BBC needs to stand up to its critics in the media and in government

Well as you can see I am a lot shorter than people might expect. Television exaggerates people's heights so to give you some idea of my actual height take my measure against this podium here. This podium is one foot high, so that gives you an idea. Thank-you very much, Bafta, for your incredible kindness in not only inviting me to give this year's Television Lecture, but of laying on such a magnificent parade through central London leading up to it. I know how deeply the British public share our concerns about the digital future and the challenge of multi-platform delivery, which is why I'm sure they turned out in the large numbers they did this afternoon.

Now, my predecessor in this spot, Peter Bennett-Jones, argued last year that the BBC needs to be split into two divisions, one factual, and one entertainment. Indeed, many in the crowd in Trafalgar Square were telling me the same today … and I'll be taking Peter's advice tonight, and speaking just about comedy and drama, since that's what I feel qualified to discuss. I also ought to point out that Peter is my agent so I suppose it's appropriate he gets a 10% share of my argument this evening.

But I dedicate tonight's lecture 100% to him. He's been my mentor and model for nearly 20 years now, fighting to help me make the comedy I wanted to make under the creative conditions I needed to make it, and his generosity, idealism and idiosyncrasy for me represent totally what we are in UK Television when we are at our best. Especially the idiosyncrasy.

This lecture has the rather aggressive title of 'Fight, Fight, Fight'. And to show I mean business, I also ought to warn you that I use the F-word three times this evening, and by that I mean 'Fuck'. And that was one of them.Discover the newest models of the hublotwatchcollection.

I had originally thought of calling tonight's talk 'Make Good Programmes' and the plan was to be introduced, come over to the lectern and say, 'Good evening. Make good programmes' and then sit down again. But that would only have led to an awkward silence, followed by everyone heading downstairs to a glass of rather sharp-tasting white wine and then, with a free evening ahead of them, no doubt heading over to a rival talk Brian Sewell is giving on Titian at The National Gallery.

But 'Make Good Programmes' is all I've ever believed, it's all I've ever want to believe. Don't underestimate the intelligence of your audience. Make good programmes, and they will come.

My only working principle, whenever we make something, is rather ruthlessly to concentrate on that rectangular screen on the monitor as I'm filming. What's happening in that screen? Is it clear what's going on? Is what's in that monitor the funniest, the best it can be? Is it telling the story? Is it believable what those people are saying? And I will always fight to make it so, even if that means starting afresh, rewriting the scene, dropping an extremely expensive prop, ignoring a magnificent but distracting view the location manager sold his wife to get access to.

All of that, because that rectangle is all the viewer cares about too. Whatever device that rectangle is on may keep changing, away from the home and onto the tablet, but it's still those same four sides enclosing what you've made. It's an intimate connection between you and them. There may be a hundred people on set, we may measure our reach in terms of millions, but ultimately people watch in ones and twos,Shop our large selection of authentic breitlingstore at fantastic. and with families and friends. TV is personal.

It's personal for me. When I was growing up in Glasgow my father was self-employed,A tagheuerwatchfederal appeals court on Thursday upheld the conviction of Karen Sypher, and had good times and bad times. In the good times, we lived in a nice house, but there were bad times.Cheap nike outlet online store, discount nike air max and nike free heelshoes on sale. There was a particularly bad time when there were six of us in a two-bedroomed tenement flat in Glasgow. But even then, I remember television taking us out of ourselves. Us all gathered round and there being laughter, at Morecombe and Wise and The Generation Game and Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em. But also great illumination, with the likes of The World at War and Horizon and a fantastic series I remember dramatising Charles Darwin's voyage on the Beagle to the Galapagos Islands, where he began his intellectual journey that was to lead to the development of his theory on evolution.

I personally felt grateful that British TV set itself apart from its international rivals in this way, not afraid to challenge, to stretch the mind and imagination. It stretched mine, it galvanised my creative ambitions, it gave me a standard to reach for, which is why I feel happy making television, and grateful and thankful that I'm making it in Britain.

That's why I've called this talk 'Fight, Fight, Fight', because I want to encourage us to be more aggressive in promoting what makes British TV so good. And to be ambitious, arrogant even, in how we sell it to the world. Never to sell ourselves short. And I'll be talking about my American experiences in a moment. But commercially, I want us all, especially the BBC, with a brand recognition up there with Apple and Google, to go abroad and prostitute itself to blue-buggery if need be in how it sells and makes money from its content, so that money can come back to production in the UK.

But more importantly, at home, I want us to be more vocal in fighting whatever attacks or restricts our creative ambition. The caution, the assault from politicians and press barons, the unnecessary constraints imposed by any executives who commission in their own image, according to their own agenda of tastes and priorities, instead of in creative engagement with the programme makers,