Channel 'too focused on families whose lives more reflective of staff than viewers'

The comical side of Chiswick is 'too middle class' according to the newly appointed boss of BBC1, Danny Cohen. According to reports, Cohen wants to see more of Only Fools And Horses (filmed on South Acton Estate) style of characters and less of Chiswick's middle class My Family on the broadcaster's main channel.

However sit coms like My Family and Outnumbered have proved very popular with audiences which some believe could be due to the ever increasing number of people who identify with their 'middle class' lifestyles.

Cohen is currently talking to programme makers at the BBC about coming up with new sitcom ideas. A BBC insider told The Daily Mail: "Danny is not reinventing the wheel. But he feels the BBC has lost its variety and become too focused on formats about comfortable, well-off middle-class families whose lives are perhaps more reflective of BBC staff than viewers in other parts of the UK.

"One of his priorities is getting more programming that reflects the different social classes and what he describes as “blue collar” comedies. In the past programmes like Porridge, Birds of a Feather and Bread were about real working families and the workings of their lives."

Public school and Oxford University educated Cohen said: "BBC1 is focused on working with Britain’s most talented comedy writers and performers to get the best programming for our viewers. We will work hard to capture the lives and experiences of a broad range of British people but it’s not right to suggest any one group will be given priority over others."

January 25, 2011