Comedian tells MPs that, in ignoring those who work behind scenes, regulator has ensured ‘nothing has really changed’

Sir Lenny Henry has accused the broadcasting regulator of promoting a culture of “fake diversity” over its refusal to set targets for those who work behind the scenes.

Henry, who has been at the forefront of the campaign to make British broadcasters address issues of diversity, openly chastised Ofcom for its report, released on Monday, which said it would only set targets for “on-screen diversity”, ignoring those who commission and make the shows.

Speaking in parliament to a panel that included the Labour MP David Lammy, the Conservative MP Helen Grant and the Liberal Democrat peer Jane Bonham Carter, Henry said: “They suggest that as long as we have a BAME [black, Asian and minority ethnic] person on the TV screen, giving the appearance of diversity, then it is absolutely OK, fine, peachy and dandy, even if the creators who make the content are completely un-diverse. This is fake diversity.”

Ofcom accused of on and off-screen diversity failures at BBC Read more

He added: “It’s all very well to say: ‘Look, this person has an Asian antagonist or a gay second lead.’ That’s great but who was the producer, who was the commissioner, who was the script editor, the head of casting, the photographer, the director, the first AD? If the deciders remain the same then nothing has really changed.”

In a slideshow, Henry called up pictures of the key winners of this year’s Bafta TV Craft awards, which honour talent behind the camera, who were all white. He joked that it looked like a “White House staff meeting”.

“This is the dirty secret of what our industry really looks like behind the camera,” said Henry.

He dissected the BBC’s claim that 14% of its staff are from a BAME background, pointing out that this included all administrative staff and those working in the World Service for foreign language networks.

He pointed to a recent survey by Directors UK of all British broadcasters that found that no talk shows, period dramas, game shows, sketch shows, reality TV shows or children’s entertainment shows had BAME directors.

“So while the BBC’s official figures say 14.5% are BAME, the number of BAME people responsible for making the programmes we watch is probably closer to 1.5%,” said Henry. “The number of BAME people behind the scenes in our industry is at crisis level and we need Ofcom to do something about it.”

Henry said Ofcom had proved in the past that diversity was an issue that could be tackled successfully, with the strict regulations that had been brought in around ensuring regional diversity, which were focused entirely behind the camera. The comedian called for similar ringfencing to be introduced when it came to BAME diversity in the industry.

“They didn’t try to measure how many people were wearing kilts on screen, or whether someone had a Geordie accent,” said Henry. “It’s about where a programme’s money was being spent, who was employed behind the camera and where the company making the programme was based. Ofcom must do the same for other types of diversity. It is possible to make our media fully diverse.”

Henry’s call for ringfencing of budgets was backed by the panel, including Lammy, who said he had written to the head of Ofcom, Sharon Wright, to complain about its decision not to regulate diversity behind the camera.

Lammy’s office said the Labour MP had been trying for more than a year to secure a meeting with Wright, but had been cancelled on four times in the past six months. He had since been told she had no availability to meet him in the next year, his office said.

Henry said it was “a fight about who is, and who isn’t, considered British, a fight about whose voices do and do not matter”.

He added: “In today’s Britain, with Brexit … the need for all our voices to be heard is more important than ever. In a country where racist attacks are on the rise and where people retreat into their own social media bubbles, self-reinforcing extreme world views – and that includes the leader of the free world – diversity isn’t a luxury, it is essential.”

In response, an Ofcom spokesperson said: “Improving diversity in broadcasting – behind and in front of camera – is a crucial issue and a priority for Ofcom.

“The BBC has an important duty to reflect the full diversity of the UK. The charter places duties on Ofcom to regulate the BBC’s on-air diversity, but we also recognise that off-screen is critically important.



“We expect the BBC to increase diversity off-screen, and it has a workforce target of 15% representation of black, Asian and ethnic minorities, across all staff, including leadership, by 2020. We are clear that we will consider further action if we don’t see early and continued progress.

“We are also closely monitoring and reporting on the workforce diversity of all broadcasters in our forthcoming diversity survey.”

• This article was amended on 19 July 2017 to include a response from Ofcom.

