Broadcasters 'perpetuate ethnic racial stereotypes'

TV broadcasters are failing to reflect Britain's ethnic diversity and are perpetuating racial stereotypes with token characters, a report said today.

Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, warned that the "overwhelmingly white" terrestrial broadcasters will struggle to survive in the digital age unless they address their failure to reflect Britain's multicultural society - in their output and their staffing.

Phillips was commissioned to write the report by Channel 4 following last year's Celebrity Big Brother race row when the Indian actress Shilpa Shetty was subjected to racist bullying leading to record numbers of complaints and a scathing rebuke from Ofcom.

He found black and Asian viewers were dismayed with "stereotypical" characters in soap operas such as Asian corner shop owner Dev in Coronation Street.

Phillips concluded broadcasters now produced less specialist ethnic programmes and called for levies on every show that would be spent on diversity initiatives such as training, shadowing schemes and content development.