OnthemarketBlog YouTube @property1 @onthemarketblog

Lenny Henry has called on the BBC to entrench ethnic diversity in its new Royal Charter, to address “systemic failure” in representing minorities on screen and behind the camera. The actor and comedian went on to claim training schemes set up by broadcasters in an attempt to widen the talent pool were not enough, and gave the impression that black, Asian and ethnic minority talent were “not good enough” for existing roles. Giving an address at Goldsmiths University, Henry said the BBC and the government should take a similar approach to the decision made in 2006 – when the charter was renewed with an explicit remit to increase the amount of TV made in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. He said: “They changed the charter then, and we can change the charter now. We have a once-in-a-decade chance to change history, to make diversity a celebration of our nation rather than a problem.” The actor suggested the BBC should write a Catalyst Fund into the charter, which would give pot...