True-May said in an interview with the Radio Times. "It just wouldn't work. Suddenly we might be in Slough ... We're the last bastion of Englishness and I want to keep it that way."

An ITV spokesman said: "We are shocked and appalled at these personal comments by Brian True-May which are absolutely not shared by anyone at ITV.

"We are in urgent discussions with All3Media, the producer of Midsomer Murders, who have informed us that they have launched an immediate investigation into the matter and have suspended Mr True-May pending the outcome."

True-May was speaking to the Radio Times in advance of the new series of the drama, which returns to ITV1 next week. Originally based on the books by

Caroline Graham, Midsomer Murders has so far featured 251 deaths, 222 of which were murder.

The show's original star, John Nettles, previously best-known for his title role in another long-running crime drama, BBC1's Bergerac, appeared in the last of his 82 episodes last month. He will be replaced in the leading role by Neil Dudgeon playing John Barnaby, the cousin of Nettles' original inspector Tom Barnaby.

Perhaps anticipating criticism of his comments, True-May admitted: "Maybe I'm not politically correct ... I'm trying to make something that appeals to a certain audience, which seems to succeed. And I don't want to change it."

The race equality thinktank the Runnymede Trust said True-May's comments were out of date and no longer reflected English society.

"Clearly, as a fictional work, the producers of Midsomer Murders are entitled to their flights of fancy, but to claim that the English village is purely white is no longer true and not a fair reflection of our society, particularly to this show's large international audience," said the trust's director Rob Berkeley. "It is not a major surprise that ethnic minority people choose not to watch a show that excludes them."

True-May has also banned swearing, graphic violence and sex scenes from the show, but his idyllic formula does not stop challenging storylines or other elements of diversity which do not involve ethnicity.

"If it's incest, blackmail, lesbianism, homosexuality ... terrific, put it in, because people can believe that people can murder for any of those reasons," he said.

Not all of the programme's cast appeared to agree with the programme's producer. Actor Jason Hughes, who plays sidekick DS Jones and starred as Warren in BBC2's This Life, said: "This isn't an urban drama and it isn't about multiculturalism. That's not to say that there isn't a place for multiculturalism in the show.

"But that's really not up to me to decide. I don't think that we would all suddenly go, 'a black gardener in Midsomer? You can't have that'. I think we'd all go, 'great, fantastic'."

TV matters: Midsomer Murders

The diversity row over Midsomer Murders points up TV drama's enforced doctrine of realism

The controversy over producer Brian True-May's declaration of Midsomer Murders as an all-white zone has largely turned on whether he has the excuse of historical or geographic accuracy: that a stereotypical English village of the kind depicted might well be culturally monotone.

But a larger issue arises for television drama. In the unlikely event that Caroline Graham's novels were adapted for the National Theatre or the RSC, the objections to the TV version would not apply. Most UK theatres now operate a "colour-blind casting" policy so that, for example, in the National's current Frankenstein, a white son has a non-white father, with no narrative point (such as adoption) being made.

This practice is largely accepted. But imagine the fury on Points of View if a small-screen Anglo-Caribbean Elizabeth Bennet sat at the dining table with her white parents. The main reason for this difference is that television has accepted a dogmatic doctrine of realism. The native dialect on feedback shows and blogs and the Radio Times letters page is outraged correction of the uniform a certain regiment would have worn, or the incorrect address to a duchess spotted in a costume drama.

This fact-checking mentality is encouraged partly because TV has strongly journalistic terms of engagement: a drama is likely to be preceded or followed by a documentary or news bulletin. So a tyranny of accuracy descends to fiction, solidified by the ease with which telly pedantry can be expressed. A theatre-goer who dislikes a cross-racial production of Chekhov sends a letter to the stage door. The spotter of an alleged solecism in a small-screen Austen has numerous newspapers paying court.

The consequence, though, is that deliberately inclusive casting becomes almost impossible and the UK's large talent-base of non-white actors is left reliant for work on dramas about the slave trade or police and medical soaps with a contemporary urban setting. Someone should try a colour-blind costume drama, even if the audience screams Midsomer Murder.