Stephen Fry and Lenny Henry among 100+ names urging BBC not to cut Inside Out

Actor Stephen Fry and comic Lenny Henry are among more than 100 prominent people defending the BBC’s regional current affairs and politics programmes from the axe in a letter to the corporation.

Press Gazette reported last month that Inside Out and Politics England could face the chop as the BBC is forced to find further savings to plug a £125m hole in its finances caused by Covid-19.

Both programmes fall under BBC England and its regional news output, separate from BBC News, and are under review as the corporation looks to tackle its “significant financial challenges”.

Filming for the latest series of Inside Out has been put on hold due to Covid-19 and BBC insiders fear the programme, which has 11 regional variants, will now not return at all – leading to some 30 job losses.

In a letter addressed to outgoing director general Tony Hall and his replacement Tim Davie, the 125-signatories expressed their concern over the future of the programmes.

“Never has in-depth investigative journalism, holding people to account and reflecting the regional diversity of England been more important,” the letter said.

“If these cuts were to become permanent they risk damaging English democracy by the failure to provide an important platform for those voices in our communities who need and want to be heard.

“Even when faced with financial pressures we urge you not to reduce regional programmes and to defend a vital element of public service broadcasting not available anywhere else.”

Among those to have signed the letter are journalists Gloria Hunniford, Angela Rippon and John Inverdale, as well as actor Christopher Eccleston and author Anthony Horowitz.

In recent years Inside Out has investigated deaths on Smart Motorways, the impact on families of so-called “county lines” drug dealing, and working practices at Sports Direct.

Wildlife presenter Chris Packham, who previously worked for Inside Out South, said: “Top quality impartial investigative journalism should remain a central part of the BBC’s mission and Inside Out has delivered this consistently for many years.

“And equally importantly it has played a keystone role in the BBC’s essential commitment to regional programming. To lose this would be very disappointing.”

Journalist Samira Ahmed, who works for the BBC and won an equal pay case against the corporation earlier this year, said: “I was proud to be part of an Inside Out investigation for BBC Leeds that dared to tackle difficult issues around race and exploitation in the Rotherham Grooming Scandal.

“Now more than ever we need honest, fearless journalism that is rooted in the long-term expertise and professionalism of BBC journalists who know their local communities.

“The BBC’s reputation is built on journalists like these.”

A BBC spokesperson said: “Local and regional broadcasting is in the BBC’s DNA and we’re especially proud of how our services have performed during recent months.

“The pandemic has forced us to prioritise our resources so we’ve cancelled the autumn series of Inside Out and are continuing with the single political programme for England through to the summer.

“The BBC does face very real financial challenges so naturally we are looking at what savings might be possible across the BBC.”

The full list of signatories: