Watch Riz Ahmed warn Parliament about the danger of failing to improve TV diversity

'Rogue One' star delivered Channel 4's annual diversity lecture in Parliament.

Actor and rapper Riz Ahmed has delivered a lecture in Parliament about the importance of diversity on TV.

Ahmed, known for his roles in Rogue One and The Night Of, warned that failing to tell diverse stories on screen could have calamitous consequences.

“In the mind of the Isis recruit, he’s the next James Bond right? Have you seen some of those Isis propaganda videos, they are cut like action movies. Where is the counter narrative? Where are we telling these kids they can be heroes in our stories, that they are valued?” he is quoted by The Guardian as saying.

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He also criticised UK broadcasters for failing to create TV shows with roles for actors of all ethnicities. “It takes American remakes of British shows to cast someone like me,” he said. “We end up going to America to find work. I meet with producers and directors here and they say ‘we don’t have anything for you, all our stories are set in Cornwall in the 1600s’.”

Watch a clip from Ahmed’s diversity speech below.

https://twitter.com/IsotopeRose/status/837433374369275908

Ahmed, who recently showed off his rap skills on Girls, was delivering Channel 4’s annual diversity lecture in Parliament.

Read more: NME People Of The Year 2016: Riz Ahmed

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