The new Wuthering Heights film got me thinking. Directed by Emerald Fennell, it is presented as a bold reinterpretation of Emily Brontë’s novel. But in Fennell’s version, Heathcliff, one of the main characters, has his identity changed. He is now white, played by Jacob Elordi.

In the 1847 novel, Brontë describes Heathcliff as a “dark-skinned gypsy” and even as a “Lascar,” a term used for South Asian sailors at that time. Both descriptions suggest he is a person of colour. That detail is not incidental; it is central to the novel’s themes of class, race, and social exclusion. Heathcliff is not simply an outsider because he is poor or orphaned; he is racialised as different. It shapes how he is treated, how he sees himself, and why his relationship with Catherine is so fraught. Catherine is white and socially ambitious; in that period of British society, relationships that crossed race and class boundaries were not simply frowned upon, they were virtually impossible. The latest series of Bridgerton explores the power of class well.

Yes, I understand the concept of artistic licence. Stories are retold. Perspectives shift. But we are living in sensitive and polarised times. ‘Othering’ is not abstract; it is real and persistent. Ethnic diversity remains a significant challenge, particularly in the media and communications industry, where representation often fails to reflect the wider workforce, and where senior leadership remains disproportionately white and privileged.

There is also a strong intersection between ethnicity and class, something Brontë instinctively understood. Research by Creative Access and FleishmanHillard UK in 2024 found that 73 percent of working-class respondents in the creative sector feel there is a lack of senior representation. Among Black and Asian respondents, that figure rises to over 80 percent. That is not a marginal issue; it points to a structural imbalance.

When we remove race from a story that is explicitly shaped by it, we are not being neutral. We are making a choice. And that choice has cultural weight.

Embracing ethnic diversity is not simply a moral gesture; it is a strategic and commercial necessity. Diverse teams are more innovative, more productive, and better able to connect with broader audiences. In a global digital economy where culture travels instantly and scrutiny is constant, authenticity matters more than ever.

We must also challenge deficit narratives. The subtle framing that suggests people from ethnic minority or working-class backgrounds are somehow less complex, less universal, or less commercially viable. This type of thinking seeps into casting decisions, commissioning choices, and leadership pipelines.

We need to stop “whitewashing” stories that were never white to begin with. We need different voices around the creative table and not as a tick-box exercise, but as genuine contributors with the power to influence decisions. Because I suspect that if Fennell’s team had been more socioeconomically and ethnically diverse, someone would have paused and asked a simple but important question: What does it mean to erase the very difference that drives this story? Reinterpretation should deepen meaning, not dilute it.

Photocredit: Wikipedia