{"id":309915,"date":"2011-03-15T02:04:59","date_gmt":"2011-03-15T02:04:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/03\/15\/itv-chief-brian-tru-may-suspended-for-keeping-ethnic-minorities-out-of-midsomer-murders\/"},"modified":"2011-03-15T02:04:59","modified_gmt":"2011-03-15T02:04:59","slug":"itv-chief-brian-tru-may-suspended-for-keeping-ethnic-minorities-out-of-midsomer-murders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/15\/itv-chief-brian-tru-may-suspended-for-keeping-ethnic-minorities-out-of-midsomer-murders\/","title":{"rendered":"ITV chief Brian Tru-May suspended for keeping ethnic minorities out of Midsomer murders"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n<\/p>\n

\nBy
\nPaul Revoir<\/a>
Last updated at 12:29 AM on 15th March 2011<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n\"Suspended:<\/p>\n

Suspended: Brian Tru-May made the comments in an interview with the Radio Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

It’s no secret that you don\u2019t see many black or Asian faces on Midsomer Murders.<\/p>\n

But a row blew up yesterday after the co-creator of the series revealed the reason why \u2013 he deliberately keeps ethnic minority characters out of storylines.<\/p>\n

Brian True-May, the ITV drama\u2019s executive producer, found himself suspended after he said he did not use black or Asian people in the series because ‘it wouldn\u2019t be an English village with them’.<\/p>\n

He described Midsomer Murders as the ‘last bastion of Englishness’ which relied on an ‘English genteel eccentricity’, claiming it ‘wouldn\u2019t work’ if it suggested there was racial diversity in village life.<\/p>\n

Other long running serials, including BBC Radio 4’s The Archers, have been criticised over ‘tokenism’ when they have included ethnic characters.<\/p>\n

Mr True-May told the Radio Times if he had more minority cast members ‘we might be in Slough’.<\/p>\n

Last night, amid mounting fury from charities and campaigners, the production company behind the show \u2013 All3Media \u2013 suspended the TV executive. ITV said it was ‘shocked and appalled’ at his remarks.<\/p>\n

Midsomer Murders, based on the books by Caroline Graham, was launched in 1997 and has featured 251 deaths, 222 of which were murders. The series returns this week with a new star replacing actor John Nettles who played the central character, DCI Tom Barnaby.<\/p>\n

Mr True-May said: ‘When I talk to people and other nations they love John Nettles, but they also love the premise of the show.\n<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘They love the perceived English genteel eccentricity. It\u2019s not British, it’s very English. <\/p>\n

‘We are a cosmopolitan society in this country, but if you watch Midsomer you wouldn\u2019t think so. I\u2019ve never been picked up on that, but quite honestly I wouldn\u2019t want to change it.’<\/p>\n

When asked to clarify what he meant, he added. ‘Well, we just don\u2019t have ethnic minorities involved. Because it wouldn\u2019t be the English village with them. It just wouldn\u2019t work. Suddenly we might be in Slough. <\/p>\n

\n\"Popular:<\/p>\n

Popular: Actors John Nettles as DCI Tom Barnaby and Jason Hughes as DS Ben Jones in Midsomer Murders <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

‘Ironically, Causton the fictional local town in Midsomer Murders is supposed to be Slough. And if you went in to Slough you wouldn\u2019t see a white face there. <\/p>\n

‘We\u2019re the last bastion of Englishness and I want to keep it that way.’ <\/p>\n

He admitted that Englishness should include other races, but added: ‘Maybe I\u2019m not politically correct’. <\/p>\n

Mr True-May, who lives in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, near where parts of the show are filmed, added: ‘I\u2019m trying to make something that appeals to a certain audience, which seems to succeed. And I don\u2019t want to change it.’ <\/p>\n

\n\"Criticism:<\/p>\n

Criticism: Mark Damazer, Radio 4’s former controller, said radio shows need to better reflect realism <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Campaigners accused the executive of trying to ‘wipe’ ethnic minorities ‘off the screen’ and of ‘distorting’ the presence of black and Asian people in rural areas. <\/p>\n

