A veteran actor and a new study from Freeview channel network Great! say Britain’s older television viewers are being sidelined by modern programming and routinely portrayed in stereotypical roles.
Chris Conil, 77, who has appeared as an extra in EastEnders, Silent Witness and The Bill, told reporters producers often reduce mature characters to "grumpy, feeble or comic relief," and urged creators to give older characters fuller, more complex stories. The critique accompanies Great!'s "The Upper Third" report, which found a substantial share of the population aged 55 and older feel overlooked by contemporary TV output.
The Upper Third report, compiled by the Great! network, estimates that 32 percent of the U.K. population — about 22 million people — are aged 55 or over. The study, which surveyed 2,092 people aged 18 to over 75 and included a follow-up of 2,060 respondents aged over 55 in August 2025, found that 26 percent of mature viewers feel forgotten by today’s TV producers. The report also says the over-55s watch more television than any other age group, averaging three hours and 42 minutes a day.
Respondents expressed broad dissatisfaction with on-screen portrayals. According to the report, 85 percent of over-55s feel they are not portrayed positively on TV, rising to 89 percent among women older than 75. Two-thirds of those surveyed, 63 percent, said older actors in modern dramas are often cast in "offensive," "doddering" or other stereotypical "old people" roles who serve as the butt of jokes.
Conil, who turned to acting later in life and features in a series of television advertisements for Great! TV, said broadcasters were prioritising younger audiences at the expense of loyal older viewers. "Ageing is a chapter, not the final page," he said. "Give us characters with proper stories, not cardboard cut-outs. If you respect older viewers, they'll be loyal and spread the word. But right now, we're being let down." He highlighted the value mature characters can bring to drama and comedy, praising series such as Happy Valley and The Vicar of Dibley for writing that appeals across generations.
Great! is positioning its relaunch as a response to those concerns. The network, which comprises Great! TV, Great! Action, Great! Mystery and (from this month) Great! Christmas, relaunched on Freeview channel 34 on Sept. 4 with a schedule aimed at older viewers that includes classic and long-running shows such as Rising Damp, Murder, She Wrote and the Carry On films. Kate Gartland, marketing director for Great!, said the channel plans to curate programming for audiences who feel "left behind" by newer formats.
"Britain's most loyal TV viewers are 'not young,' and so they're being routinely ignored by broadcasters," Gartland said. "Our core audiences are telling us loud and clear they feel left behind and want somewhere to watch their favourite shows — and that's exactly what we're giving them at Great! We curate our channels to celebrate the shows our audiences want, just how they want them."
The report also measured the recent presence of older-oriented programming on mainstream channels. It noted that, in the previous week, the five terrestrial channels showed just nine classic series, representing less than 5 percent of total programming, a figure Great! cited to underscore a perceived gap in available content for older viewers.
Conil, a former baker who ran a retirement home for 14 years and trained at the National Bakery School in London, said his own varied life experience — including stints as a councillor and a commercial model — informs his view of mature people as possessing "eccentricity, history, stories that span decades." He argued that television plays an integral role in the lives of many older people and that respectful, complex portrayals can maintain viewers' engagement.
The actor pointed to Netflix's adaptation of Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club as an example of programming that opens opportunities for older performers and said he hoped subsequent productions would expand those opportunities. He also said reality is often richer than the portrayals offered on screen and called for dramas and comedies to take more risks and depict the cultural depth of older generations.
Industry and audience analysts have for years noted tensions between broadcasters seeking younger demographics prized by advertisers and the viewing habits of older audiences, who typically watch more linear television. Great!'s research and relaunch represent a commercial and cultural effort to court the over-55 demographic by repackaging classic and established titles alongside new commissions that foreground older characters.
Broadcasters not involved in the Great! network did not provide comment for this article. The findings add to ongoing debates about representation and programming strategy as the television industry adapts to streaming, demographic change and shifting advertiser priorities.