BBC drama boss Piers Wenger hits back at criticism of its ‘woke’ versions of classics, insisting older stories MUST be adapted for modern audiences
- Piers Wenger said older stories must be adapted for a contemporary audience
- BBC recently adapted classic novels to appeal to diversity-obsessed viewers
- Examples from last year include The War Of The Worlds and A Christmas Carol
The BBC’s head of drama has defended criticism that it is preoccupied with appearing ‘woke’ after repurposing classic texts to boost roles for women and ethnic minorities.
Piers Wenger said older stories must be adapted for a contemporary audience.
The broadcaster recently adapted novels to appeal to diversity-obsessed viewers, swapping male leads for female stars and casting ethnic minority actors in traditionally white roles.
Examples from last year include The War Of The Worlds and A Christmas Carol.
The BBC’s head of drama Piers Wenger (pictured) said older stories must be adapted for a contemporary audience
Mr Wenger, the BBC’s controller of drama commissioning, said: ‘They were adaptations of books that were written a long time ago – hundreds of years ago – but we are repurposing them for a contemporary audience.
‘They need to speak to a contemporary audience and represent a contemporary world as well as being stories set in our past. That’s the point of adaptation. You do that with everything.
‘I really object when I hear the word ‘woke’ used in a pejorative way because what does ‘woke’ really mean?
The broadcaster recently adapted novels to appeal to diversity-obsessed viewers, swapping male leads for female stars and casting ethnic minority actors in traditionally white roles (Pictured: A Christmas Carol)
Examples from last year include The War Of The Worlds (pictured) and A Christmas Carol
‘If it means equality being important and fair representation being important then absolutely, that is important to me.
‘Whether that is what ‘woke’ means, I don’t really know, but I do think that equality, fair representation and portrayal are all things that matter hugely to the BBC and it would be a dereliction of our duty if we didn’t own those particular initiatives.’
Mr Wenger also said it would be a ‘massive loss’ and a ‘shame’ if the BBC moved to become a Netflix-style subscription service.