The book of Doctor Who short stories, which will be published by BBC Books, was not set to be announced until later this month – but the contribution from writer Gareth Roberts was leaked in advance and caused uproar among many LGBT activists, who began calling for it to be removed.

Some were even riled up and incensed by old jokes Roberts had posted on Twitter in 2017 about transgender women and the “glamorous” names they choose. To add insult to injury, other contributors even threatened to withdraw if Roberts was involved.

Conservative British journalist Toby Young drew attention to the decision on Twitter, calling it an “affront to free speech” by a “publicly-owned company.”

BBC Books is not publicly owned, however, but is a subsidiary of Penguin Random House, in which the BBC is a minority shareholder.

In a statement on the controversy, Roberts, who is gay himself, confirmed that BBC Books had “immediately folded” in the face of activists’ demands and had told him that, although he would be paid, his story would not be published as it could make the book “economically unviable.”

In the statement, Roberts wrote that, while he had always “rejected restrictive cultural gender stereotypes,” he also believes it is “impossible for a person to change their biological sex”and thinks nobody is “born in the wrong body.”

He added that it was wrong to "medicalise children who don’t conform to gender stereotypes" and argued that his views on the topic are "neither extreme nor unusual."  

Debate raged on Twitter, however, where some were delighted to see Roberts’ work had been dropped from the book, citing his "transphobia” and commending BBC Books for ditching him.