2010s: Recent Stars

2000s

People of colour on UK television in the 2000s experienced both increased visibility and ongoing challenges. Mainstream channels were still hesitant to commission truly diverse series, resulting in continued underrepresentation.

The aftermath of 9/11 saw a decline in South Asian and Muslim television representation, with television often perpetuating Islamophobic stereotypes and linking South Asians to terrorism. In a study of a week’s prime-time output on British television, seven appearances by newsreader Shulie Ghosh accounted for 30% of all Asian women in speaking roles on ITV. Four appearances by Vikram Desai in Coronation Street accounted for 40% of all Asian men on the channel.

The early 2000s also saw the persistence of racist comedy, including blackface and racialised stereotypes in shows like Little Britain and Come Fly with Me

Children's television, however, became a positive space for diversity, with the launch of CBBC in 2002 and presenters like Konnie Huq and Floella Benjamin providing on-screen representation. Many CBBC shows had diverse casts, in comparison to other BBC shows. BBC Three also launched in 2003, making strides with diverse programming, with a clear focus on younger audiences.

The show 3 Non Blondes became the first British TV show with an all-African and Caribbean female cast. Jocelyn Jee Esien became the first African and Caribbean woman to write and star in her own comedy series in 2006. In 2009, an all-African and Caribbean cast episode of EastEnders aired. Despite this achievement, there were allegedly no people of colour behind the scenes.

Alongside the increased diversity in children’s television, reality television has also been shown to be more diverse than other television media. Shows like Big Brother or The Great British Bake Off were hugely popular and tended to have contestants from different racial and socio-economic backgrounds. Nevertheless, Reality television has also evidenced the stark racism of the British public and contestants on these shows. In 2007, series five of Celebrity Big Brother had a huge racism controversy, resulting in 44,500 Ofcom complaints. Racism in reality TV has continued to come to light, on shows such as X-Factor, Love Island, and The Traitors have also shown that there is race and age discrimination among contestants on reality television. While representation was still constrained, the introduction of CBBC and BBC3 allowed greater opportunities, presence, and engagement for marginalised groups.

2010-2016

From 2010 to 2016, the representation of people of colour on British television saw both progress and setbacks. Notable shows emerged during this period, reflecting an increasing diversity in storytelling. For instance, Luther, which premiered in 2010, garnered critical acclaim for Idris Elba's powerful performance, while Top Boy debuted in 2011, with a predominantly African and Caribbean cast. Michaela Coel's Chewing Gum, created in 2015, was a significant African and Caribbean female-led comedy and had a unique style of storytelling.

Amid television diversity schemes, Samir Shah said the BBC relied on tokenism in its programming. He controversially phrased this by saying there are “too many” people of colour on our screens, in inauthentic roles. While soap dramas like EastEnders and Coronation Street began to tell more established stories of African and Caribbean and Asian families, comedies like Citizen Khan still relied heavily on stereotypes.

Humans (2015), a Channel 4 science fiction drama, is another example of more diverse casting on our television screens, with Gemma Chan playing one of the lead roles.

Nevertheless, the representation of East and Southeast Asians remained notably low, highlighting ongoing issues of diversity within the industry. Reports indicated a decline in the employment of African,Caribbean and Asian people in film and television, from 7.4% in 2009 to 5.4% in 2012, underscoring the need for sustained change. Amidst this landscape, younger audiences increasingly turned to platforms like YouTube and streaming services such as Netflix for more diverse content. The budget for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport was reduced by a quarter in 2015, resulting in cuts to regional broadcasting, restructures, and television budget cuts.

However, the Creative Diversity Network launched in 2015 to address diversity on and off screen. Their extensive data collection has led to their Diamond Reports, which analyse demographic data in the screen industries.

This exhibition time period is from 1950 to 2016, and is being created ten years after its cut-off point. The cultural, political, social and economic landscape is very different. In 2016, Donald Trump won the US presidential election, and the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum led to the UK leaving the EU.

Pushes for diversity after 2020 and the Black Lives Matter movement have often lacked depth, revealing a gap between symbolic inclusion and meaningful representation on British television. Any sustained, meaningful change in commissioning diverse programming from then on is questionable. “ Black British TV makers are 'fighting over scraps' because of the lack of opportunities, industry figures have said, arguing that conditions are worse now than before the Black Lives Matter movement that emerged in 2020.” Many African and Caribbean creatives feel their work is used in an exractivist way, and that broadcasters feel like they no longer need to make the effort, according to Lanre Bakare’s 2025 article.

The 2010s also saw the beginning of film and television streaming platforms, such as Netflix, which launched in 2012 in the UK. These television streaming services have monumentally altered the television landscape, alongside the changes in technology and the rise of artificial intelligence. Political change and turmoil constantly influence our media and culture. There is a rise in far-right sentiment in the UK, and many feel as if racism is becoming even more prevalent, or “more acceptable.” The popularity of right-wing news channels like GB News, the popularity of Reform UK, and its impact on racism and the experiences of marginalised communities are undeniable.

Despite the difficulties across the social and political landscape since 2016, African and Caribbean, Asian, and other Global Majority groups are continuing to create, direct, produce, write, and star in beautiful and meaningful projects for British Television and beyond.

Television is a platform for storytelling, escapism, and resistance. We just need more equity and opportunity for people to tell their own stories.