Canceled Doctor Who Writer: Gareth Roberts Finally Tells All!

[@HappyWarrior]

Howdy! Thank you for taking the time to watch this explosive interview!🤯 Your support is appreciated as always! All HOT TAKES and COMMENTs are welcome! Check out our Patreon if you want to support the show: www.patreon.com/culturescape

[@matthewburrows4359]

Gareth is not obsessed with his sexuality, he is just a great Doctor Who writer.

[@HappyWarrior]

agreed

[@countofdownable]

​​@@HappyWarrior Doctor Who is dead now.

[@triplejazzmusicisall1883]

and a top bloke too.

[@robertperry9576]

A great writer generally. And the most erudite, witty and fun guy to be with ever.

[@Ben_Kirkham]

“No comment” on Russell T Davies. 🤔 that’s the burning question I would have for Gareth. The “no comment” speaks volumes.

[@HappyWarrior]

definitely.

[@stephenreed2093]

If gender is just an irrelevant, outdated human construct, why do some people then care so much about being misidentified or addressed incorrectly? That’s always struck me as a contradiction.

[@benfisher1376]

AND if you think your a woman in a man's body, why do you need to dress in traditional "female " clothes?

[@55tranquility]

Exactly you have identified why it is complete garbage and all fabricated lies.

[@nigelwalker6103]

When people say that gender is a social construct, I say traditional gender roles might be a social construct, i.e., women doing the dishes and men being the breadwinner but actual physical gender is a different thing. A man wearing a dress and taking hormones doesn't become a woman. I dont have a problem with people living the way they want. However, if a group of women don't want someone with a penis in their changing rooms, I don't think we should call them Terfs and disregard them.

[@jackdexter9439]

Thanks for speaking up, Gareth.

[@missanne2908]

Thanks especially for your concern about women's safety in private places. Too many people write this issue off.

[@Kieop]

@@missanne2908 And other people overinflate it in order to scaremonger. Gender neutral washrooms are the obvious solution. I have been using gender neutral washrooms for 30 yrs with no issue. If washrooms are no longer female spaces, then that risk goes away. Because yes, predators WILL take advantage and disguise themselves in order to infiltrate female spaces. But that risk exists already. Why aren't men doing this ALL the time, even without transgender acceptance? OTOH change rooms are much trickier. They have already become nudity hostile environments as a new prudery and renewed modesty has established itself into society. Various gender expressions complicate that as well.

[@bugsby4663]

Look at what happened to James Dreyfus, a gay actor, usually known for comedy roles, brilliantly played the first Master for Big Finish, was cancelled for showing support for JK Rowling. It was chilling. He was removed from lists of Masters and it's like the Stalin photoshopping.

[@rnw2739]

I was just going to bring up Dreufuss. A decent, warm human being who as you say, has been shamefully banished for speaking truth. We are supposed to accommodate and spare a certain demographics feelings on pain of losing you entire livlihood and/or life. Seems fair.

[@HappyWarrior]

Exactly the same. Thanks for bringing him up because he came to my mind when I thought about what happened to Gareth.

[@Drew1365]

"The Dreyfus Affair" really soured me on Big Finish. I couldn't believe they'd do that to him because of a handful of obnoxious Twitter Twats. The same cancel mob seems to be going after Tracy-Ann Obermann now, and I fear Big Finish might do the same to her. (And her 'Torchwood One' series is excellent.)

[@drjazzbob]

Thanks for an important interview and when Gareth and others started getting canceled by doctor who, I tuned out

[@TheWillHadcroft]

An engrossing interview with much to ponder on. As a fan in his early fifties that has had his childhood dream made true by publishing a couple of BBC Doctor Who audiobooks, I was fascinated to hear Gareth explain what writing for the television series did to his sense of fandom, and that the same thing happened to him when he wrote for Coronation Street in the 1990s (he was part of the team that created the transgender character Haley Cropper, if memory serves me right). In the nineties, after I wrote to Mr Roberts praising his book The Romance of Crime, he sent me some months later a signed copy of The Plotters when it was published. I have never forgotten that. Thanks for sharing this interview.

