BBC stars Greg James and Chris Smith have been accused of ableism after asking the illustrator of their new follow-up book to Roald Dahl’s ‘The Twits’ to give a character a glass eye to make her ‘more disgusting’.
Radio 1 DJ James and his former newsreader Smith are among 13 authors commissioned to write new stores based on Dahl’s beloved characters.
James said the opportunity to write The Twits Next Door, based on the 1980 novel The Twits, was ‘too good to resist’.
But the BBC duo have been condemned by a blind charity and other celebrities after the video showed them suggesting a glass eye is ‘disgusting’. Puffin Books hastily deleted the video after the outrage but has not given an explanation.
In a promotional video for the book, James and Smith are seen helping illustrator Emily Jones put the finishing touches on the characters.
As they discuss how to make the characters more revolting, the illustrator asks the pair: ‘What about a glass eye?’
James responds ‘A glass eye!’ before Smith adds: ‘She needs a glass eye. That’s it. What a disgusting pair of Twits!’
It comes a year after it was revealed that Puffin had hired sensitivity readers to rewrite chunks of Dahl’s text to make sure the books ‘can continue to be enjoyed by all today’, resulting in extensive changes across the author’s work.
BBC stars Greg James and Chris Smith have been accused of ableism after asking the illustrator of their new follow-up book to Roald Dahl’s Twits to give a character a glass eye to make her ‘more disgusting’
As they discuss how to make the characters more revolting, the illustrator asks the pair: ‘What about a glass eye?’ James responds ‘A glass eye!’ before Smith adds: ‘She needs a glass eye. That’s it. What a disgusting pair of Twits!’
James said the opportunity to write The Twits Next Door, based on the 1980 novel The Twits, was ‘too good to resist’
Pictured: Roald Dahl
The video has sparked a major backlash with Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson commenting: ‘Thanks. Thanks very much. #sarcasm. I’d hoped the world had moved on.’
The Royal National Institute of Blind People wrote: ‘When there’s positive representation of disabilities in children’s books, children with disabilities feel seen and heard, and their friends and classmates treat everyone the same. There is nothing at all revolting about prosthetic eyes, we think they’re brilliant.’
Ed Finch posted: ‘This is a real mistake. I would take it down now. Having taught more than one child with a prosthetic eye – and with other eye conditions- I know that the very last thing they need is for a respected adult to be saying that their disability is ‘disgusting’.
Another user, Nic, replied: ‘Agree completely, my son (now an adult) is registered blind and his eyes look different due to his condition and many surgeries, would be furious with anyone saying they’re disgusting, this is very wrong.’
Author Richard O’Neill wrote: ‘As someone with a serious eye problem, this is just awful. Worse for children. But no doubt it’ll win an award.’
Ruth Murran posted: ‘The most appalling thing I’ve ever seen from a children’s publisher. I grew up with 1970s stories that often contained worrying messages for a disabled person like me but, fifty years on, they have far surpassed that discrimination and damage. How did nobody notice before this?’
Puffin Books has been approached for comment.
Greg James (pictured) and Chris Smith were condemned for the video
Charities, celebrities and authors condemned James and Smith for the video which was later deleted