Too few oldies? BBC bats back

BBC1 has shown a lower proportion of older talent on the channel than its commercial rival ITV1.

A week-long survey found that one in five or 20 per cent of presenters and actors seen on BBC1 were aged over 50, compared with 27 per cent on ITV1.

A BBC spokesman said: "While we welcome any research into our output we do not believe that a one-week sample study is an accurate reflection of the BBC's output throughout the year.

We have a very wide range of artists on the BBC including presenters and actors such as Sheila Hancock, Arlene Phillips, Sir David Attenborough and Julia Somerville."