All of RTD's talk about "How did you not notice that everyone is white?" seems quite hypocritical when, by and large, most modern TV shows - even now - have a majority white cast with a couple of non-white faces. That's just standard for British TV.
Also, I have never put on a modern British TV show and gone "Wow. There's a diverse cast" - and I wouldn't expect to see that in Doctor Who. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of episodes of modern Doctor Who which can apparently roam anywhere in time and space, but where white people aren't the majority. (Legend of the Sea Devils, if anyone is asking)
I'm not well placed to comment on such things. I do think there's definitely a thing where being a minority is somehow seen as a sort of transitive identity - like Meera Syall being on The Real McCoy back in the 90s - and it does feel a bit like, because he's gay, RTD felt he was well-placed to write a story about race, and hmm.
But I defer to non-white fans of my acquaintance on this, and so far as I can tell they're split between "this was really well done" and "what an awful thing to make your black leading man do on his first day" so who knows really.
To be fair to RTD, I'm sure he's done the work in trying to boost and uplift non-majority writers. But the publicity spinning wheel seems to have misfired on this particular bit.
There is a bit somewhere where RTD mused on whether it was fair to make Gatwa do such a scene on his first day before he eventually decided that Gatwa was good enough an actor to make it work. And he does sell it. (And I'm sure it's not the first time he has been flabbergasted)
I likewise did not get it either. I thought it was a commentary on shallow influencer types. My wife had to point it out to me.
I also didn’t realise, and I too am admitting this in public for the first time.
All of RTD's talk about "How did you not notice that everyone is white?" seems quite hypocritical when, by and large, most modern TV shows - even now - have a majority white cast with a couple of non-white faces. That's just standard for British TV.
Also, I have never put on a modern British TV show and gone "Wow. There's a diverse cast" - and I wouldn't expect to see that in Doctor Who. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of episodes of modern Doctor Who which can apparently roam anywhere in time and space, but where white people aren't the majority. (Legend of the Sea Devils, if anyone is asking)
Still a good episode though.
I'm not well placed to comment on such things. I do think there's definitely a thing where being a minority is somehow seen as a sort of transitive identity - like Meera Syall being on The Real McCoy back in the 90s - and it does feel a bit like, because he's gay, RTD felt he was well-placed to write a story about race, and hmm.
But I defer to non-white fans of my acquaintance on this, and so far as I can tell they're split between "this was really well done" and "what an awful thing to make your black leading man do on his first day" so who knows really.
To be fair to RTD, I'm sure he's done the work in trying to boost and uplift non-majority writers. But the publicity spinning wheel seems to have misfired on this particular bit.
There is a bit somewhere where RTD mused on whether it was fair to make Gatwa do such a scene on his first day before he eventually decided that Gatwa was good enough an actor to make it work. And he does sell it. (And I'm sure it's not the first time he has been flabbergasted)