The
Road To Diversity Is
Closed…Please Seek Alternate
Route”
Excerpts of the speech
given by Lenny Henry to the
Royal Television Society on
Thursday 7 February 2008 at
the Cavendish Conference
Centre, London
Good evening [ ] I’m going
to talk about the TV
programmes my family and I
endured in the 60s and 70s
and how rare the appearance
of an ethnic minority was
back then. I’m going to talk
about my early days in the
business, the mistakes I
made, and the things I’ve
learnt along the way. I’ll
also be discussing the
current state of the British
television industry and the
need for affirmative action.
Do we want quotas? Or can we
depend on the goodwill of a
few movers and shakers ----
white movers and shakers, in
top positions? I’m going to
be looking at ways we can
change things. Because I
want this speech to be a
catalyst, I don’t want you
to feel that coming to this
speech is just an
opportunity to tick another
box… That’s ethnicity dealt
with, TICK! No. I want you
to go out and take practical
steps, bold steps - to
improve diversity wherever
you are: If you’re not going
to take positive action
starting tomorrow –please
leave now.
[ ]
When I first started
watching TV, there were no
black people on it at all.
That was in the days of
black and white television.
They should have called it
white and white television.
If a black person did come
on, people thought there was
something wrong with the set
(fiddle with contrast with
one hand phone in hand)
"Hullo-Radio Rentals?
There's a dark bloke on my
telly. Can you come and get
him off?" (Fiddle) “he’s
still there.” The only black
people constantly on telly
were the Black and White
minstrels. And they were
white! White blokes with
black shoe polish on their
faces-and big white lips.
Accurate! What did they do,
sit in front of the mirror
and go “What do black people
look like? I know!" (Draw
huge lips on self). My mom
would be this close to the
screen "Well it's nice to
see some black people on TV
for a change. But look at
those lips. They must be
from one of the small
islands." We had CY Grant,
the king of calypsos and, in
the early 70s, Derek
Griffiths on Play School. If
a black or ethnic minority
person was featured in a TV
show, we noticed. We loved
the telly in our house
[ ]
This was very different to
the American TV we watched
at the time. In the sixties
Bill Cosby starred in I-Spy
- and later in the 80s he
had his own show, The Cosby
Show, playing a successful
middle class family man.
Without any dialogue at all
about him not ‘fitting in.’
It was number one in the
Nielsen ratings for five
consecutive seasons, won
three Emmy’s, three golden
globes and featured in Time
magazine’s fifty greatest TV
show’s of all time. Proving
that a mass audience could
identify with a black family
and not perceive them to be
any different from
themselves. Meanwhile I’d be
in front of the TV on a
Sunday night - watching All
Creatures Great and Small,
Miss Marple, Darling Buds of
May, Jeeves and Wooster -
And never see a black face.
They all depicted
pre-immigration Britain:
blue skies, green fields,
and white people. The
National Front wouldn't meet
on Sunday evening - they
were all at home in front of
the box going "Perfick."
It’s like today – you can’t
move for ‘Bonnets and
Crinolines’ on the telly and
the people wearing them are
all white. By the time Queen
Victoria was on the throne-
this country had a sizeable
black population – so where
are they when I turn on the
telly? It’s like there’s a
rule about showing actual
black people in Britain on
screen, for fear of the
audience having to actually
speak to the real black
people living in the next
street. That’s the world I
grew up in, there was both
witting and unwitting
racism; you rarely saw a
black or brown person on the
screen - and when you did,
they were always talking
about just how black or
brown they were. America was
light years ahead of us when
it came to on screen
diversity. Unfortunately I
wasn’t living in America – I
lived in Dudley.
[ ]
Where’s the new initiative
in comedy? Is anybody going
out to clubs with their
Diversity goggles on?
Looking for black / Asian or
whatever comedians? If
they’re looking for
stand-ups for a new show, do
the researchers and
producers cast their net
wide? Do they go to the
Hackney Empire, or any of
the ethnic minority comedy
nights put on by Upfront
comedy or Harmony
productions all over the
country? Or do they head
down to Jongleurs, the
Comedy store, or up the
Edinburgh festival, the same
as they always do? This is
an area that needs a massive
kick up the bum.
