Brit ITV drama’s executive producer suspended over racism in role selection
March 15th, 2011 - 1:50 pm ICT by ANILondon, Mar 15 (ANI): Brian True-May, ITV drama Midsomer Murders’ executive producer in Britain, has been suspended over his claims that he deliberately avoided using black or Asian people in the series because “it wouldn’t be an English village with them”.
The co-creator described Midsomer Murders as the ‘last bastion of Englishness’ that relied on an ‘English genteel eccentricity’, claiming it “wouldn’t work’ if it suggested there was racial diversity in village life,” the Daily Mail reports.
True-May also said that if he had more minority cast members ‘we might be in Slough’.
“We are a cosmopolitan society in this country, but if you watch Midsomer you wouldn’t think so. I’ve never been picked up on that, but quite honestly I wouldn’t want to change it. We just don’t have ethnic minorities involved because it wouldn’t be the English village with them. It just wouldn’t work,” he added.
True-May’s comments created fury among charities and campaigners, which ultimately led All3Media, the production company behind the show, to suspend the TV executive. ITV which said it was ’shocked and appalled’ at his remarks.
Midsomer Murders, based on the books by Caroline Graham, was launched in 1997 and has featured 251 deaths, 222 of which were murders. (ANI)
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Tags: campaigners, caroline graham, cast members, charities, cosmopolitan society, daily mail, deaths, eccentricity, englishness, ethnic minorities, executive producer, itv, last bastion, london, mail reports, midsomer murders, racial diversity, racism, slough, tv executive