Ade Rawcliffe: Diversity

“Channel 4 has a rich heritage in representing on-screen those voices rarely heard before on mainstream television. Spooling forward to 2008 we are renewing our commitment to reflecting the diversity and richness of modern Britain, both on and off-screen.

So what does this mean for our programming? A £2m budget will be ring-fenced for multicultural programmes at 9 and 10pm, and a dedicated Commissioning Editor will be appointed. We’ll be looking for programmes that inform, excite, surprise and examine what contemporary British society looks like. But in the same way that Coronation Street appeals beyond a working class audience from Manchester, these programmes will have universal themes that appeal to a wider audience.

Off-screen we will be expanding our existing schemes, including the Researcher Trainee Programme and Deputy Commissioning Editor attachments, and introducing exciting new initiatives to better reflect all kinds of social diversity including ethnicity, disability, nationality, regionality, age, gender and beyond.”

Ade Rawcliffe: Diversity & Talent Manager, Channel 4