I'm white but my circle are a mix of various races and religions and cultures largely I think because we moved around a lot (dad was army) so we lived in many different areas of the Uk and also because the army used to be (not sure if it still is as a lot has changed culturally both within and outside the army) seen by some immigrants as a good career plus tied housing came with so if they were looking at a long time on a civilian housing list or otherwise struggling to find a home (at least partly due to racism) it was a relatively quick way to get a home for their families so quite a few of the families we met through being army ourselves were not white and/or were from other countries initially, also of course a fair number of army personnel meet people when serving overseas and marry them and they (usually women) would then come to the Uk as a result of that.
I was raised in the 70's/80's when there was a lot of really offensive overt racism occurring, not saying it doesn't now but it's gradually very gradually becoming less common/overt.
I remember friends of mine being really happy to see people of their race/nationality on tv in any guise!
I also remember it being a "big deal" when a non white character/family was cast in a soap or other popular drama.
One friend of mine was chuffed to bits when carol and Alan were on Eastenders as it was the first time she had seen parents of the same race/heritage as hers on screen.
Where her parents were a little critical of the storyline was that they didn't think it realistic that none of the couples black friends/family were ever critical of him being in an interracial relationship, as that had not been their experience at all.
She was constantly having her heritage/her fathers paternity questioned because she had naturally blonde hair.
There are still a lot of racists out there though sadly, brexit rather brought a lot out I ended up unfriending people on facebook, people I'd known for years and never seen a hint before one of whom was in the same friendship group as me and my mixed race friend for 4 years at school!
Shocking the way the racists have come out in response to the ads mentioned and also the diversity BLM routine
because Adam and Eve were white.
This always cracks me up. As if! If they did exist as all people in the bible they would of course have been Arab, North African or however that race would have been described at the time and would definitely have been dark skinned with dark curly hair. To be perfectly honest if Jesus didn't look like everyone else in that locale at that time it would have been a damn sight easier for Herod to find him wouldn't it?
It is good to see more and more black people in ads and as actors, presenters etc, much more unlikely to see Asian people represented.
I have another friend who works in TV in a behind the scenes job though and he says it's still very very white in that side of things especially at the higher levels - directors, producers etc
I've not watched soaps for years now as they bore me I'd seen the same storylines so many times (I know they appeal to many just not to me)
But it's not just soaps it's all programming, very rare that a drama or sitcom will have a non white character or characters as the lead/s - why? There's no good reason for this
And on the odd occasion there are, somehow their race has to be part of the storyline.
I can think of many excellent shows where other actors of other races would have worked just as well.
Casting directors and programme makers really need to step up here.
@WTFisNext who creates the imagery though? If it's companies in business to do so as a customer your company can surely say to them they need to include more diverse imagery? Vote with your rather large corporate wallet?
A few mentioning that certain demographics are culturally discouraged from entering the performing arts - that has to at least partly be due to how they're used to their race/nationality being depicted (eg all Arabs are terrorists nonsense) and so it's down to writers and makers to create parts and roles for non white performers that aren't stereotypes (and I include so called "positive" stereotypes in this).
There are some actors and performers that refuse to take parts where it's a stereotyped role denigrating their race/nationality which is admirable but we also need for such parts to not be the norm
Even better, wait until they find out he was an Aramaic-speaking Palestinian Jew. I would love to be a fly on the wall for that.

I actually remember my dad saying something very similar to a dinner guest who turned out to be a right twat! This was around the time Madonna's like a prayer came out and he was outraged at even the suggestion that Jesus wasn't white European! Let alone might have been black! My dad somehow managed to not completely lose it until the guy left (he was never invited again) and then went into full on rant! It was quite something.
@mustlovegin I'm hoping that's sarcasm!
@AnyaDoesntLikeBunnies so true re gay couples representation
@Baggingarea name and shame I say!
Extremely rare to see disabled people represented, rarer still to have characters with a mental illness that isn't the main focus for almost all their storylines! Even rarer to see disabled or mentally ill people represented as functioning and contributing members of society.
I'd also like to see greater variation in body size and shape, ludicrous that it's still the case to be a successful actress or model you generally usually need to be very slim. I'm not talking fat positive necessarily I'm talking normal healthy bmi bodies