BBC and ITV streaming service BritBox has sparked a race row with its classic episodes of sci-fi favourite Doctor Who.

The streaming service has already rejected a number of shows from its library due to its content failing to suit a diverse modern audience.

Shows that don't appear on BritBox include BBC 1965 show Death Us Do Part, which featured scenes of bigotry, and 1970s sitcom Love Thy Neighbour, which featured a black West Indian couple living next door to a white English couple.

However, the entire available back catalogue of the classic run of Doctor Who remains on the service, despite concerns regarding the racist content in the 1977 serial The Talons of Weng-Chiang.


  • Bradley Walsh quits Doctor Who after filming this year's Christmas special

  • Doctor Who's Mandip Gill claims 'Northern accent' counts against her at auditions

The episode, which stars Tom Baker as The Fourth Doctor and Louise Jameson as companion Leela, features a white actor portraying an Asian character, with British thespian John Bennett playing villain Li H'sen Chang, and also sees the use of the slur word "ch**k".

Emma Ko, a screenwriter spokeswoman for the British East Asians in Theatre & on Screen, told The Times about the impact the episode had on her.

Ko said: "It is really hard to watch because yellowface is so unacceptable now."



  • First black Doctor Who Jo Martin is 'definitively the Doctor', confirms show boss

She added: "When you are somebody who was called a "ch**k" in your childhood, as I have been, it is so hard to hear that word and not feel immediately a trigger reaction of how wrong it is."

The episode now displays a content warning for each episode, while other potentially offensive scenes in classic sitcoms such as Fawlty Towers and Only Fools and Horses also contain a warning, noting "some offensive language of the time and upsetting scenes."

According to Mail Online , BritBox has said they are reviewing content consistently to "re-comply everything that goes on to BritBox with modern TV viewing standards."

Meanwhile, the latest season of Doctor Who saw the show break boundaries with a whole new milestone which saw the first black female Doctor revealed in the form of Jo Martin.

The sci-fi series will return for a festive special to welcome in 2021, entitled Revolution of the Daleks, which follows on from the season 12 finale that revealed the Doctor is the source of the Time Lords' ability to regenerate.

Meanwhile, Doctor Who companion Bradley Walsh is set to bow out in the special in a major TARDIS shake-up.

BritBox is available for £5.99 a month.

What do you think of the debate? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: Read Full Article