The recent announcement by Sir David Frost that his company Paradine Productions is to re-make the British classic, The Dambusters, has led to a re-heated debate over the use of the N-word.

The original 1950s film is a classic. Its story of Wing Commander Guy Gibson VC, who led his squadron of Lancaster bombers to attack the strategically vital Ruhr dams, and had to release his bombs while flying at 220mph at exactly 60ft above water, 425 yards from the dam wall, is a testament to the heroism and courage of both Gibson and his generation.

Strange then, that one of the problems identified by Sir David in re-making the film is what to call Gibson's dog, whose name became the code word to be relayed by Gibson to HQ if the bombing raid had been successful. "The challenge is to work out what to call the dog, as the word nigger is not ideal for the modern world," he said.

One of the last broadcasts of the film on terrestrial television was in June 2001 when ITV changed the name of the dog to Old Boy. This led to a seething response from some, including the British Union of Fascists who argued that "nigger, like many other words, such as bastard, witch and rascal can be used in a positive, affectionate context, as well as in a negative, hateful sense".

Should the name be changed? The actor Richard Todd, who played Guy Gibson in the original film, has stated that he believes the name needs to be changed and that times have moved on since Gibson's day. It may also be pertinent to take into account the role played in the Second World War by the 16,000 volunteers from the Caribbean and 375,000 men and women from African countries who also fought as part of the war effort.

There can be little doubt that the N-word is an offensive slur and an insult. Since the 1970s, African-American artists have tried to reclaim the word through their own use of it in order to take away the power of the insult. The comedian Richard Pryor, who died earlier this month, said his liberal use of the term in his stand up routines was an attempt "to take the sting out of it. Nigger. As if saying it over and over again would numb me and everybody else to its wretchedness". Pryor's attitude changed almost overnight in 1979 after a visit to Kenya - his first trip to Africa. "Its connotations weren't funny. To this day I wish I'd never said the word. It was misunderstood by people. They didn't get what I was talking about. Neither did I. So I vowed never to say it again."

The N-word belongs to a different century than the one in which we now live. Its place in the history books should remain, this is not about the air-brushing of history. But in our brave new world, bought at price of terrible sacrifice by lost generations, celebrations of heroism need to inspire us all rather than divide us again along racial lines.