[@HappyWarrior]

Thank you so much for the nice comment & taking the time to watch. Yeah, I've been a longtime reader of Gareth & still think it's weird he got caught up in all this culture war stuff. He's a classy guy. Romance of crime is great, I also really enjoyed Well-Mannered War.

[@DuncanEvans-t7q]

A really great and interesting interview. Can't believe it been so long since he wrote for Who, always 1 of the best

[@ianoz1]

Ironic indeed that not many heard about this, let alone made a fuss. Straight white guy here, watching Who since the 60s. Not watched since 2017. Thank you, Gareth, for your stories and your courage. Bless you.

[@AlexanderWilithinIII]

Great interview, I hope more people see this!

[@HappyWarrior]

Appreciate you watching. Me too

[@timkinss]

I recommend Gareth's non-fiction writing for various British publications that you can find quote easily, like the Spectator magazine and Spiked. He's always excellent, and I have great nostalgia for his Dr Who novels as well as his TV episodes. Thanks for the interview!

[@HappyWarrior]

His columns are great, in his new book the writing is so fun & light & witty. It just bounces off the page.

[@mudcrab3420]

Couple of quick observations: I was well aware that the MSM media was a closed elite group who believed it was their moral right to bully anyone who stepped out of line or challenged their authority, but wasn't fully aware the 'creative' media (the people who pay for scripts and stories) was so 'elite' as well. Always sort of assumed you could go wide and still find your market, but seems it was a lot more narrow and 'elite' than I realised. The second thing that I have rejected from the earlier days is the idea that there is an LQWERTY 'community'. I have seen several low level 'non straight' (cause it is quicker to just say 'non straight' these days) people who would in a semi airy way claim that "Oh yes, I am part of the LGBT community". Really? How is this actually a community? I play competitive organised sport. There is actually a community involved. You have your club. Your team within the club. You hang around after games. You help around the club. You have your social nights where you all dress up. You have the end of year dinner. You have the people who play against from other clubs. If there is a tragedy within the greater community then word quickly gets around and the greater community offers support. Community. Another example is the fan community. We watch common event we enjoy. We buy the merch. We see people with the same t-shirt and smile. We go to cons. We - awkwardly in many cases - talk to each other. It is a thing. Community. So where is this LGBT community? What do you do as a group? Let us be honest, the sub sets have little in common apart from 'Non Straight'. Many gay men I have known want nothing to do with women. If they wanted to spend time with women they would date them. Lesbians other regard Bi women as sex tourists who exist only to break their hearts. Many women who would otherwise have perfectly happy lives loving other women are now being told they need to be men. Lesbian Genocide is not just a pair of words. It is not a community. It is a collective noun. And we see this with Gareth being... punished for not toeing the correct line from the elites.

[@JohnThornburgh]

Great interview and powerful points!

[@HappyWarrior]

Thank you! I appreciate you watching :)

[@CastellanSpandex]

Gareth is always a welcome breath of fresh air. Thanks for the interview.

[@HappyWarrior]

of course, thank you for watching

[@apocolex93]

Thanks for having him on and conducting this interview. Poor Gareth. What a nice bloke. Another decent person cancelled by the mob. It’s just awful that people are too scared to say anything. Financial ruin for speaking up. The new religion.

[@HappyWarrior]

np, i appreciate you watching & commenting.

[@janetrulesable]

So excited! This one looks like it might be good

[@HappyWarrior]

Thanks for your support as always.

[@lexiedovahkiin]

This interview deserves way more views. 🎉 Well done the YT algorithm for the recommendation on this. What else you got in your channel stash..

[@HappyWarrior]

Wow, thank you! Glad you enjoyed it, yeah I'm surprised YT picked this one up but I am not complaining. Depends on what you are into, if it's more doctor who or book talk I have these interviews: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3mtlpKXaNKqpNE If it's another big creator you might like these: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h4G2ZnmQms-mqK8 I think you might like this one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/haq8Zappg7CFgM0si=1-EF6iHgb5MSRLZ6 It's an interview with the founder of the website the Escapist who now makes tabletop roleplaying gamers; it's super interesting and I think pairs well with this last one.

