Ethnicity In Who

Nowadays Doctor Who strives to be an inclusive show. Employing people of all ethnicities and race both in front and behind the camera. But the show didn’t always have the stigma it does now. In fact, it’s been quite an uphill climb for the Doctor… 

As we’ve already established, back in 1963, Sydney Newman made history on Who by employing Verity Lambert to be the first female producer at the BBC. But he also made another milestone decision which was similarly ridiculed - He hired Waris Hussein to direct the pilot serial ‘An Unearthly Child’. This was significant because Hussein was the first Indian drama director to work at the BBC. Hussein recalled staff staring at him and laughing at how he got the job. Nowadays this would be known as industrial racism, but he, coupled with Lambert ignored the naysayers and realised their vision for the series. Hussein directed two serials between 1963 and 1964. 

Waris Hussein visiting the Doctor Who set during the filming of 'Hell Bent' in August 2015

With the exception of this milestone, Doctor Who remained a predominantly Caucasian managed show for many years, even being criticised in the 1960s and 70s for racism. The most famous incident of this is in the 1977 story ‘The Talons Of Weng-Chiang’ in which white, Caucasian actor John Bennett portrayed magician Li H’Sen Chang in make up and using an accent to make him appear Chinese. In the years since the story first aired it has been heavily criticised for this decision and while it is hard to conceive why the BBC didn’t hire a Chinese actor, it is something they had to try and justify since by marking it as ‘a sign of the time’. There were other cases, mainly in historically set stories from the 60s in which white actors would be 'blacked up'.

The character of Li H'Sen Chang in 'The Talons Of Weng-Chiang', portrayed by John Bennett 

Doctor Who didn’t become known as an ethnic diverse show until it came back in 2005. When there was a dramatic increase of more ethnic and race representation both in front and behind the camera. For example, the first black character to travel with the Doctor, Mickey Smith was introduced in 2005, a whole 42 years after the show began. 

Over the past three years Doctor Who has strived to become more ethnically diverse than ever. Having the TARDIS team consist of a young Pakistani woman and young black man, hiring a black composer and having a mix of ethnicity on the writing and behind the scenes teams. These are all steps that the show has recently taken to be more suitable for all audiences, tying into Series 12’s tagline - ‘Space. For All.’ 

Space. For All.

In the context of the show and its production history was made on January 26th 2020 when Jo Martin was revealed not only as a mysterious incarnation of the Doctor, but also as the first black actor to play the part in the shows 57 years. The reveal got an overwhelming response from fans who quickly wanted to see more of this incarnation of the Doctor

As you can see Doctor Who has always tried to break milestones and defy the expectations of the many. Something that it managed back in 1963 and it is something it is still managing to do 57 years later in 2020.