That’s why you won’t catch me anywhere near Midsomer:
At least they never had any morally troubling issues aside from the body count… Ah. Oh dear:
Controversy[edit]
In March 2011, the series’ producer, Brian True-May, was suspended by All3Media after telling the TV listings magazine Radio Times that the programme did not have any non-white characters because the series was “the last bastion of Englishness and I want to keep it that way”. When challenged about the term “Englishness” and whether that would exclude ethnic minorities, True-May responded: “Well, it should do, and maybe I’m not politically correct.” He later went on to say that he wanted to make a programme “that appeals to a certain audience, which seems to succeed.” True-May’s comments were investigated by the production company.[32] He was reinstated, having apologised “if his remarks gave unintended offence to any viewers”, but subsequently stepped down as producer. ITV said it was “shocked and appalled” at True-May’s comments, which were “absolutely not shared by anyone at ITV”.[33][34]
True-May’s replacement, Jo Wright, confirmed that she was committed to on-screen diversity when she took over the helm of the show, saying: “I feel strongly that a range of ethnic groups should be represented on screen. And that will be reflected in some of the episodes in the new series with key guest casting. I will cast the series in the same way as I always do, by starting with the best script. And a good script will include a variety of different characters.”[35] In series 15, Asian actors played central characters in the show for the first time, in the episode “Written in the Stars”.[36] Black characters also began to appear starting in that series. Beginning with series 18, the show gained an Asian member for its main cast: pathologist Kam Karimore, played by Manjinder Virk.[37] She left the show at the end of series 19.