[@lexiedovahkiin]

@@HappyWarrior thank you for taking the time to reply 🌹 and posting some interesting interviews. I'll take a follow on those links. I have already saved your ones on Gamergate to watch soon.

[@oduneyeman]

Great interview, very insightful plus it's was nice to hear from a perspective that is not my own.

[@HappyWarrior]

Glad you enjoyed it! I try to keep an open mind & let my guests share their story. I often find myself learning new things too. Not a lot of us still try to do this, but I'm glad to not be alone in that fact.

[@TheManInBlueFlames]

I think Gareth could write an ENTIRE new season without the woke crap that has infected Dr Who! He should come back!

[@worthybutter2004]

But would Disney and the BBC allow him to write non-woke episodes, though?

[@teddeler]

As a conservative christian I am finding what's happening mind bending. There are many I have disagreed with in their opinions and lifestyle choices but I have always respected their right to make those choices and have those opinions. With any luck we can have a reasonable discussion about them (though admittedly over the years I've gotten tired of the same discussions and now just tend to tune them out). The world has gotten so twisted and extreme that I'm finding myself on the 'same side' with people that in the past I would have been on the opposite side of a discussion with. I'm finding myself greatly respecting people I fundamentally disagree with but who understand what they understand and why they believe what they do and are willing to vocalize it and 'stick to their guns' rather than going with the mob.

[@zybch]

As a liberal gay guy, I feel EXACTLY the same. I can't fathom what the hell is happening except several entire generations have had it so fantastically good, have never had any real hardship or had to develop critical thinking skills, they they have walked headlong into this bizarre trap of wanting to tear apart everything society has built, and are using kids to do it.

[@christianmayrhofer4178]

I have always described myself as an open-minded, left-alternative person, but i see how my previous environment is increasingly moving towards this wokeness. For me, woke is a dangerous, anti-democratic and dogmatic ideology. More and more often i suddenly find myself agreeing with conservatives. I feel somehow lost and betrayed. The whole pop culture i liked has been destroyed within a short time and comedy is only funny nowadays if it comes from more right-wing conservatives. Left-wing comedy is no longer comedy nowadays. It's boring censored political correctness. Strange days.

[@KismetMulhaneski-to3wg]

I'm familiar with Roberts' print adaption of Shada. Fact is, if you don't get Gareth's sense of humour and his grasp of culture / society - which is always quite knowing but not for everyone - and it's references then you don't get him as a writer! And that's why some of these Witch Burners are out for him it would seem. We may see him back one day. Indeed his best work may still be to come if given the freedom.

[@HappyWarrior]

Yeah I hope he comes back to writing fiction one day also.

[@KismetMulhaneski-to3wg]

@@HappyWarrior 🤞😌

[@mekonta]

An excellent discussion and I hope it has the wide reach it deserves, so thank you for the upload. I sometimes think the visibility of the pop music genre plays a factor into why many teenagers are 'lost' and needing to attach themselves to an identity. It wasn't until 1984 that I first became a teen and by then we had so many groups we could attach ourselves to. We still had the echoes of punk hovering around the mid-80s, New Romantics was still there, the Nu-Wave look and synth was fresh, the 'Virgin' Madonna, bright yellow/pink/green hi-glow colours, fishnets and Ra-Ra skirt look was coming in, each having that identity from their music choice as they emulated their favourite singer to a particular genre which in turn pulled other people with similar tastes to gravitate towards each other and form groups or harmless cultures, or 'cults' if you like. Just around the corner, the Goth and the Emo trends and identities as mentioned by Gareth and on a whole it never really mattered if you were gay gravitating to one as you were generally accepted because of your common interest in music and its sub-cultures. All of these sat on well established genres such as Heavy Metal, Country & Western, Mods, Rockers, Rock & Roll, etc. which for many teens were also appealing lifestyles to follow in the 80s. You could walk into any major town and have around half a dozen or more record shops and splayed on the walls were posters of artistes and these trends. The more record shops you had, the wider the scope in music genres were played and quite often became meeting places for friends and even making new friends because of their favourite record shop sold more of the genre they liked more than the other shops. Of course all of this meant actually getting off your backside, going outside and into town to meet people face to face instead of staring into a phone. And that in itself is another topic for a thread all of it's own. Is it any wonder why so many teens and twenty-somethings are looking back and reacting/reviewing songs and music from their parent's teen era of the 1980s or even their mould-breaking grandparent's era of the Rock & Roll years and Swinging 60s because they've heard stories and seen photographs of better times for the then youth and that whole thing of, _'living the life you wished you had through your offspring,_ has completely flip-flopped, living their youth through their parent's era?

