First black man cast in hit US reality dating show

For the first time in its history, The Bachelor, ABC’s hugely popular reality series, will feature a black lead.

Matt James, a 28-year-old real estate broker, will star in the next season, ABC announced on Friday, after mounting criticism over a lack of diversity.

The show’s nearly two decade history has seen overwhelmingly white casts, with just one black star in its sister spinoff, The Bachelorette, in 2017.

Mr James called his casting “a step in the right direction”.

“I don’t think it’s ever the wrong time to do the right thing,” Mr James said in an interview with Good Morning America on Friday.

Pressure for the hit dating show to cast a black lead intensified in recent days amid the ongoing racial reckoning in the US, incite