BBC accepted male-dominant cast in new SAS drama as 'you couldn't pretend story isn't mainly about men' – producer says

BBC accepted male-dominant cast in new SAS drama as 'you couldn't pretend story isn't mainly about men' – producer says
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Aden-Jay Wood

By Aden-Jay Wood


Published: 04/04/2022

- 14:17

'SAS: Rogue Heroes' is expected to air on the BBC later this year

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.

EMBARGOED TO 0600 MONDAY MARCH 21 File photo dated 21/01/2020 of BBC Broadcasting House in London. The BBC's local radio stations will celebrate %22every day heroes%22 through a new community award scheme. The initiative will mark the contributions of key workers, volunteers and more to their local communities. It comes as part of the Make A Difference programme that was set up at the start of the first national lockdown as a virtual notice board for those offering help or needing support. Issue date: Monday March 21, 2022.
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.”

EMBARGOED TO 1400 SUNDAY APRIL 3 For use in UK, Ireland or Benelux countries only Undated BBC handout photo of (left to right) Alfie Allen as Jock Lewes, Connor Swindells as David Stirling, and Jack O'Connell as Paddy Mayne, in SAS: Rogue Heroes, the new drama series from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight.
"SAS: Rogue Heroes" will air later this year
Kudos/BBC

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