[@winstonsmith9424]

very good - i used to look on the young goth & emo kids in the triangle MCR and be happy for them (apologies if im projecting here) that they could get on a bus or a tram into town and find their people on a Saturday afternoon - an option not necessarily available to say young Smiths fans a decade before - or very young punks before that - ok there were some very young soul rebels but they'd be hard pressed to find a tribe of similar ages. Too whit too whoo many (obvs by no means all) young trans identified young people are the same but they dont have even have to get on the bus into town for this. Big up the young country and westerners - i must have missed you but i deffo respect you

[@HappyWarrior]

Great comment, thank you for watching & sharing.

[@nigelwalker6103]

It's interesting to hear Gareth's experience and perspective as a gay man affected by cancel culture. I was also interested to hear James Dreyfuss talking about similar experiences.

[@HappyWarrior]

Thanks. Dreyfus is another one for sure. His Master portrayal is really good also, even though he only got to do 3 audios.

[@cinnamontoastcrunch5665]

Great discussion really interesting to hear form Gareth

[@HappyWarrior]

thanks

[@mr_reborn]

"No comment" on RTD? That's interesting ... if he had anything nice to say, he'd just have said it. Seems like another confirmation to me, of what we're able to see just with the naked eye. Eccleston had problems with him, too.

[@HappyWarrior]

Yeah, that's how i read it also, but I don't want to put words in his mouth.

[@LynneHobday1]

What a great and very thought-provoking interview! Gareth seems like such a cool guy.

[@HappyWarrior]

thank you :0)

[@MrRjhyt]

I must confess, I enjoyed the Peter Capaldi Doctor, but Jodie's Doctor was watched on the second screen of the computer, staying running while I made coffee, etc. I still hope to see better writing under Russell. Chris' rarely sparked any interest.

[@Creative_Welshman]

RTD is a hack writer who needed other people to reign in his stupid bs, all of his series finaled except End Of Time used Deus Ex Machina to resolve everything

[@ChrisKhaled83]

@@Creative_Welshman What I have seen of his latest outing indicates he is just full of gender crap now, which makes him even worse than before.

[@ChrisKhaled83]

After what I saw yesterday, I dont think thats going to be the case sadly.

[@HappyWarrior]

I loved Peter Capaldi, though I thought his stories weren't always the best. If only he was given better material. Deserved another series imo.

[@zybch]

@@HappyWarrior Hes my favourite of the rebooted series, but boy they did him and the character bad. To see The Doctor just be a passenger in his own show while the tired 'diverse female saves everyone' trope is pushed really turned me off the show, and from what I just saw there is no saving it.

[@jeremywvarietyofviewpoints3104]

If everyone became middle class and equal, and it became a utopia, I don't think people could stand that. People want to have something to fight against. They want some big challenge.

[@monkeyzorr3090]

Your argument is that people cannot evolve beyond their current thinking, or in other words we will always be cave dwellers instead of people who live in houses because if everyone lived in houses there would be those who want to go back to living in caves because they can't stand living in houses

[@gladiator652004]

Glad someone else thinks that Big Finish brings out too much 😆

[@nicholasdickens2801]

Oh gosh they do. You need to be really rich and have lots of room.

[@HappyWarrior]

I love Big Finish, but they need to put quality over quantity. At the moment it's like a memberberries machine gun.

[@amritpalhh9836]

I think that he would’ve made a great dr who showrunner after Moffat rather than Chibnall

[@HappyWarrior]

He certainly would have been much better than Chibnall that's 100% for sure.

[@CardiffOneOne]

​@@HappyWarrior Give it a rest, ffs. You're doing exactly what they're talking about in this video. Grow up.

[@zybch]

@@HappyWarrior So would a house brick.

