Ringfence money for TV diversity, says Sir Lenny Henry

Sir Lenny Henry has repeated calls for ringfenced funding in a bid to improve diversity in television.

Sir Lenny Henry. Picture: PA

The comedian, who is on a crusade for more black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people on screen and in writing, producing and directing, said: “It would be fantastic to make the ringfenced money happen, because that will stimulate change in a big way. You watch. The minute they say ringfenced money’s going to happen, it will just increase BAME production activity.”

Henry’s comments come as a study commissioned by Channel 4 reveals men are twice as likely to appear on television than women and women are five times more likely to suffer sexism on screen.

The survey found that the most serious sexism has been eradicated from Britain’s TV screens, but that there are still five sexist incidents per hour in programmes across BBC One and Two, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky 1 from 7pm to 11pm.

It found that 72 per cent of sexism was directed towards women and 28 per cent was directed at men.