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Amol Rajan says the BBC is 'too posh'

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 25:  Amol Rajan, Editor of The Independent, during Amol Rajan: Inspiring Action as part of Advertising Week Europe, Picadilly, on March 25, 2015 in London, England.  (Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images for Advertising Week)
Amol Rajan is the media editor at the BBC. (Getty Images for Advertising Week)

BBC presenter Amol Rajan has accused the broadcaster of being 'too posh'.

Rajan is currently the BBC's media editor and set to replace Jeremy Paxman as the host of University Challenge next year.

Rajan recently commissioned a report into the accents of newsreaders on air and the findings said that 70% of talent speak with 'posh' accents.

Read more: Who is Amol Rajan? All you need to know about the new 'University Challenge' host

Only 10% of the whole population in the UK are thought to speak with received pronunciation accents.

BBC director-general Tim Davie giving evidence to the Communications and Digital Committee in the House of Lords, London as part of its inquiry into the future funding of the broadcaster. Picture date: Monday May 23, 2022. (Photo by House of Lords/PA Images via Getty Images)
BBC director-general Tim Davie. (PA Images via Getty Images)

Talking to BBC director-general Tim Davie at the Royal Television Society conference, Rajan questioned if he would put a newsreader with a 'strong regional working class accent' on air.

Davie replied: "Of course."

The director-general also outlined a number of schemes to diversify the BBC including a target of having 25% of its workforce being from "lower socio-economic backgrounds" by 2027.

Davie also highlighted: "There are a couple of things happening. I’ve pushed £700million of spending outside the M25. It’s changing the BBC. There is a new Radio 1 strand out of Salford. [BBC One daytime show] Morning Live is coming out of Salford. It’s going to happen."

Amol Rajan (ITV)
Amol Rajan (ITV)

He added: "I’m absolutely revving on it. The critical thing is that you don’t get a sniff of that slightly patronising ‘London is where the best output comes from’ [attitude]. It’s nonsense."

A number of high profile BBC presenters do speak with distinguished regional accents including newsreader Huw Edwards who is Welsh and broke the news of the Queen's death to the nation earlier this month.

Clive Myrie, who hosts Mastermind, is also notable for his Bolton accent and Newsnight presenter Victoria Derbyshire has a Lancashire accent.

Read more: Amol Rajan announced as new University Challenge host

Rajan originally started presenting on The Wright Show before moving into journalism with The Independent which he later edited.

He was the newspaper's last editor before it went fully online.

Watch below: Tim Davie: Dismantling BBC would be doing a disservice to our culture