Lenny Henry: It’s all too white on Bafta night

Lenny Henry has complained there was not enough black talent at this year’s Bafta television awards.

The comedian-turned-actor, the son of Jamaican immigrants, said he believes it is because not enough programmes are being made using black actors.

Henry, 54, said: “There weren’t any black people at the Baftas — there was no black talent. What’s the matter with those people? What were the judges doing?

“There are just not enough programmes with black people in them. In 200 years’ time, our children are going to look back to now and say, ‘Remember that really weird period when there weren’t any black people in any programmes?’

“It’s unthinkable, but now we’re having to live through it. We’re in this slow, idling process towards change.” Henry, who shot to fame in 1975 after winning TV talent contest New Faces and more recently won acclaim following a successful switch from screen to theatre, added: “I’m working on things and trying to bring about change, but I can’t do it all on my own.

“We need to invest in these programmes, in rainbow casting, in all of the great black writers, producers and directors who make these programmes.

“And these shouldn’t just be niche programmes, they must be about things we can all to relate to. We’re an inclusive nation. It’s time to make some inclusive programmes. Frankly, it’s just ignorance from the top down.”

The BBC’s television coverage of the Bafta TV awards averaged just over six million viewers on Sunday night, the event’s biggest audience for nearly a decade.