TV bosses must resist ditching "pale, male and stale" presenters, the head of Channel 4 News has said, as she praised the work of older reporters.

Dorothy Byrne gave a withering assessment of the current state of British television at the Edinburgh TV Festival, where she delivered the prestigious MacTaggart Lecture.

The veteran news chief said she no longer saw “big ideas” from the country’s broadcasters and lamented the lack of progress in improving ethnic diversity on screen, which she claimed was "the most disappointing failure during my career".

But she also sought to temper the reported appetite among television executives to rid their schedules of older, white men who have long dominated the profession.

Ms Byrne, who has been head of news and current affairs at Channel 4 since 2003, said: “We also need to resist the idea that we don’t need older white men anymore and that they should be crushed out of the way.

“I hate the term, ‘Pale, male and stale.’ As someone who sticks up for the rights of old ladies, I need to stick up for old gents too.

“They are still over-represented, but their voices are vital for our society.”