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| Alpha Centauri, a gender-fluid alien from the less serious end of the Jon Pertwee era |
Four full episodes of Doctor Who have been written by screenwriter and novelist Gareth Roberts. He who also writes Doctor Who novels and short stories, and the BBC recently asked him to write another Doctor Who short story for a new anthology. Gareth duly wrote it and submitted it. But news of his involvement leaked out and some intolerant transgender people demanded that the BBC drop him, or else.
Why? Because (in 2017) he'd tweeted a couple of "cheerfully vulgar" things that 'offended' them - namely "I love how trannies choose names like Munroe, Paris and Chelsea. It's never Julie or Bev is it?" and "It's almost like a clueless gayboy's idea of a glamorous lady. But of course it's definitely not that." (Gareth is himself gay).
And guess what? Instead of simply ignoring the censorious transgender militants or, even better, telling them to sling their hooks, BBC Books caved in.
Gareth's story will no longer be in the anthology (though the BBC will still pay him for it).
Gareth's story will no longer be in the anthology (though the BBC will still pay him for it).
Now you, like me, may think this is shocking, but take care not to bring up the BBC licence fee, as Toby Young did, or the BBC's finest will be after you:
This is shocking. It’s one thing for a commercial publisher to muzzle an author for their dissenting views on transgenderism. But for BBC Books to do it — a publicly-owned company — is an affront to free speech. Why should everyone pay the license fee if some views are censored?
Yes, it was Mark Easton, the BBC's Home Editor no less, who was on that as quick as can you say 'Nick Robinson':
BBC Books is not a publicly-owned company.
That's Toby told!
Well if they aren't owned by the BBC, what on Earth is BBC doing (presumably) selling off its brand to the private sector. Were they made to do so? By whom? Because, on the face of it, you would have to be particularly stupid not to be able to make money out of BBC Books. Even the BBC could make money out of that.
ReplyDeleteBBC Press Release, June 2006
Delete"Today John Smith, Chief Executive of BBC Worldwide Ltd, and Gail Rebuck, Chair and Chief Executive of The Random House Group, announce that The Random House Group has agreed to acquire a majority shareholding in BBC Books."
"BBC Worldwide will maintain a shareholding in BBC Books and BBC Books will continue to license relevant book publishing rights in BBC programmes. BBC Books will, as before, work within BBC editorial and commercial policy guidelines ensuring that appropriate controls are maintained over the BBC brand."
Well there's obviously something behind that...
DeleteThe BBC would never give up control over anything unless forced to. One of those dodgy Blair deals like the Formula One advertising deal.