Doctor Who writer Gareth Roberts has been dropped from a new anthology of stories based on the TV show, over what publisher BBC Books described as “offensive language about the transgender community” on social media.
Roberts, who has written both Doctor Who TV episodes and books in the past, revealed the news himself on Tuesday in a lengthy post on Medium. He said that he had been commissioned to write the story, and had submitted it. When news of his contribution was leaked online, “a section” of the Doctor Who fandom “agitated” for his removal, and other contributors threatened to withdraw if he was involved.
“BBC Books immediately folded to these demands, and I was informed that although I would be paid, my story would not be published, as they judged – wrongly, in my opinion – that a potential boycott would make the book ‘economically unviable’,” wrote Roberts.
The gay author said the protests were down to two tweets he had made about the transgender community that he described as “cheerful vulgarity”. In 2017, he wrote: “I love how trannies choose names like Munroe, Paris and Chelsea. It’s never Julie or Bev is it?” adding, “It’s almost like a clueless gayboy’s idea of a glamorous lady. But of course it’s definitely not that.”
Doctor Who: The Target Storybook is due out in October from Ebury Publishing imprint BBC Books, featuring contributions from authors including Jenny T Colgan, Susie Day, Terrance Dicks and Matthew Sweet. Ebury confirmed on Wednesday that it would no longer feature Roberts’s work.
A spokeswoman added: “Comments made by the author on social media using offensive language about the transgender community have caused upset to Doctor Who fans and conflict with our values as a publisher.”
The decision has caused a storm on Twitter, with Roberts supported by names including Julie Bindel and Toby Young. Susie Day admitted she was one of the anthology authors to have protested about Roberts’ inclusion, saying that “being involved felt like a tacit endorsement of his views”.
“I raised my concerns, and said if he was in, I was out,” she wrote. “BBC Books made their decision. I’m grateful they took the opportunity to demonstrate that transphobic views have no place in the Whoniverse, both in and outside the stories.” Bethany Black, the first trans actor in Doctor Who, also applauded the decision.
In his Medium post, Roberts said he does not believe in gender identity, adding: “It is impossible for a person to change their biological sex. I don’t believe anybody is born in the wrong body.
“Like every other reasonable person I deplore and condemn any violence, intimidation or discrimination against any person for their beliefs or for how they present themselves, or indeed any other reason,” wrote Roberts. “I’ve rejected restrictive cultural gender stereotypes for as long as I can remember. I consider them to be very often harmful and constricting, especially for girls and women. The culture I enjoy most and the artists I like most are people who laugh at, bend and play with these roles.”
He finished by asking if BBC Books was planning to pull writing from authors including Julie Burchill, Graham Linehan, Martina Navratilova and Germaine Greer, who have also drawn criticism from the transgender community for their views.
