An upcoming BBC children’s sitcom that focuses on a British Chinese family has been marred by accusations of racism.
A group representing British East Asians in the film and TV industry said it was indefensible that the show should have been developed and written with little input from writers and creatives from the community.
The CBBC series Living With the Lams is about a family that runs a restaurant in Manchester and is still in development.
Members of British East Asians Working in Theatre and Screen (Beats) have seen scripts that they say perpetuate racial stereotypes and contain a “litany of orientalist cliches”.
More than 100 Beats members have signed an open letter to the BBC and the production company Twenty Twenty to complain that the enlisting of a Chinese writer as a cultural consultant had been insufficient. “We do not accept the use of cultural consultants as replacements for British East Asian writers in a show where the raison d’etre pivots on the lives of a British Chinese family,” the letter says.
It says widespread concerns about the script were ignored or dismissed, and that established British East Asian writers were told they were too inexperienced to be involved in the show.
Signatories to the letter include the actors David Yip and Jessica Henwick and the American playwright David Henry Hwang.
A spokesperson for Beats said: “We felt we could take a risk where writers could not. We had nothing to lose and everything to gain in writing this.”
When Beats saw the scripts “that sealed it for us”, the spokesperson said. “They were clearly the product of not using the right voices to make this show.”
The group was keen to stress that it did not want the show to be cancelled. It is calling for the BBC and Twenty Twenty to work with British East Asians in the industry to create “a series that is truly progressive in its representation of British East Asian family life because it succeeds in humanising them”.
The spokesperson said: “The world needs to be exposed to a realistic, nuanced and normalised representation of British East Asian people growing up.”
A BBC spokesperson said: “We’re really proud of our track record in making diverse and culturally relevant output for our young audience. We believe they deserve the best, which is why we work hard to find the most talented writers and producers to create the most entertaining and engaging shows.
“We always seek guidance, advice and expert input for culturally sensitive content. We’re still in the development stages of Living With the Lams and so the editorial process is ongoing. We do not appoint comedy writers or producers based solely on their cultural affiliations or nationality, but we’re confident that we’ll create a show that successfully reflects and celebrates this community.”
