New Books Network Christine Grandy, "Race on Screen: Audience Racism in Twentieth-Century Britain" (Cambridge UP, 2026)
Apr 4, 2026
Christine Grandy, Associate Professor in History at the University of Lincoln, studies race, media, and British cultural history. She traces how twentieth-century TV recycled imperial films, how audience research exposed everyday anti-immigrant views, and why programmes from Rainbow City to Desmond's provoked backlash and resistance. Discussion also covers the role of the Black press and changing viewer pleasures with US imports.
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Broadcasting's History Of Not Knowing Racism
- Television archives and broadcaster records reveal a collective effort to avoid naming or debating racism despite frequent racist content being broadcast.
- Christine Grandy found this 'history of not knowing' by comparing film/TV content with BBC/ITV files that rarely questioned racist programming choices.
Audience Research Shifted From Alarm To Shaping
- Early audience research imagined viewers as highly impressionable, turning concern into an opportunity to shape behavior rather than curb harmful content.
- Mark Abrams and BBC listenerresearch evolved into audience research that sought to measure and mould tastes, revealing both assumptions and surprises when audiences actually spoke.
Rainbow City Revealed Audience Prejudice
- Rainbow City (1967) was a BBC weekly series about a Black barrister and his white wife intended to improve race relations.
- BBC audience research found London viewers held 'alarmingly common' anti-immigrant attitudes and the BBC largely pulled back similar programming for a decade.
