ITV's 'Doctor Who' rival too white??

Doctor who writer Russell T Davies has hit out at ITV's sci-fi show Primeval - 'for being too white'.

ITV's sci-fi rival about time-travelling dinosaurs was announced within weeks of Doctor Who's return to the BBC.

The £6m show launched last month with almost seven million viewers seeing the first episode.

The series stars Douglas Henshall as a scientist battling prehistoric monsters who turn up in central London, Ben Miller as a civil servant and former S Club star Hannah Spearritt as a zoologist.

Mr Davies described the show's 'lack of ethnic casting' as shameful.


But one TV expert denounced his comments as 'ridiculous' and a bid to gain publicity for the new series of Doctor Who, with its newly cast non-white Doctor's sidekick.


Mr Davies said ITV's decision to launch its own sci-fi show was a compliment, adding 'although you can't swear it wouldn't have been made anyway'.


But the Swansea-born writer said he deplored the lack of non-white faces on the show.


He told TV trade magazine Broadcast, 'Its (lack of) ethnic casting is shameful. I've never seen such a white show in all my born days.'


But he added, 'Apart from that I think it's excellent ... I absolutely love it.'


The third series of Doctor Who features the first ethnic minority companion in the 43-year TV history of the show with Freema Agyeman, who has an Iranian mother and Ghanaian father, as sidekick Martha Jones.


The first and second series also had a prominent black character with Noel Clarke playing Mickey Smith, Billie Piper's boyfriend.


Dr Mikel Koven, a lecturer in film and TV studies at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, said, 'I have a great deal of respect for Russell T Davies but something like that is a ridiculous comment.


'It's a very superficial argument and I think discredits the serious study of race and ethnicity within television.


'I think it's more important that Primeval, from what I've read, isn't very good.


'Why draw attention to this particular issue?'


He continued, 'I wouldn't say ITV was racist or ethnocentric. They put on what will appeal to their audience and perhaps they have an ethnocentric audience.


'But let's back up here a minute - on the eve that the new series of Doctor Who is starting, Russell T Davies is suddenly deciding that Primeval is too white, just because he's got a companion of colour?


'The same could have been said of Doctor Who last season.'


He added that the main issue of race and ethnicity in television is the struggle to get non-white actors into leading roles.


He added, 'It's having minority characters as main characters rather than them being marginalised.


'One of the reasons why I love Ugly Betty, and I really do love it, is because of that. Because you do have people of colour in New York.'


Freema Agyeman recently spoke about the issue of race in Britain, saying, 'I'm OK with where we're at.


'We've come so far, but we are still not seeing so many black faces in Parliament, we are not seeing so many black people in very high-powered positions.


'There is still a way to go, but we'll get there.'


ITV refused to comment on Mr Davies's comments and the issue of ethnicity with regard to Primeval.


Spelling bee


Ethnic diversity - or the lack of it - isn't the only bee in Russell T Davies's bonnet.


The Doctor Who writer was furious to find out that one of the show's merchandise had contained a spelling mistake.


In his interview with Broadcast magazine he said he was incensed by the error on the packaging of the Empress of Racnoss toy.


He said, 'There's a spelling mistake on the back of the Empress of Racnoss toy packaging and it drives me mad.


'Kids are buying this and there's a f****** spelling mistake on it.


'That's wrong. That won't happen again. When it's released it won't have a typo on it.'


The action figure, a giant orange space spider, has 'over 24 points of articulation' according to its manufacturers.


Doctor Who merchandise was responsible for an estimated £50m of retail sales last year.


Items include such things as a Tardis Electronic Playset, 3D Dalek money bank, sonic screwdriver LED torch, action figures and books and magazines.