A veteran actor has accused television producers of leaning on "insulting" stereotypes when depicting older characters, as a new industry report says millions of Britons aged 55 and over feel sidelined by modern programming.
Chris Conil, 77, who has worked as an extra on shows including EastEnders, Silent Witness and The Bill and now appears in adverts for the Freeview channel network Great!, said producers often present older people as "grumpy, feeble or comic relief" rather than three-dimensional characters. He said broadcasters are prioritising younger audiences at the expense of the nation’s biggest TV viewers.
Conil, a former baker who later ran a retirement home and managed a hotel in East Sussex, said ageing should be treated as a chapter of life with richness and complexity. "Give us characters with proper stories, not cardboard cut-outs," he said. He praised recent shows such as Happy Valley and The Vicar of Dibley for strong writing that appeals across generations and pointed to Netflix’s adaptation of Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club books as a positive step.
The comments accompany "The Upper Third," a study published by the Great! channel network as it relaunches channels aimed at older viewers. The report found that roughly one-third of the U.K. population is aged 55 or over — about 22 million people — and that this group watches more television than any other age bracket, averaging three hours and 42 minutes of viewing a day.
Despite their viewing habits, the study said, more than a quarter of mature viewers feel forgotten by modern TV producers. The research, which polled 2,092 people aged 18 to over 75 and conducted additional research of 2,060 people over 55 in August 2025, reported that 85 percent of those over 55 felt they were not portrayed positively on television; that proportion rose to 89 percent for women over 75. Two-thirds of respondents said older actors in contemporary dramas are cast in "offensive," "doddering" or otherwise stereotypical roles who often become the butt of jokes.
Great! is reasserting a programming strategy tied to those findings. The network, which includes Great! TV, Great! Action and Great! Mystery and has added Great! Christmas, relaunched on Freeview channel 34 on Sept. 4 with classic and long-running series and films, including Rising Damp, Murder, She Wrote and the Carry On films.
Kate Gartland, marketing director at Great!, said the relaunch aims to serve an audience that feels overlooked. "Britain's most loyal TV viewers are 'not young,' and so they're being routinely ignored by broadcasters," she 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!" Gartland added that the network curates channels to celebrate shows its audience prefers, rather than prioritising programming aimed at younger demographics.
Conil said broadcasters undervalue the life experience and cultural sophistication of older viewers, who he described as possessing "decades of purchasing power, cultural sophistication, and viewing loyalty." He also noted television’s social role in care settings, saying it helps keep memories alive for residents in retirement homes.
Industry observers have in recent years pointed to a tension between commissioning content that attracts advertisers and content that reflects the full demographic range of the audience. Broadcasters and streaming platforms have sought younger viewers for advertising and long-term subscriber growth, while older audiences continue to account for large shares of linear television viewing.
The Great! report and Conil’s comments add to an ongoing conversation about representation on British screens, including the roles offered to older actors and the types of stories produced for mainstream audiences. The network’s relaunch is a commercial experiment as much as a cultural statement, testing whether programming curated toward mature tastes can reclaim viewers who report feeling overlooked by contemporary television schedules.