Idris Elba’s Luther isn’t black enough to be real says BBC diversity chief
TV DETECTIVE Luther has been branded unbelievable – because he “isn’t black enough”.
BBC diversity chief Miranda Wayland said the popular maverick cop character, played by acclaimed actor Idris Elba, “does not feel authentic” as he doesn’t eat Caribbean food or have black friends.
Idris, 48, has won a Golden Globe Best Actor award and recognition from a leading American civil rights organisation for his portrayal of the obsessive and unorthodox police detective John Luther.
The hard-hitting BBC1 crime drama has won plaudits too for having a strong black lead character.
But Ms Wayland is not convinced and said: “When [Luther] first came out everybody loved the fact that Idris Elba was in there – a really strong, black character lead.
“We all fell in love with him. Who didn’t, right?
“But after you got into about the second series, you got kind of like, ‘OK, he doesn’t have any black friends, he doesn’t eat any Caribbean food, this doesn’t feel authentic’.”
Ms Wayland added diversity was an opportunity to “bring an edge to storytelling” and move away from stereotypes.
She was appointed the BBC’s Head of Creative Diversity last year to strengthen the corporation’s “commitment to leading the way and delivering even more on-air diversity”.
She reports directly to former TV presenter June Sarpong, who is now the BBC’s Director of Creative Diversity.
It emerged last year that BBC bosses discuss diversity in “every conversation” about new programmes and the issue is “non-negotiable”.
It will spend £100million of its content budget on diverse programming over three years, following protests from Black Lives Matter activists last summer.
But it played down Ms Wayland’s criticism of one of its most popular shows. A BBC spokeswoman said: “The iconic role of DCI John Luther has become one of TV’s most powerful detective characters, of which we are tremendously proud.”
Luther, which first hit the screens in 2010, pulled in audiences of up to 10 million across its five series.
Audiences in more than 200 countries worldwide have also tuned in to watch the brilliant but dysfunctional detective do battle with his psychopathic adversary Alice Morgan, played by Ruth Wilson. A Luther movie is now planned, starring Idris again in the title role. Filming is expected to begin later this year.
The show’s creator and writer Neil Cross has previously said that Idris was attracted to the role precisely because race was not a major factor in the storylines.
He revealed the character only became black when Idris was cast.
Mr Cross, who is white, explained: “I have no knowledge, or expertise, or right to try to tackle in some way the experience of being a black man in modern Britain.
“It would have been an act of tremendous arrogance for me to try to write a black character.
“We would have ended up with a slightly embarrassed, ignorant, middleclass, white writer’s idea of a black character.”
Idris has frequently condemned the lack of diversity in TV.
The London-born star said he was forced to move to America early in his career because black actors lacked opportunities here.
He shot to fame as Stringer Bell in gritty US crime drama The Wire.
After his huge success in Luther, Idris was tipped to become the next James Bond.
However, he has said he believes his chances of being picked to play 007 are remote.
More recently he revealed he had caught coronavirus during the first few months of the pandemic.