‘I don’t want that representation to go away,’ casting director Paushali Banik warns Metro after the BBC was advised to move away from ‘clunky’ colourblind casting.
An eye-opening report commissioned by the BBC and conducted byformer Bafta chair Anne Morrison and ex-Ofcom executive Chris Banatvala urged the broadcaster to move away from ‘tokenistic’ casting and ‘preachy’ plotlines
The 80-page report delved into portrayal and representation on the national broadcaster and has cautioned against causing more harm over ‘clunky’ depictions of race.
Collating data from a survey of 4,518 UK adults, interviews with 100 BBC employees and observers, and an analysis of BBC content over a year-long period up to March 2024, concerns were raised over ‘ethnic diversity looking forced and tick-box.’
It also highlighted worries over the ‘erasure of history’ through anachronistic casting of people of colour in high-society positions in period dramas.
Especially when it comes to storytelling, it added: ‘Unless it’s very skilfully done, there is a danger it will feel overly didactic and preachy, as if the viewer is being lectured or a point is being made heavy-handedly.’
Following the findings, Kate Philips, the BBC’s chief content officer, reiterated the network’s commitment to ‘going further to meaningfully reflect the lives of the audiences we serve.’
‘You’re always going to have that resistance, but you need to be very clear in making everybody feel a part of Britain.’
For Elaine Cunningham Walker, Education and Cultural Strategist, she welcomes this report and the ‘very necessary conversation’, as she tells Metro.
‘We all say representation matters, but I also feel that the report reflects what creatives are feeling, and that [is that] inclusion only works when it’s intentional. It shouldn’t feel rushed in any way. It shouldn’t feel performative in any way,’ she shares.
The report pointed to mixed-race actor Nathaniel Curtis’ role as Isaac Newton in Doctor Who and David Jonsson in Agatha Christie’s Murder Is Easy (which involved an anti-colonial storyline) as examples of when audiences have complained.
Reflecting on wider audience backlash, Elaine adds that when it comes to ‘keyboard warriors [they] can say a lot of things, and you’re always going to have that resistance, but you need to be very clear in making everybody feel a part of Britain.’
As the report points out, the idea of a mixed-race man as Isaac Newton ‘seems much less of a stretch’ in a show about a time-travelling alien who regenerates into new faces.
Paushali, who has worked as a casting associate for years on projects such as Silent Witness, The Long Shadow and Practical Magic, explains that in the casting room they’re just looking for ‘actors that are great for that role, whether they are people of colour or not.’
She agrees that ‘with period drama shows that come about, they often have characters [of colour] and that’s where it gets a little tricky. If we are casting actors of colour, then it needs to be quite nuanced. It needs to be right.
‘Colour-blind casting really did open up the world, but I think it just needs to be looked into.’
‘If the character is not written into the show originally, and we’re bringing on an actor of colour just to tick a box, that can become difficult, because it goes into this problem of the writers and the researchers trying to fit it in. ‘
She recalls one time it landed on the actor on set, ‘to be part of the research team, which becomes another conversation.’
‘These people deserve to be there, but if it’s not the right role, or if it’s not the right story (that has enough actual research behind it), then it just falls back on the actor and jeopardises their future,’ she says.
Although Paushali believes the BBC report is sparking the right conversation, she makes clear that this should mean more funding for meaningful representation, rather than just abandoning ship and regressing.
As she puts it: ‘I don’t want the idea [of preachy storylines or tokenistic characters] to take away the opportunities for people of colour. I don’t want that [representation] to go away.
‘Projects like Bridgerton definitely opened the doors to so many more actors [who] never really had the chance or felt that they could be seen.
‘Nathaniel Curtis as Isaac Newton in stories like Doctor Who. That’s something that we need to do more of.’
‘I see so many more people of South Asian descent and other POCs just coming and really giving it their best and feeling confident to do so because it’s no longer the stereotypical role. We can see ourselves everywhere,
‘Colour-blind casting really did open up the world, but I think it just needs to be looked into.’
She believes the BBC needs to be properly investing in a comprehensive research team and that every show should be looked at on a case-by-case basis.
‘The right way of going about it is having characters like Nathaniel Curtis as Isaac Newton in stories like Doctor Who. That’s something that we need to do more of,’ she says.
Meanwhile, both Paushali and Elaine point out that people of colour very much have a place in history, and there desparately need to be more culturally specific stories told, rather than just ‘trying to add it in as a storyline.’
‘Historically, we’ve only focused on the struggle of [marginalised] people, but actually, there were many successes as well,’ Elaine adds.
Right now, the BBC seem dedicated to ‘authentically reflecting the lives of all the communities, classes, and cultures across the UK,’ as BBC chair Samir Shah said.
What that future looks like remains to be seen.
Metro has reached out to David Jonsson and Nathaniel Curtis’ representatives for comment.
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