A Doctor Who writer has been axed over "transphobic" tweets he wrote in 2017.
Gareth Roberts was commissioned to write part of an anthology of the popular series.
The author, who announced his dismissal in a blog post, said publisher BBC Books “immediately folded” to pressure to drop him.
He defended the two-year-old tweets by saying they were made in "cheerful vulgarity".
Roberts said that as a gay man he "rejects restrictive cultural gender stereotypes" and that he doesn't believe in gender identity.
The author shared screenshots of the tweets in question as he announced his dismissal on online publishing platform Medium.
He wrote: “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.”
"I don’t believe in gender identity. It is impossible for a person to change their biological sex. I don’t believe anybody is born in the wrong body."
Roberts has previously written for the TV series, including episodes for David Tennant, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi, the BBC said.
BBC Books's parent company Ebury confirmed to the broadcaster that his contribution to Doctor Who: Target Storybook will not be included.
His dismissal sparked a debate on Twitter.
Toby Young, author and associate editor of The Spectator, said the decision was "shocking" and called it an "affront to free speech".
Susie Day, one of the co-authors of the anthology, protested about Roberts' inclusion, saying that "being involved felt like a tacit endorsement of his views. Big nope.”
And Bethany Black, the first trans actor in Doctor Who, praised the decision to remove him, saying: “Gareth Roberts lost his spot in a Doctor Who anthology because of transphobic comments he made. Good.”