An
area that I think has got it
right is Children’s TV,
particularly at the BBC.
There’ll you’ll see black,
white, mixed race and Asian
presenters, you’ll see
people with disabilities,
you’ll see every sort of
person that you’re likely to
meet in every day life. It’s
fantastic. Richard Deverell,
Controller of Children’s
BBC, has taken a bold,
three-pronged approach to
diversity: Prong number one:
Each member of the board has
a relationship with an
organization that works with
children from diverse
communities, such as Whiz
kids, or the National Deaf
Children’s Society. The
result is a mutual growth in
understanding. With the
national Deaf Children’s
society, they went further
and produced guidelines,
which are available to all
broadcasters, on how TV can
better serve deaf children.
So what they’re doing,
influences TV across the
board; I think it’s called a
‘ripple effect’
Prong number two: They
ensure that diversity is
represented on screen, by
having a specific clause
written into their contracts
with independent producers;
which means diversity is
always raised at
commissioning. The Indies
(and In House) know, it is
something they have to take
into account– it’s not just
an after-thought.
Prong number three: is to
improve diversity behind the
cameras. After all, a more
diverse work force, will
more naturally, and better
portray, diverse
communities. They have
schemes to encourage those
who would love to work for
the BBC, but lack confidence
–They’ve had a few successes
here, for instance Andy
Akinwolere. The Blue Peter
presenter - and triple word
scrabble score - came via
this route. This is the way
it should be done; if other
organizations follow
Richard’s example you won’t
have to listen to another
speech like this in five
years time. Another area
that gets it right is the
news. Come on! We’ve got -
Mark Eddo, Nina Hussein,
George Alagiah, Joyce o
Hajah, And the king -Trevor
McDonald! One night you'll
be watching TV and Trev will
go “Good evening Brothers
and sisters, we have taken
control! Seize the power.
Smash the government.
Overthrow the police. But
first the headlines." The
reason News has such a
diverse on screen presence
is partly due to schemes
like Move On Up, a bold
initiative set up by BECTU
in 2002. They’ve got over a
thousand black and ethnic
minority professionals on
their books; they broker
meetings between these
professionals, and
executives from more than
seventy companies in film,
television and radio. It’s
networking. A bit like speed
dating but with a career at
the end, not a shag. And
what’s happening in drama?
One of the places you’re
most likely to see a
representation of
multicultural Britain is in
the Queen Vic on Albert
square. In a recent survey,
ethnic minority characters
accounted for 13% of the
cast of Eastenders.
(Cockney) “It’s sorted!”
Hospital dramas too, it
seems, are safe ground for
minority actors. 25% of the
casts of Casualty, Doctors,
and Holby City are from an
ethnic minority. I was
watching Holby the other
night – there were so many
brothers and sista’s on it,
I thought I was watching a
repeat of Roots! In
hospitals all over the
country, the staff rooms are
full of people going
–“Tundi, look at this – I
want to go there and see if
I can get a job!” The
British public is now
becoming used to seeing the
occasional black, brown or
yellow face in mainstream
contemporary drama. There’s
a black actor playing an
assistant in Waking the
Dead, there’s a black actor
playing an assistant in
Spooks and up until recently
there was a black actress
playing an assistant in Dr
Who. Who knows, one day we
might actually see a black
actor playing someone in
charge…. There is still work
to do. And while we’re about
it - lets cut the
stereotyping right now: when
you can cast a Somalian girl
in your piece simply because
she is the best actor for
the job, when you can cast
an Asian actress and she’s
not the victim of an
arranged marriage, when you
can cast a Jamaican man with
dreadlocks and he’s not a
drug dealer… then we will
have achieved something.
When you can see past their
foreignness – and just live
with their talent and make a
decision based on that, and
that alone then we’ll have
made a change and I can’t
wait for that day. Now, some
of the statisticians in the
audience, may be sitting
there thinking, ‘This is all
very well Len but where are
the figures for overall
staffing within the British
television industry?”And the
Royal Television Society
told me that the best way to
present figures is in a pie
chart…Here we are: These
pies represent ethnic
diversity within the
industry-
Lets start with the BBC pie
and, as you can see, the
BBC’s target figure was 12.5
percent, and they actually
have: 10.6 percent. So –
lagging a bit there. Bit of
a smaller pie. The target
for senior managers was 7%,
And you actually have: 4.38
percent…so a much smaller
pie there…To Christopher
Biggins that would be a mere
canapé. I love you, you paid
for my car, but buck your
ideas up.
