Tony Garnett(1936-2020)

When asked what lasting effect award-winning TV play Cathy Come Home had in 1989, Garnett pointed out that the number of homeless in Britain had more than doubled "...but Ken (Loach) and I now live in much more expensive houses.".

I am not an enemy of the BBC. I am a critical friend. True friends point out your failings - however uncomfortable that makes you - and the anguish in the creative community and the short-changing of the audience make me feel obligated to speak some truths about BBC drama. The problem is systematic and cultural. The BBC's drama department has changed over a generation in ways which have coarsened both it and wider culture. The corporation has built an organisation which is perfectly tuned to allow it to exercise control and to crush the creative act - despite creativity being one of its main reasons for existing.