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"The BBC has responded to comments that Doctor Who is &amp;#039;thunderously racist&amp;#039;. A new collection of essays titled &amp;#039;Doctor Who and Race&amp;#039; claims that the sci-fi programme is racist for failing to cast a black or Asian actor as the Time Lord and accuses the title character of being dismissive of black companions.  The BBC has responded to the accusations - which fans have branded &amp;quot;ridiculous&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;groundless&amp;quot; - denying any racism and pointing out the &amp;quot;diverse casting&amp;quot; of the series. It said: &amp;quot;Doctor Who has a strong track record of diverse casting among both regular and guest cast. Freema Agyeman became the first black companion and Noel Clarke starred in a major role for five years [Mickey Smith].&amp;quot; The essays also blast the programme for its &amp;#039;outdated attitudes&amp;#039; amid suggestions that primitive cultures are portrayed as &amp;#039;savages&amp;#039;. The anthology&amp;#039;s editor Lindy Orthia said: &amp;quot;The biggest elephant in the room is the problem privately nursed by many fans of loving a TV show when it is thunderingly racist.&amp;quot; The BBC added that characters are cast based on their acting ability and not their ethnicity. A spokesperson said: &amp;quot;Reflecting the diversity of the UK is a duty of the BBC, and casting on Doctor Who is colour-blind. It is always about the best actors for the roles.&amp;quot; "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/doctor-who/news/a484820/bbc-denies-doctor-who-racism-allegations/>