[@ChrisKhaled83]

All these people who throw around Psych buzzwords and crap, and these so called therapists are a bunch of dangerous vindictive quacks.

[@miggyluv]

I consider myself a progressive lefty, but... Cancel culture is toxic and dangerous. It's possible to disagree with someone politically AND also respect them. I couldn't believe when Gina Caranno was cancelled from the Mandalorian. A great actress, a great character, so what that she supported Trump? Cancelling people who don't agree with your beliefs is just abusive tribalism at its worse. I hadn't realised Gareth had been cancelled. It's infuriating and makes me question my own allegiances politically.

[@HappyWarrior]

I share your frustrations exactly. It worries me to no end how many people, especially in my profession have adopted this idea that exposure to bad thoughts means real world damage. Art is wonderful in part because it exposes you to so many different ways of looking at the world, and limiting ourselves to ideas we already agree with prevents us from growing.

[@Kieop]

I also consider myself to be progressive but, unlike Gareth, I do believe that transgender is real and that their right to exist and have space should be recognized. They are often targets of hate and violence and need to be protected as human beings, which I think Gareth would agree with when he writes that people need to be protected, not ideas. Cancel culture is so dangerous. We're experiencing another Bonfire of the Vanities. I also agree with him that there are aspects of transgenderism, as an ism, that are harmful, particularly the entrenchment of gender stereotypes that feminists and homosexuals have fought so hard to dispel. Identity politics in general is the problem. Remember when labels were bad, because they led to bullying? Now, some people are forcing other people to declare their identities all while claiming to be anti-bullying advocates. We have to wear our labels wherever we go. I think that it is respectful to use people's preferred pronouns, but that it is oppression to be forced to declare them. My pronouns are none of your business. If we truly believed that gender is non-binary and that workplaces should have gender equity, then gender identity has no place in the workplace. Employers will find new ways to exploit this for discrimination. Besides, it is rude to refer to people in the third person in their presence so the only pronoun that should matter is "you".

[@miggyluv]

@@Kieop Fantastic response.

[@ChessMess]

Really nice interview, I always liked his books and I'm not even gay.

[@gunnhildk6299]

I´m glad I listened to this intervjuv. A lot of good thoughts here. But this whole topic makes me sad, really.

[@HappyWarrior]

Thank you for watching. Yeah, Doctor Who is a sore spot for me, too. I absolutely love the history and wonderful works of Doctor Who across TV, books, short stories, audio dramas, and more, so watching what's happened to it is hard.

[@charlesallanstewart-kl2op]

I am just a guy who enjoys Dr Who period Whatever my gender or taste is irrelevant I think RTD is pushing the show in a woke way I have never heard of a Gay timelord , but l say yes l know Captain Jack is Bisexual , & l excepted that no matter but that is my limit , l am only interested in stories full stop , as like Star Trek... good whole some episodes , that is it really , not every show has to have gay stuff.😳😲😲😲😲😲😲😁

[@jeremywvarietyofviewpoints3104]

I'm imagining what Gareth Roberts would look like as a woman.

[@rnw2739]

Having just taken an intense and prolonged few minutes to conjure up a credible visualisation of Gareth in female mode as per your supposition, I am delighted to report that the end result isn't quite as hideous as one would assume. For some reason I has already told myself that lady Gareth (whom I shall christen, Gwendolin) would be disadvantaged in modern day garb so my ensuing mental images all had Gwendolin in Victorian clothing. A bonnet was absolutely essential, one of those that had two pieces of silk dangling which when tied, served as a chinstrap. Gareth cosplaying Aunt Sally was my end result and I have to say, Gareth as a woman is a far more attractive creature than Miriam Margolyes and boasts a far more petite arse.

[@FonceFalooda2]

ALL Hot Takes are welcome? Okay. He's a legend, but sometimes I think Gareth sounds a little like Mr. Frog from Smiling Friends. ;)

[@benfisher1376]

This book is fantastic. Some of it humorous, some terrifying. The stuff about the genesis of queer theory sounds very dodgy 😮

[@DarioDarrow]

28:11 Prince 🙃

[@sibionic]

Funny how his book faces cover on...

