Complaint lodged after ITV editor sparks fury for saying ‘we don’t want white men’

When discussing hosts for new shows, Lloyd allegedly said: “We really don’t want any more white men” as talent.

Lloyd made the reported comment on a panel to a packed room at the Broadcast Indie Summit.

ITV said in a statement that the panel discussion included ways to pitch new ideas and ways to further diversify content and talent offerings.

The complaint, written by a television producer in the audience, said that Lloyd was discussing ITV’s “important ‘9pm’ broadcast slot”.

In a letter to ITV executives seen by this broadcaster, Lloyd is said to have told the audience, “we really don’t want any more white men” as talent being pitched to ITV.

“This was not said as a joke, and she did not seek to clarify her point any further,” the letter said, adding: “It was said as a clear instruction to the audience to not pitch white men as talent when developing new concepts for shows on ITV.”

The complaint argued that ITV’s perspective would be in breach of the Equality Act, which prohibits discrimination based on “protected characteristics”, such as race or gender.

“Nicola Lloyd on behalf of ITV has briefed people from the broadcast and entertainment industry that they will discriminate against people based on sex and ethnicity when casting talent for television shows on ITV.”

The complaint continued: “People from all backgrounds should be given equal opportunity to apply for roles in television and casting should be based on talent not a characteristic.

“On numerous occasions when attending meetings with British television executives and an ITV owned production company based at White City, I have heard informally that they do not want more ‘white males’ as talent.

“This, however, is the first time I have heard a senior executive explicitly state in a professional forum, that they are essentially comfortable breaking the Equality Act, by discriminating against people based on sex and ethnicity.”

They added: “Whilst it may be that executives feel they are being ‘progressive and inclusive,’ by selecting talent based on ethnicity and sex, it is in fact divisive, illegal and deeply upsetting.

“It’s totally unacceptable to talk in this way and thoroughly demoralising to work in an industry that talks about people based on race or gender.

“I have young children, I hope that for their future, they are judged on their personality and ability, not their ethnicity and sex.”

Calling for an investigation into the matter, the complainant said the broadcaster should seek to “discover if there is an official or unofficial policy of discriminating against white males, or any protected characteristic based on sex and ethnicity.”

He added: “It is crucial as a public broadcaster that television shows are not engineered to select talent based on ethnicity or sex.”

Signing off as “Luke,” the complainant said: “I am concerned that raising this could negatively affect my career, so at this stage I have chosen to raise this anonymously.

“There will be many witnesses to what was said in the session, however, I am happy to speak with representatives confidentially to discuss this matter.”

GB News understands that the complaint is under review with ITV.

According to industry magazine Broadcast, which organised the event, Lloyd was on the panel organised to discuss “What’s next for popular factual?”

Her LinkedIn profile says that Lloyd has been at ITV since August 2016, where she has worked as a commissioning editor on factual entertainment, unscripted and non-fiction programmes.

Described as a “top commissioner” by Broadcast magazine, she was previously the series editor and then executive producer for hit show First Dates.

According to the complaint, the audience contained at least 50 people from the media and entertainment industry, including professionals from “well-known independent productions companies, talent managers, directors, and producers.”

Lloyd’s alleged outburst comes as comedian Omid Djalili said that Netflix considers him to be “not a relevant comedian right now.”

Speaking to the Telegraph, Djalili said that when he asked the American streaming giant what constitutes “relevant” at the moment, he was told: “anything black and transgender.”

An ITV spokesperson said: “The panel discussion included ways to pitch new ideas and ways to further diversify content and talent offerings. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and we encourage diversity throughout the business.

“ITV commits to maintaining and building on our DEI successes seeking out more diverse ideas, production companies and talent, and we will continue to collaborate across the industry.

“We aim to create and showcase content by, with and for everyone.”

GB News understands that Broadcast magazine recorded audio for all of the panels.

The magazine did not offer a comment or further information.