The Office creator Ricky Gervais criticises the government's proposals to privatise Channel 4.

Ricky Gervais has hit out at the government's proposals to privatise Channel 4 in the near future.

The broadcaster launched in 1982 with a unique structure whereby it is publicly owned but commercially funded, with all profits reinvested into programming.

Earlier this month culture secretary Oliver Dowden launched a consultation on the future of Channel 4 and revealed that the government is minded to sell it off in order to allow it to better compete in the streaming era.

In a post on Twitter, however, Gervais, who got his TV break on C4 in the late '90s, argued that a sale would 'destroy' the network's reputation for creativity and risk-taking.

"For almost 40 years, Channel 4 has been a launch pad for new ideas and new talent," he wrote.

"It's been able to do that because of its remit and not-for-profit structure and it would be a real shame if that was destroyed by selling off the channel."

The government is expected to outline the next steps of the process later this year. body check tags ::

Follow us on X/Twitter and like us on Facebook for the latest entertainment news alerts.

Media Mole Low-Price Offer: Get Sky Entertainment, Sky Stream & Netflix for just £19 a month + £0 upfront fee for 18 months!
Prices may change during this period. Ends 23rd May 2024

amp_article__456278 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 

last updated article - 2021-07-21 19:19:51: 

html db last update  - 2021-07-20 12:44:45 : 


ex  - 7200 : read : write cache and make html