Rob Berkeley, of race equality think tank, the Runnymede Trust said: ‘Clearly, as a fictional work, the producers of\u00a0 Midsomer Murders are entitled to their flights of fancy, but to claim the English village is purely white is no longer true and not a fair reflection of our society.’ <\/p>\n

Mohammed Shafiq, of the Ramadhan Foundation, which aims to create a better understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims, said: ‘There is a wider agenda in what he is saying which is worrying for me. <\/p>\n

‘To try to wipe us or our presence off television screens is wrong and factually incorrect.’ <\/p>\n

Mr True-May last night said he had been instructed by lawyers not to comment. His tearful wife, Maureen, described his suspension as ‘ridiculous’.<\/p>\n

Villagers in Great Missenden leapt to the producer’s defence. Roy Stock, 63, said: ‘The whole reason of the show is to depict the tiny little villages of England. <\/p>\n

‘There just aren\u2019t any ethnic people around here. In everyday life in Great Missenden you wouldn\u2019t see any at all.’<\/p>\n

Last month Mark Damazer, Radio 4\u2019s former controller, said radio shows should better reflect modern British society, although he cautioned against deliberately targeting ethnic groups.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

See more here:
\nITV chief Brian Tru-May suspended for keeping ethnic minorities out of Midsomer murders<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Paul Revoir Last updated at 12:29 AM on 15th March 2011 Suspended: Brian Tru-May made the comments in an interview with the Radio Times It’s no secret that you don\u2019t see many black or Asian faces on Midsomer Murders. But a row blew up yesterday after the co-creator of the series revealed the reason why \u2013 he deliberately keeps ethnic minority characters out of storylines. Brian True-May, the ITV drama\u2019s executive producer, found himself suspended after he said he did not use black or Asian people in the series because ‘it wouldn\u2019t be an English village with them’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-309915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nITV chief Brian Tru-May suspended for keeping ethnic minorities out of Midsomer murders - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/15\/itv-chief-brian-tru-may-suspended-for-keeping-ethnic-minorities-out-of-midsomer-murders\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"ITV chief Brian Tru-May suspended for keeping ethnic minorities out of Midsomer murders - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"By Paul Revoir Last updated at 12:29 AM on 15th March 2011 Suspended: Brian Tru-May made the comments in an interview with the Radio Times It's no secret that you don\u2019t see many black or Asian faces on Midsomer Murders. But a row blew up yesterday after the co-creator of the series revealed the reason why \u2013 he deliberately keeps ethnic minority characters out of storylines. Brian True-May, the ITV drama\u2019s executive producer, found himself suspended after he said he did not use black or Asian people in the series because 'it wouldn\u2019t be an English village with them'\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/e7802fbd304_233x423.jpg.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/15\/itv-chief-brian-tru-may-suspended-for-keeping-ethnic-minorities-out-of-midsomer-murders\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/15\/itv-chief-brian-tru-may-suspended-for-keeping-ethnic-minorities-out-of-midsomer-murders\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"ITV chief Brian Tru-May suspended for keeping ethnic minorities out of Midsomer murders\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-03-15T02:04:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/15\/itv-chief-brian-tru-may-suspended-for-keeping-ethnic-minorities-out-of-midsomer-murders\/\"},\"wordCount\":742,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/15\/itv-chief-brian-tru-may-suspended-for-keeping-ethnic-minorities-out-of-midsomer-murders\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/e7802fbd304_233x423.jpg.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/15\/itv-chief-brian-tru-may-suspended-for-keeping-ethnic-minorities-out-of-midsomer-murders\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/15\/itv-chief-brian-tru-may-suspended-for-keeping-ethnic-minorities-out-of-midsomer-murders\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/15\/itv-chief-brian-tru-may-suspended-for-keeping-ethnic-minorities-out-of-midsomer-murders\/\",\"name\":\"ITV chief Brian Tru-May suspended for keeping ethnic minorities out of Midsomer murders - Ghanamma.