A £84 bottle of wine inadvertently sparked a revolution in British television. In 1984, Jeremy Isaacs, founding chief executive of Channel 4, extended an unexpected invitation to writer Farrukh Dhondy during a lunch at The Ivy restaurant, an offer that would reshape the landscape of multi-ethnic programming in the UK.
Dhondy, already working on groundbreaking multi-ethnic shows for Channel 4 such as the sitcom No Problem!, about a Jamaican family in London, and the comedy Tandoori Nights, initially resisted the proposition to become a commissioning editor. “For God’s sake, I’m not an office job man,” he reportedly said. However, a conversation with Trinidadian activist-scholar C.L.R. James, who was living with Dhondy at the time, altered his perspective. For the next 13 years, Dhondy spearheaded a radical shift in British television, championing and funding ethnic minority storytelling in a manner unprecedented in the country’s broadcasting history.
This period, now being re-examined in a season at the British Film Institute (BFI) titled “Constructed, Told, Spoken,” reveals a “counter-history” of British television. Before the 1980s, programmes aimed at audiences of colour often lacked genuine collaboration, instead offering what Dhondy describes as “extremely patronising” content. BBC programmes like Nai Zindagi Naya Jeevan and Apna Hi Ghar Samajhiye focused heavily on assimilation, while sitcoms such as Love Thy Neighbour and Mind Your Language relied on mocking accents and cultural stereotypes.
Sarita Malik, professor of media and culture at Brunel University of London, characterizes this as the era of “assimilationist TV,” where “Englishness was always positioned as dominant.” These programmes, she explains, aimed to produce a “model ‘good minority’,” accepting cultural difference but suppressing political dissent.
The tide began to turn in the 1970s, fueled by anti-racist activism. Groups like the Campaign Against Racism in the Media protested racist programming, including The Black and White Minstrel Show, and the Black Media Workers Association threatened strikes over racism at the BBC. This pressure coincided with the launch of Channel 4 in 1982, under Margaret Thatcher’s government, with a unique remit to serve previously undervalued audiences. Channel 4 established a dedicated multicultural department and, as a “publisher broadcaster,” commissioned independent producers who had historically been excluded from the industry.
Dhondy, with his background in the anti-racist magazine Race Today, the British Black Panthers, and the Indian Workers’ Association, was ideally positioned to lead this change. Channel 4 adopted a “direct speech” philosophy, prioritizing narratives directly from communities rather than filtered through industry professionals. Dhondy argued against simply producing “complaint programmes” about racism, advocating instead for diverse programming across all genres – sitcoms, drama, and documentaries.
One of the most notable examples of this approach was Bandung File, commissioned by Dhondy and edited by Tariq Ali and Darcus Howe. The documentary and current affairs programme aimed to present the interests of the “third world” and ethnic minorities to a broad British audience, drawing heavily on the political reporting of Race Today. It addressed practical issues facing communities of colour, including consumer rights and changes to immigration law. Another key programme was Channel 4’s Eastern Eye, an Asian magazine show, and Black on Black, the first British programme made by Black journalists, which launched the careers of figures like Julian Henriques and Victor Romero Evans.
Channel 4’s success prompted diversification within the BBC and ITV. The BBC created a production unit for African-Caribbean shows and launched Ebony, a culture review aimed at the Black community. Xavier Alexandre Pillai, curator of the BFI’s season, notes that this shift was too driven by economic considerations, as broadcasters sought to reach diverse local markets.
However, by the late 1990s, the landscape began to change again. The introduction of digital television and increased competition led to more populist programming. Channel 4 disbanded its multicultural programming department shortly after Dhondy’s departure, shifting towards commercial competition, a trend followed by the BBC and ITV.
While representation on screen has increased since then, Dhondy points out that ethnic minorities still comprise only 8% of those in creative and content production roles, and 9% in leadership positions as of 2020. He criticizes the current focus on superficial representation, such as featuring mixed-race families in advertisements, arguing that it fails to address systemic issues. Pillai emphasizes the importance of remembering the historical context of this earlier period, warning against a revisionist view of the past that overlooks the achievements of the 1980s and 1990s. The BFI’s season aims to ensure that this “counter-history” is not forgotten.