Coming to ITV’s pies now.
Now, ITV set no formal
targets, so we’ve got two
empty plates there…They have
seven percent across the
network – That’s low –what’s
going on there? And then it
gets a bit scrappy here,
because instead of a
percentage of senior
management they’ve said they
have… “One in three GMTV
production trainees and two
senior ITN managers.” At the
risk of not snagging a
primetime drama series with
Robson Green and Caroline
Quentin -that’s rubbish…I
can’t really represent that
with a pie, so I’ve just
given them half a sausage
roll, a handful of peanuts
and two cheese balls, which
coincidentally, is what’s in
Johnny Vegas’ pockets right
now. So ITV need to get
baking. Come on ITV –get
your apron on, smear some
butter in that baking tray –
and fix us up some Diversity
Pie!
Channel 4 –their target was
13% and they achieved 12
percent. Very little
difference in the pie size
there – they could be twins.
Very well done. Your target
for senior staff was 9%. And
you have 7% - that’s not bad
– at least you’re trying…
you can have a dollop of
cream for that. Lastly, we
have Channel Five’s results.
Their target was 13%, and
they actually have 10.3 %.
That’s not shameful is it?
You could eat that! If you
do better next year I might
even get you a tin opener…
And they didn’t have a
target for senior
management, so an empty
plate there…But they do have
7% in senior management, so
they get a reasonably sized
pie for that. But you could
do better five – As the
renowned 20th century
philosopher Jockey Wilson
once said: If you haven’t
got a target, what are you
going to aim at? And there’s
a man who knows about pies.
The pie chart ladies and
gentlemen. Give it up! ‘The
road to diversity is closed.
Please seek alternate
routes.’
[ ] There is an argument for
commissioning ethnic
minority programmes and
broadcasting them on
specific channels. 1xtra,
MTV Base and Zee TV are all
hugely popular. But whenever
I watch these channels, all
I see is a ghetto - and I
don’t know about you, but
I’ve never wanted to live in
the ghetto. I don’t know
anybody who does. You never
meet people from the home
counties going ‘ I’m
thinking of relocating to
the Ghetto, there are some
marvellous opportunities
there – apparently , one can
purchase crack cocaine and
set fire to a police car.
What larks!’ Nobody wants to
be in the ghetto, OK? We all
want to live in the
mainstream, where everyone
gets a chance to compete for
the same prizes. When I work
in the States I don’t see
this problem – They’ve got
‘on screen diversity down’.
Now I know what you’re
thinking – ‘How can a
country much more racist
than the UK make such great
strides while we’re making
pigeon steps?’
Well, I would say that
slavery, the KKK,
lynching’s, race riots,
segregation, more lynchings,
Rosa Parks, Martin Luther
King, more lynchings, non
violent protest, Malcolm X,
violent protest, Louis
Farrakhan, the beating of
Rodney King, the LA riots,
Spike Lee, the million man
march, Barack Obama – and of
course the mighty Oprah
Winfrey…probably had
something to do with it. Do
we really have to go through
everything they went through
to just to get some more
black and brown faces in
Coronation Street? Do you
really want a million men
marching to Weatherfield to
protest about the lack of
ethnic diversity in the
Rovers Return? I’d like to
see that episode: (Northern)
‘Hey Michelle – these blokes
outside want a million pints
of bitter and two packets of
crisps.’ Our industry has to
change – if we are going to
truly represent
multicultural Britain in the
21st century; we must, as
Hamlet instructed the player
king, ‘hold, as twere, the
mirror up to nature.’
Because it hurts to be
excluded. [ ]
So
what can we do? Well – At
the beginning of the
Nineties when I was chairman
of Crucial films, the first
thing I did was instigate an
initiative called A Step
Forward. It was a bold step.
