Posted in: BBC, Current News, TV | Tagged: doctor who

Doctor Who: Curtis/Newton Casting Complaints Addressed in BBC Report

The BBC released a report that also addressed some fans' casting complaints about the Doctor Who 60th anniversary special "Wild Blue Yonder."

Normally, our Doctor Who updates have lately revolved around how things are looking with the upcoming Russell T. Davies-penned 2026 Christmas Special, the questions surrounding what the original Season 2 finale was meant to be, if the BBC will team up with another streaming service, and if Davies will continue as showrunner after the special. But this is one of those "bigger picture" updates, with the BBC releasing a commissioned 80-page report examining how it has been handling diversity and representation in its programming. Stemming from former BAFTA chair Anne Morrison and ex-Ofcom executive Chris Banatvala, one of the report's (which you can check out online) key suggestions was for the BBC to avoid "tokenism" in colour-blind casting, noting that "clunky" depictions of race, though well-intended, can do more harm than good in the long run.

The report offers a number of programming examples under the topics examined, including the Doctor Who 60th anniversary special "Wild Blue Yonder," starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate. Specifically, the report notes that there were "audience complaints about 'Doctor Who' casting Nathaniel Curtis as Sir Isaac Newton in the 60th anniversary special, 'Wild Blue Yonder.'"

"The controversy over 'Doctor Who' concerned a mixed race (Indian/white) actor, Nathaniel Curtis, playing the part of Sir Isaac
Newton, a white historical figure. Some complainants argued that it would cause offence if a white person were to portray a black historical figure, and it is certainly hard to imagine a modern equivalent to Sir Lawrence Olivier 'blacking up' to play Othello," the report notes, offering the argument that was heard from some viewers regarding Nathaniel Curtis being cast as Sir Isaac Newton. The report would go on to challenge that argument, adding, "However, without colour-blind casting, the range of roles available to actors of colour would be severely restricted, in a way which would not be the case for white actors, so we find this a false equivalence."

The report continued, "In period drama, the controversy tends to be related to whether the series wants to be taken seriously as historically accurate, or whether we are in the world of fantasy (e.g., 'Bridgerton' on Netflix). Also, people sometimes assume that the history of the British Isles was entirely white, without recognising that some degree of ethnic mix has always existed." Stepping back and looking at the long-running series as a whole, the report notes that if viewers can "believe that the central character is an extra-terrestrial being who can regenerate into a range of different actors and travels in a time machine through the space-time continuum," then "a mixed-race Sir Isaac Newton seems much less of a stretch."

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