C4 BOSS: WE WILL CONTINUE TO MAKE OFFENSIVE TV SHOWS

Programme chief Julian Bellamy attacked the BBC’s conservative ways and claimed the broadcasters were in danger of becoming too boring.

Speaking to an audience at a Royal Television Society gathering, Bellamy said the historic corporation had a knack for dodging potentially controversial ideas “like the plague”, adding that the results would be “to no one’s benefit”.

In reference to recent scandals such as “Sachsgate” – when Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand made prank phone calls to actor Andrew Sachs for Brand’s Radio 2 show – he suggested the Beeb was treading on eggshells when it came to what they now allow themselves to air.

Mr Bellamy defended his organisation’s “unique cultural role” and vowed to take creative risks “even when public sentiment risks being offended”.

Branding Channel 4 the “sole guardian of nonconformism and provocation on Britain’s most powerful cultural medium,” he sided with producers who accused their rivals of shunning anything deemed disruptive.

Despite a Shilpa Shetty race row Julian Bellamy warned that television risks becoming 'bland'

 
Mr Bellamy described the public service provider’s editorial decision-making as an “unintended consequence of the BBC’s method of funding”.

He warned: “The press is relentless in measuring and magnifying perceived outrage. It is becoming more uncomfortable for all broadcasters, but particularly the BBC, to stand in opposition to the public mood.

“Our society will become less democratic. Less enlightened. Ultimately, less free.”

Despite critic suggestions that Channel 4’s decision to axe Big Brother post 2010, was a direct result of a backlash following a race row involving Shilpa Shetty, which was sparked on the show – Mr Bellamy said it was a “unique opportunity for us to reconnect with our key cultural role”.

Our society will become less democratic. Less enlightened. Ultimately, less free

Julian Bellamy

 
He acknowledged that “relentless competitive pressures” had forced the broadcaster to take almost £150 million out of its programme budget in the last three years, but he also said he saw a “silver lining” in their financial circumstances.

Highlighting a “real sense of new beginnings” at Channel 4, he said: “We must spurn any temptation to relive past glories, as so many in television now do.

“This is a moment to be more focused than ever on reaffirming our credentials as Britain’s most forward looking, contemporary channel.”