Media
The BBC has plans to "dumb down" to cater for lower social classes, according to reports.
Several newspapers suggested a Household Value Survey, recently carried out by the corporation to see which shows viewers like, revealed high-brow shows and channels BBC Three and BBC Four were only popular with richer people.
They said staff were to be told many programmes were "too serious" and to produce more populist fare such as Fat Men Can't Hunt and Doctor Who.
A BBC spokeswoman confirmed the survey had been carried out to give "better insight into what audiences want" and that a more detailed investigation was now underway.
However, she said reports of plans to "dumb down" were "ludicrous". She said the work was ongoing and no outcome had been decided.
"We should be producing things that the whole audience wants and not just serving one part of audience," explained the spokeswoman. "It could mean current affairs programmes are made more palatable, but it could also mean more complex investigations if that's what people want."
Several newspapers suggested a Household Value Survey, recently carried out by the corporation to see which shows viewers like, revealed high-brow shows and channels BBC Three and BBC Four were only popular with richer people.
They said staff were to be told many programmes were "too serious" and to produce more populist fare such as Fat Men Can't Hunt and Doctor Who.
A BBC spokeswoman confirmed the survey had been carried out to give "better insight into what audiences want" and that a more detailed investigation was now underway.
However, she said reports of plans to "dumb down" were "ludicrous". She said the work was ongoing and no outcome had been decided.
"We should be producing things that the whole audience wants and not just serving one part of audience," explained the spokeswoman. "It could mean current affairs programmes are made more palatable, but it could also mean more complex investigations if that's what people want."
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