Lenny Henry, looking rather sexy with a goatee, presented this light hearted and irreverent look back at the Open University which brought education to the great unwashed. It didn’t matter who you were, if you had the drive and commitment to study for a degree, the OU made it possible, and still does…

From prisoners to pensioners, the OU revolutionised learning, and did so via men and women who may or may not have just smoked a joint before recording their lectures which were aired in the bowels of the night. I recall well watching men with dreadful comb-overs and women with tight polo necks and checked skirts delivering knowledge late at night, aided/hampered by uncooperative props and appalling lighting.

So in this show, Lenny – a graduate of the OU himself – guided us through its history, right from its inception to present day, and it’s an interesting story that’s full of anecdotes and fond reminiscences. One of my favourites of those was when David Attenborough – who was controller of BBC2 donkey’s years ago – told Lenny how he met Jennie Lee, the Labour minister who doggedly pushed forward the idea of the OU… Read more & comment »

Comedian and TV presenter Lenny Henry has accused the TV Industry of being racist in a speech today.

“When I started, I was surrounded by a predominantly white workforce. Thirty-two years later, not a lot has changed,” he said in a speech to the Royal Television Society.

“How many black British comedians are working on mainstream TV today? One? Two? Ethnic minorities are pitifully under-served.

“Is there anybody going out to the comedy clubs with their diversity goggles on? Are the researchers casting their net far and wide? This is an area that needs a massive kick up the bum.”

He also spoke out against classic comedies Till Death Us Do Part and Love Thy Neighbour, saying: “TV producers of the 1960s and 1970s missed a great opportunity. Rather than reflect the reality of multi-ethnic Britain they chose a more xenophobic route – emphasising points of difference instead of similarities.

“If they had been more truthful in their observations, who’s to say we couldn’t have encouraged more young black kids at school or prevented the Brixton riots even?”

Lenny, who is married to white comedienne dawn French also called for more black and Asian people in period dramas. Read more & comment »