CBBC show about East Asian family under fire over lack of East Asian writers

A CBBC show has been criticised by campaigners for its lack of diversity in the writing team.

Living With The Lams is a new children’s series headed to the BBC channel and is centred on a Chinese family and their restaurant in Manchester, but the writing team is predominantly made up of white writers, according to campaign group BEATS (British East Asians in Theatre and Screen).

BEATS claim that only two of the planned 10 episodes are credited with East Asian writers and draft scripts are said to perpetuate a ‘patronising and a colonial mindset’ towards the Chinese community as well as outdated racial stereotypes.

The campaigners raised their concerns in an open letter sent to CBBC and Twenty Twenty, the production company set to produce the kids’ show.

“BEATS has recently learned that CBBC has greenlit a ten-episode children’s sitcom Living
With The Lams, about a Chinese family running a restaurant in Manchester, and that almost
all of the episodes will be authored by non-East Asian writers,” the letter said.

“It is unacceptable that a television series about the day-to-day lives of a British East Asian
family will not be fully authored by British East Asian writers, especially as Twenty Twenty is
benefiting from a commission that is supposed to be supporting diversity.

“We are aware that Twenty Twenty attempted to counter the lack of British East Asian input
into the series concept by enlisting a Chinese writer, but only in the capacity of a “cultural
consultant,'” the letter continued.

With the Chinese diaspora worldwide numbering in excess of 1.5 billion, the idea that a solitary “consultant” could possibly advise on such a vast and diverse group of humanity only reinforces the racialized pigeon-holing at the heart of the show’s concept. We do not accept the use of cultural consultants as replacements for British East Asian writers in a show where the raison d’etre pivots on the lives of a British Chinese family.”

The BBC responded with its own statement: “We’re really proud of our track record in making diverse and culturally relevant output for our young audience. We believe they deserve the best, which is why we work hard to find the most talented writers and producers to create the most entertaining and engaging shows.

“We always seek guidance, advice and expert input for culturally sensitive content. We’re still in the development stages of Living with the Lams and so the editorial process is ongoing.

“We do not appoint comedy writers or producers based solely on their cultural affiliations or nationality but we’re confident that we’ll create a show that successfully reflects and celebrates this community.”

Twenty Twenty Television said: “Living With The Lams is still in the development phase of production, bringing the series to this point has taken several years and is ongoing.

“There are factual inaccuracies in the letter distributed which do not accurately reflect key parts of the ongoing development process.

“The production team continue to work to ensure we have the very best team of talented storytellers in place to make sure Living with the Lams is an entertaining and culturally relevant series created by a decidedly strong and principled creative team.”

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