Lenny Henry brands TV industry 'racist'

Lenny Henry has accused the British TV industry of being racist.

The comedian said the attitudes of the Alf Garnett era are alive and well and that a plan is needed to increase the number of ethnic minority staff at the major channels.

In a speech to the Royal Television Society, he said: "When I started, I was surrounded by a predominantly white workforce, but 32 years later, not a lot has changed."

He claimed that urgent action was required to give people without a degree from Oxbridge an opportunity to work in the industry.

The 49-year-old added: "I'm not talking about cleaners or security guys. I'm talking about decision-makers. To find a black or Asian boom operator is as rare as seeing John McCririck on the cover of Vanity Fair."

Henry also highlighted the lack of black actors in British costume dramas, saying: "By the time Queen Victoria was on the throne, this country had a sizable black population, so where are they? You can't move for bonnets and crinolines and the people wearing them are all white."

Figures recently revealed that the BBC had fewer senior ethnic minority staff than four years ago.