BBC’s Unofficial Accent Rankings Revealed: Birmingham Deemed Most Disliked

Veteran journalist Kate Adie confirms the existence of a BBC league table ranking accents, spotlighting enduring regional bias in broadcasting.

Kate Adie disclosed that the BBC historically maintained an unofficial league table ranking British accents by public sentiment, with Birmingham ranked as the most disliked.
The revelation came during an event at the University of Sunderland marking the cataloguing of Adie’s extensive career archive, which includes over 2,300 items.
Adie noted that regional accent bias was prevalent during her early BBC career, with complaints often targeting locally accented newsreaders.
Michael Buerk, a journalist from Birmingham, reportedly avoided using his natural accent due to fears of receiving death threats, highlighting the personal impact of accent prejudice.
The discussion sheds light on the BBC’s historical preference for Received Pronunciation and the ongoing cultural implications of accent bias in media.