In a lecture to the Royal Society of Arts this week, BBC Chairman Sir Michael Lyons said this, among other things:

Let me take as an example how the BBC can improve on its record of reaching ethnic minority audiences.

It has the scale and scope to be able to offer targeted channels such as the Asian Network, or BBC 1Xtra, the digital station for young black urban audiences. But the need to reach everyone should not be an excuse to go on creating more services. The BBC must also find ways to bring those audiences into mainstream output. That’s a real challenge, but it can be done.

There was an outstanding example on BBC One recently in the Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency, a wonderfully warm-hearted piece, set in Botswana, demonstrating all the hallmarks of high quality: good writing, great acting, strong production-values and so on.

Nearly 7 million people watched – well above the average for the Sunday night slot. And they loved what they saw - the appreciation index was significantly higher than the average for drama. But what was really interesting was that it drew a large black audience – much higher than the average for BBC One.

So it is possible to bring diverse audiences together to share a common BBC experience – if the BBC is prepared to take the necessary risks – in this case showcasing at primetime on the flagship channel an entirely black cast with Botswanan accents in an African setting.

Well said. But who is going to get the BBC Channel commissioners to listen? Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency was a wonderful piece of drama, but how often does something like that get commissioned?