Comicocracy

At the BBC this week:

Russell Brand made a brave stand for disability rights. He refused to endorse a podcast of his radio show which excluded an interview with his wheelchair-using friend Ade Adepitan, who reported being abused and refused entry to a nightclub. In a piece in the Guardian, who have been less cowardly than the Beeb over this issue, he explained that he had an obligation as a celebrity to listen to his conscience.

There was also a welcome repeat for the episode of 'Extras' featuring Kate Winslet and Francesca Martinez, an actress with cerebral palsy. The appearance of the latter is remarkable, given the frequency with which disabled roles continue to be filled by non-disabled actors. Julie Fernandez, who played Brenda in 'The Office', is also notable for being a real wheelchair-user. This is no coincidence. Unlike Jim Davidson, Ricky Gervais has always been keen that his disability-related humour should always be directed at actual disabled people and Martinez has acknowledged the extent to which he has supported her career, and persuaded the powers that be in television to do the same.

Contrary to the claims of people such as Rik Mayall, the pressure to produce more a diverse output does not come from the BBC, at least as far as disability is concerned. Rather, it is the talent themselves who are forced to take the initiative if they want things to move in the right direction. Big stars such as Brand and Gervais have the influence not only to ask for blue M&Ms but also to prevent their employer from abdicating its responsbility as a public broadcaster.

And they are not fringe figures. Russell Brand's podcast is second only to Ricky Gervais in terms of the number of downloads so it seems that it is they who are in touch with the public mood rather than the men in suits. In a modern democracy, it is not usually considered to be constitutionally desirable for stand-up comedians to wield so much power, but who knows? It might just happen to work out OK.