A weekly column reproduced from the Bristol Evening Post

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I was wondering how long it would take the chattering classes to latch onto another example of outrageous political correctness from the BBC.

The victim, once again, is The Archers, that everyday tale of country life as seen from Islington.

A current storyline has Kate, the feckless daughter of Brian and Jennifer Aldridge, returning home pregnant from South Africa. Her boyfriend, and father of her child, follows shortly afterwards. His name is Lucas. He is clearly black.

And has anyone in Ambridge mentioned that? Nope. Not a dicky bird. The mind boggles.

We may live in enlightened times, but are we really expected to believe that not a single inhabitant of this Middle England rural village would comment upon the fact that they have a black South African in their midst?

Are we really expected to believe that a regular in The Bull might not utter the dreaded words “touch of the tar brush” when discussing Kate’s new daughter? Especially as she has form for being a right slapper.

The irony is that this heavy-handed propagandism does no favours to ethnic minorities or those who campaign against racism in any form. Pretending that a problem doesn’t exist merely obstructs its exposure and resolution.

In the past, The Archers has tackled alcoholism, homosexuality, adultery, abortion, drugs, domestic violence, women priests and breast cancer. Why the peculiar sensitivity over Lucas?

Next issue for the BBC Thought Police to deal with is the Countryside March on March 18. How will the Guardianistas who pull the strings of the scriptwriters portray that?

Will anyone from Ambridge go? Will they even acknowledge its existence? Where will Oliver Sterling, Master of the Hunt and Caroline’s new squeeze, be on the day? We wait with bated breath.

Personally, I shall be attending in full country regalia, including a rather fetching pair of pheasant-strangling gloves that Whittaker, the Evening Post’s gamekeeper, bought me for Christmas. We would let him come with us but he’s got to stay behind to train up our new pack of hunting poodles.

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