The BBC funded a three-day
course for young writers
from a multi ethnic
background. Everyone in the
industry came to talk with
them, –and they got to work
with some of the best comedy
writers and producers at the
time -John Lloyd, Richard
Curtis, Jimmy Moir, Charlie
Hanson, James Hendrie. It
was a great success and some
of those writers went on to
work on Eastenders,
Casualty, Babyfather and of
course The Real McCoy, which
grew out of that initiative.
The other thing we did was
to ensure that whenever
possible we had a multi
ethnic cast and crew. I told
my executive producers to go
out there and find them. And
it was a revelation. I met
so many talented people:
soundmen, directors of
photography, make-up
artists, first, second and
third ADs -, whatever they
do -these people are out
there. They just want the
chance to do their jobs. We
can’t just rely on good will
– Casting and crewing from a
multi ethnic talent pool is
the way forward. Affirmative
action is needed if this is
going to happen….Affirmative
action… from you. The
Cultural Diversity Network
has been organizing
meetings, setting targets
and running workshops, and I
really hope that we will
begin to see the results of
those endeavours very soon.
From now, you need to start
thinking of Diversity as an
asset, not a problem.
Britain’s cultural diversity
has changed more rapidly
than any time since the
Norman invasion. (Now you’re
just taking the piss)
The
TV industry is going to have
to adapt if it is to stay
alive. People are already
moving away from mainstream
entertainments to look at
things on the Internet,
their phones, on cable and
satellite TV. There are at
least 15 South Asian
satellite TV channels
broadcasting on the Sky
Digital platform. Black
Entertainment Television is
about to launch its UK
network. I say to you now,
if you want to keep your
viewers you’ve got to adapt.
Because , if you don’t adapt
…I know what you’re
thinking, you’re thinking
–‘why me?’ Well if not you,
who? If not now When? During
my career, I’ve been
mentored, advised and
nurtured by many talented
and kind people. My only
wish is that future
generations of talented
individuals from ethnic
minorities will be afforded
the same privilege. But so
that wish can come true
here’s what I want you to do
tomorrow. This is where you
have to be bold…
1.
When you’re commissioning
your programmes – put
diversity on the agenda.
Write it in there so it
doesn’t get forgotten.
2. Reach out to schools and
colleges and make people
aware that ethnic minorities
are welcome in the UK TV
Industry - get in on the
ground floor otherwise these
people are not going to be
able to contribute to our
industry.
3. Set targets. You know who
I’m talking about. If you
don’t set targets, you’re
gonna have an empty plate up
here. I don’t want any one
to end up with two cheesy
balls and a Pepperami – set
targets. Do it tomorrow.
4. Create internships to
give people without the
benefit of an Oxbridge
education the chance to
participate in programme
making. I’m talking
mentoring, apprenticeships
the full works.
5. When you’re looking for
people to put in front of
the cameras – why don’t you
try going off the beaten
track a little bit? You
might just find…someone like
me
6. You commercial guys –
start thinking of ethnic
minorities as an untapped
market. They’re the audience
of the future; they’re
consumers just like
everybody else, start going
for that diversity pound
7. And you might not be able
to do this tomorrow – unless
you’re Mark Thompson or
Michael Grade –but – start
appointing ethnic minority
staff. None of this changes
– unless you appoint staff.
And
I’m not talking about
cleaners, security guys,
scene shifters, or anyone
wearing a uniform - I’m
talking about decision
makers, producers,
directors, commissioners.
Who knows, it’s possible
that a black man might
become the leader of the
free world – why not a
Director General of the BBC
- pulling up outside in a
Cadillac? He still wouldn’t
get in ‘General Who? Do you
know Lenny Henry?’ At the
beginning, I asked you to be
bold. I have here a quote,
it’s from Goethe, and it’s
about making a decision,
committing oneself and being
bold: “The moment one
definitely commits oneself,
then Providence moves too.
All sorts of things occur to
help one that would never
otherwise have occurred. A
whole stream of events
issues from the decision,
raising in one's favour all
manner of unforeseen
incidents and meetings and
material assistance, which
no man could have dreamed
would have come his way.
Whatever you can do, or
dream you can do, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power,
and magic in it. Begin it
now.”
COURTESY OF THE ROYAL
TELEVISION SOCIETY
WWW.RTS.ORG.UK
