Boost diversity on TV – Sir Lenny

Sir Lenny Henry has called for the BBC and other broadcasters to do more to boost diversity, saying it’s “not enough to have more people in EastEnders and doing the weather”.

The funnyman and TV stars Adrian Lester and Meera Syal delivered a letter, signed by a string of stars, to 10 Downing Street, calling for tax breaks to effect change.

Sir Lenny warned British broadcasters would “lose eyeballs if you don’t serve your audience”.

He said the BBC was making improvements, but at the current rate it would take 40 years to get to the right levels.

“It is very frustrating to be here in the 21st century and still be talking about diversity and inclusion”, he told the Press Association.

The US and France are already making the sorts of changes campaigners are calling for, and it is wrong to think Britain is “at the forefront” of change, he said.

He added: “We need to up our game. Britain is good at producing ground-breaking, outrageous diverse stuff.

“But the make-up of people who create those programmes, the gatekeepers,... the diversity of that demographic needs to change.”

And he said, before entering 10 Downing Street: “If you’ve got a diverse group of people around the table, somebody will say, ’We don’t do that’ or ‘We don’t think that’s right’. We can have those conversations. But if we’re not at the table we can’t have those conversations and that needs to change.”

Sir Lenny is calling for tax breaks to increase the representation of women, BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) and disabled people working behind the camera.

He called on the Government to take a “big step” to boost diversity.