Lenny Henry has added his voice to those black stars lamenting the scarcity of good roles available in the UK, with the comedian turned actor naming and shaming 'Broadchurch' and 'Midsomer Murders' in his attack, saying they failed to represent modern Britain.
Broadchurch - brilliant, but too white, according to Lenny Henry
Lenny was giving the annual BAFTA Television Lecture, when he asked, "What is going on? This is 2014."
He added:
"The evolution of black and ethnic minority involvement in British drama seems to lurch one step forward and two steps back, a bit like John Sergeant in 'Strictly Come Dancing'. Except he had a job at the end."
Clearly sarcastically, he added, "In 'Broadchurch', at least the boyfriend of the deceased is mixed race, so there’s someone in there.
"Mrs Brown’s Boys. The Irish. An ethnic minority transvestite. I guess that counts."
Lenny Henry complains that black actors are being forced to leave the UK for good work
Lenny Henry also pointed out the catalogue of top black actors leaving these shores for America - the likes of Idris Elba, Chiwetel Ejiofor, David Oyelowo and David Harewood.
'Homeland' star David Harewood has previously spoken of how he has been forced to find good work overseas...
“With the types of dramas that we do, it’s going to take a while for people to start casting strong black lead roles. It’s why that whole generation of strong black lead actors left the country.”
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