The BBC agreed to avoid token casting of women on a new SAS drama because the story is “mainly about men”.
That’s according to the producer of “SAS: Rogue Heroes”, the new series which details the formation of the SAS unit during World War 2.
Martin Haines, the Managing Director of Kudos, an independent production company behind the show, said they had to cast appropriately given the nature of the story.
Mr Haines explained: “There is no getting away from it, it is a story mainly about men.
“We were clear, and the BBC recognised, that it wasn’t something where you could pretend that it wasn’t the case, so we sort of lent into it and celebrated it.”
Mr Haines added that the series’ writer, Steven Knight, was also clear on how the programme should accurately depict the dominance of men during the formation of the SAS.
BBC Broadcasting House in London
Ian West
The news – as first reported in the Telegraph – comes after the BBC was previously criticised for promoting a minor female character into a larger part during their 2019 adaption of the "War of the Worlds".
They have also been slammed for being too "woke" during their recent World War 2 drama "World on Fire".
The six-part series is set to feature the likes of Connor Swindells, Jack O’Connell, Alfie Allen, Sofia Boutella and Dominic West.
The show is set to air later this year.
A synopsis reads: “Cairo, 1941. David Stirling (Connor Swindells) - an eccentric young officer, hospitalised after a training exercise went wrong - is bored.
“Convinced that traditional commando units don't work, he creates a radical plan that flies in the face of all accepted rules of modern warfare.
"He fights for permission to recruit the toughest, boldest and brightest soldiers for a small undercover unit that will create mayhem behind enemy lines.
"More rebels than soldiers, Stirling's team are every bit as complicated, flawed and reckless as they are astonishingly brave and heroic.”
"SAS: Rogue Heroes" will air later this year
Kudos/BBC
