‘Eastenders’ producer hits back at ‘too white’ criticism
The producer of popular BBC soap opera Eastenders has said that he would rather quit his job than ‘box tick’ in order to include more ethnic minorities.
Kim and Denise (played by Tameka Empson and Diane Parish), twoo of only a few ethnic minority characters on Eastenders
The show, which features predominantly white cast has been described as ‘too white’ by critics and demands have been made for the show to increase its number of ethnic minorities.
A recent BBC Trust survey found that while London’s East End has become increasingly diverse Albert Square has failed to keep up with the times.
The report revealed that East London has twice as many minorities than was represented by the soap.
Producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins hit back at these accusations however, refusing to be pressured.
“When someone starts imposing editorial decisions, we fight back. We know what we’re doing,” he said. “The day I start box-ticking is the day I leave.”
Currently, the show features characters from various ethnic backgrounds and one of its main storylines at the moment features a Muslim family.
Comedian Richard Blackwood is also set to the join the cast of the show later this month.
However, despite this, the show is still lacking in its representation of BAMEs, and, as the media’s general lack of diversity continues to be a hot topic, with companies pledging millions to fix the problem, it is more than likely that the show will continually be criticised