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/15\/itv-chief-brian-tru-may-suspended-for-keeping-ethnic-minorities-out-of-midsomer-murders\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/15\/itv-chief-brian-tru-may-suspended-for-keeping-ethnic-minorities-out-of-midsomer-murders\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/e7802fbd304_233x423.jpg.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-03-15T02:04:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/15\/itv-chief-brian-tru-may-suspended-for-keeping-ethnic-minorities-out-of-midsomer-murders\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/15\/itv-chief-brian-tru-may-suspended-for-keeping-ethnic-minorities-out-of-midsomer-murders\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/e7802fbd304_233x423.jpg.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/e7802fbd304_233x423.jpg.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/\",\"name\":\"Ghanamma.com\",\"description\":\"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"ITV chief Brian Tru-May suspended for keeping ethnic minorities out of Midsomer murders - Ghanamma.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/15\/itv-chief-brian-tru-may-suspended-for-keeping-ethnic-minorities-out-of-midsomer-murders\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"ITV chief Brian Tru-May suspended for keeping ethnic minorities out of Midsomer murders - Ghanamma.com","twitter_description":"By Paul Revoir Last updated at 12:29 AM on 15th March 2011 Suspended: Brian Tru-May made the comments in an interview with the Radio Times It's no secret that you don\u2019t see many black or Asian faces on Midsomer Murders. But a row blew up yesterday after the co-creator of the series revealed the reason why \u2013 he deliberately keeps ethnic minority characters out of storylines. Brian True-May, the ITV drama\u2019s executive producer, found himself suspended after he said he did not use black or Asian people in the series because 'it wouldn\u2019t be an English village with them'","twitter_image":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/e7802fbd304_233x423.jpg.jpg","twitter_creator":"@ghanamma","twitter_site":"@ghanamma","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/15\/itv-chief-brian-tru-may-suspended-for-keeping-ethnic-minorities-out-of-midsomer-murders\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/15\/itv-chief-brian-tru-may-suspended-for-keeping-ethnic-minorities-out-of-midsomer-murders\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"ITV chief Brian Tru-May suspended for keeping ethnic minorities out of Midsomer murders","datePublished":"2011-03-15T02:04:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/15\/itv-chief-brian-tru-may-suspended-for-keeping-ethnic-minorities-out-of-midsomer-murders\/"},"wordCount":742,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/15\/itv-chief-brian-tru-may-suspended-for-keeping-ethnic-minorities-out-of-midsomer-murders\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/e7802fbd304_233x423.jpg.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/15\/itv-chief-brian-tru-may-suspended-for-keeping-ethnic-minorities-out-of-midsomer-murders\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/15\/itv-chief-brian-tru-may-suspended-for-keeping-ethnic-minorities-out-of-midsomer-murders\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/15\/itv-chief-brian-tru-may-suspended-for-keeping-ethnic-minorities-out-of-midsomer-murders\/","name":"ITV chief Brian Tru-May suspended for keeping ethnic minorities out of Midsomer murders - Ghanamma.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/15\/itv-chief-brian-tru-may-suspended-for-keeping-ethnic-minorities-out-of-midsomer-murders\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/15\/itv-chief-brian-tru-may-suspended-for-keeping-ethnic-minorities-out-of-midsomer-murders\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/e7802fbd304_233x423.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2011-03-15T02:04:59+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/15\/itv-chief-brian-tru-may-suspended-for-keeping-ethnic-minorities-out-of-midsomer-murders\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/15\/itv-chief-brian-tru-may-suspended-for-keeping-ethnic-minorities-out-of-midsomer-murders\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/e7802fbd304_233x423.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/e7802fbd304_233x423.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/","name":"Ghanamma.com","description":"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=309915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309915\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=309915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=309915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=309915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}