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26/7/05
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Page 19
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idealised form of ‘Britishness’ – a Britishness that, for
some people, has to have a white face.
For me, this is what will stand in the way of a black
Bond or Doctor reaching our screens any time in the
near future. Until Britain is prepared to accept a black
face as being in some way representative of the
country, it will not be widely accepted in a role that
is seen as being idiosyncratically British. We can
speculate and fantasise about a black Sherlock Holmes
or a black Roy of the Rovers, but it would be nothing
more than an interesting parlour game. To retrospectively change these characters’
ethnicity would be to destroy
their plausibility, or to create
new characters entirely.
On the other hand, a
black Bond or Doctor
Who is a logical
possibility – The Doctor
changes appearance on a
regular basis; Bond has
grown and developed
before our very eyes as the years have passed. But it
is a possibility that won’t become a reality until the
British people change their perception of Britain as a
‘white nation’. Maybe it was once, but it isn’t
anymore. Of course, the makers of these series could
push the process along by casting a black actor in
one of the roles and having the courage to stand by
their decision against the inevitable barrage of
criticism and charges of ‘tokenism’ and political
correctness. But I’ll believe that when I see it.
Until then it will be the same old Doctor and
the same old Bond. And when the
next 007 is finally announced, I
will be reminded of his arch
enemy Blofeld’s classic
line: “Ah, Mr Bond
…I’ve been expecting
you.”
Who would you choose to
be your black Doctor or
your black Bond? Let us
know in the usual way
email, fax, phone or by
post.