Panel shows such as QI and Mock the Week will no longer have all-male line-ups, the BBC’s director of TV has said.

“We’re not going to have panel shows on any more with no women on them,” Danny Cohen told the Observer. “You can’t do that. It’s not acceptable.”

His comments come two months after the BBC Trust was reported to have told executives there was “no excuse” for not having more female panellists.

Mr Cohen also said the BBC needed to get more older women on screen.

“We’re getting better,” he told the Observer, citing the example of historian Mary Beard. “But we need to get better.”

In the past, comedy panel shows like QI, Mock The Week and Have I Got News For You have been criticized for their male-dominated line-ups.

The Observer said all the regular comedians on the most recent series of Mock The Week were men and only five of the 38 guest panellists were women.

More on the BBC’s decision…

Thanks to Karza von Karnstein