Looking for where to add the snippet that Diana Ross - and this was before she got megastar diva status - point-blank refused to work for the BBC, the moment she realised her contract meant she would be appearing on the same variety bill as the Minstrels. Apparently, she sat down backstage with BBC management and leading members of the minstrel troupe, and patiently explained what this meant to black Americans, and that it isn't just some harmless imported whimsy. Some British people, including Minstrel performers who hadn't really thought much about the history of their act, got this straight away. Diana Ross might have had a small but significant role in ending this show on British TV.
Looking for where to add the snippet that Diana Ross - and this was before she got megastar diva status - point-blank refused to work for the BBC, the moment she realised her contract meant she would be appearing on the same variety bill as the Minstrels. Apparently, she sat down backstage with BBC management and leading members of the minstrel troupe, and patiently explained what this meant to black Americans, and that it isn't just some harmless imported whimsy. Some British people, including Minstrel performers who hadn't really thought much about the history of their act, got this straight away. Diana Ross might have had a small but significant role in ending this show on British TV.