Jodie Whittaker stars in the new series of Doctor Who. Many BBC1 viewers will remember the original — their average age is 61

The BBC is siphoning off £200m of licence fee payers’ money this year to subsidise free viewing for the over-75s.

The disclosure, in its annual plan for 2018-19, coincides with alarming evidence that adults aged 16-34 are watching half as much BBC TV as they did in 2010. A third of young adults do not watch the BBC even for three minutes a week. Other age groups up to the age of 54 have reduced their viewing by at least a third.

The raid on licence fee income to subsidise elderly people risks further depleting BBC budgets just as US tech giants — including Netflix, Amazon, Apple and YouTube — target British audiences. The BBC is in advanced talks with ITV and Channel 4 about