[@TardisTV-tj5xs]

But what he said is common sense though

[@jeremywvarietyofviewpoints3104]

The new thing will be autorobophilia.

[@herbivarsawus4359]

You appeal to the lowest common denominatorr, you don't say?? Yeah that's a ...mystery =D

[@Tymbus]

I'm an academic, I have studied the sociology/cultural theory approaches to sexuality for over 30 years. I don't recognize the way academia is characterized here. None of the ideas about sexuality or gender discussed are particularly new. Universities are not turning out crazies or even activists. They produce people who can think, question societal norms and have the confidence to stand by their judgments. As for Columbia University, is Gareth really supporting what's happening in Gaza and, if not, what would HE do to oppose it?

[@Tymbus]

@DorisDay-lw4xs Well if you say you are a pleb then who am I to disagree. I sense that you may be suffering from low self esteem. Why? Well, you read a simple statement of fact - I a an academic - as bragging. I'm not. I am an academic. Also, I that should lead some credence to my views 1) I am an academic so i mix with academics so I know something of their values and attitude to teaching 2) I am an academic who has specialized in issues related to sexuality 3) My learning has been since The Eighties - so quite some time. So I am an academic, fact. Your comment that you are a "pleb" is also telling. it speaks of low seld esteem. I have never regarded a colleague, or a student or a potential student as a "pleb". Stop being so down on yourself. The happier and more accepting you are of yourself, the happier and more accepting you are likely to be of others such as trans gendered people

[@androidcaller7902]

Then you are so entrenched you are part of the problem.

[@Tymbus]

@@androidcaller7902 This is part of the problem. Why would I be entrenched? Academia is a place of debate, questioning. argument. THAT seems to be the difficulty here - people with certainty based on very little

[@herbivarsawus4359]

Doing the 'cancelled' grift within a week or two of saying he'd never return under any circumstances (he put it more strongly than that, I think). So which is it Gareth, was it or choice or not your choice? ...wait, why am I expecting consistency or sense from these types?..

[@rosielee5615]

Before he got “cancelled” his tweets were pertaining to like both the Bill Potts era and Jodie’s first season. The fall out is supposed to have come during “The Caretaker”, a dreadful episode imo, none of his others were good either in my opinion. Roberts got so called “cancelled” around the summer of 2019, others involved in a Target collection of Doctor Who stories threatened to withdraw their stories if Robert’s was included. His transphobia tweets aren’t the only quite frankly nasty views he has espoused over the years. He strikes me as someone sad and disingenuous because he was certainly watching and being the big Who commentator right up to the time of his so called “cancellation” , contrary to his claims of not really watching. Let’s face it, he would have loved to have carried on writing for Doctor Who if he hadn’t alienated so many people. He has his audience with The Spectator now, yeah very cancelled indeed, just not as interesting and imaginative as being a Doctor Who writer

[@rosielee5615]

Boohoo I’m so cancelled with my KZbin interview, state of the ego on this

[@rnw2739]

You are actually trying to deny his cancellation, make light of his ordeal and then have the neck to insult the man! Are you aware you haven't even displayed any surprise, outrage or anger at the bullying he endured and the fascistic environments that insist on making you think as they do... That's perfectly acceptable to you is it and Gareth should stop crying and crack on?

[@rosielee5615]

​@@rnw2739 N’ah Roberts himself is a massive Bully, hence why the vast majority in The Doctor Who world want nothing to do with him.

[@ronisin710]

I do not mean to be antagonistic, but what right do you two have dictating the way of the world? I have trans friends and acquaintances and it never enters my mind to tell them they're wrong in their life choices. One decided not to go thru with it and that's his business as well. I don't think children have the maturity to make that sort of decision, but that's between them and their parents; not me and not you. I detest the destruction of Dr. Who, Star Trek, Marvel, and Star Wars but the focus and pressure needs to be on the parties forcing this agenda upon studios ( Blackrock and Vanguard ) in exchange for money and no KZbinrs do that - ever. The agenda is not just tv and movies, it's forced into video games, comic books, and literature as classic books are being censored without permission of dead authors. As for Dr. Who, I think we understand the reason Eccleston said what he did of Davies.

[@DEWwords]

?