BBC Cancels Tom Daley Doc on Surrogacy

Openly gay British Olympic diver Tom Daley and his husband Dustin Lance Black were to be featured in a BBC documentary about surrogacy – but the BBC has pulled the plug., UK newspaper The Evening Standard reported.

Another UK newspaper, The Sun, said that the uncompleted doc was "scrapped under mysterious circumstances," but a BBC spokesperson pointed to Daley's lack of availability while he was in training for the 2021 Olympics – in which he won a gold medal in diving – and said that Daley agreed to halt production.

The doc was first announced in 2018, the year that Daley and Black's son, Robert, was born through surrogacy.

"His documentary was first announced by the BBC back in 2018," UK newspaper the Daily Mail recalled, "with Tom McDonald, BBC Head of Commissioning, Natural History and Specialist Factual, saying at the time: 'Surrogacy is one of the most complex issues in modern society and the laws which govern it are radically different across the world.'"

"As new fathers through surrogacy, Tom and Lance are both committed to exploring all of the nuances around this very emotive subject," McDonald said.

The BBC spokesperson explained the cancellation by saying, "Given the topicality of the subject and its exploration of the arguments for and against a change in the law, [Daley] agreed with the BBC it would have been impossible to complete the film in a satisfactory way that would have accurately reflected the situation at the time."

Not everyone is convinced that's the whole story.

A source told The Sun, "There's been some scratching of heads among observers as it was strange to unveil plans only for them to be shelved."

Moreover, the source pointed out, "Tom would have had some idea what is involved in making a documentary and training. After all, he has competed at the Games in 2008, 2012 and 2016."

He has also starred in two other BBC documentaries, "Tom Daley - Illegal to be Me," and "Tom Daley - A Hell of a Homecoming," and would have had a good idea of what demands the project could be expected to place upon him. Those requirements would have been substantial, reports suggest.

"In the film, Tom would have explored how surrogacy works in the UK, where it's illegal to advertise for or pay surrogates except for reasonable expenses," the Daily Mail detailed.

"He would have also travelled to California, where commercial surrogacy, complete with contracts between surrogates and want-to-be parents, is more the norm, as well as a European country where surrogacy is totally illegal."

The source that spoke to The Sun acknowledged that "producers understood there was a time limit in which the documentary could be made."

Daley has gone on to become celebrated for his knitting, and to establish a company, Made with Love by Tom Daley, centered on the hobby. His son Robert, now four, is not necessarily a great fan of Daley's knitting, however.

"I've made him so many jumpers and cardigans," The Sun quoted the diving champ as telling Prima magazine. "It has got to a point where I sometimes get the needles out and he's like, 'Papa, no more knitting.'"

"But," Daley went on to add, "he's been asking for a hat for a while, so that's my next project."