A SCOTTISH character in a long-running BBC radio series has been criticised as a stereotype of a “hard-drinking” Glaswegian “hard man”.
Jack "Jazzer" McCreary, was highlighted as an example of a “self-fulfilling” portrayal of a boozy, violent Scot in the BBC Radio 4 series The Archers.
McCreary, who the BBC’s website says “represents the dark underbelly of Borsetshire life”, was criticised by Karyn McCluskey, the former head of Scotland’s Violence Reduction Unit.
She told the Crime World podcast that the character, played by Scottish actor Ryan Kelly, was part of what she called a wider problem in how Scots are “portrayed” in the media.
She said: “We talk about the Glasgow ‘hard-man’. I used to say, ‘Well what does the Birmingham man look like? What’s the verb that we use or the describing part that we use?’ It’s one of these things that has been self-fulfilling for us, about how we’re portrayed.
“Even in The Archers the Glaswegian is the hard-drinking guy, so it’s how we’re portrayed and how we have been for decades.”
She added: “You have to create a new narrative about the fact that we’re a really successful wee country, we have so many assets.”
McCreary’s character profile on the BBC website for The Archers lists his “lowest moment” as “nearly killing himself with ketamine”.
It adds: “In wilder times he's been known to steal cars, grow cannabis and abuse ketamine, but in recent years he's shaped up, initially working with Tom Archer's pigs and taking on Mike Tucker's milk round.”
He is also said to like “illegal substances” and dislike “authority” and “healthy food”.
McCluskey, who appeared on the podcast to discuss her successful attempts to reduce violence in Glasgow, defended her comments when asked about them by the Sunday Mail.
She told the paper: “My tongue-in-cheek comment was on stereotypes of Scots’ propensity for drinking and fighting contributing to the cultural mood music. It’s old-fashioned but how we have been portrayed for decades.”
The BBC was approached for comment.
