BBC should sell TV licences to Americans who want ‘unbiased’ news: Steven Knight

The Peaky Blinders creator, 67, is an ardent supporter of the national broadcaster and said it produces “incredible stuff”.

Speaking at the Royal Television Society London Convention, he said: “BBC is in my opinion, Britain’s best brand. It’s like Coca-Cola, people all over the world know it.

Steven Knight championed the idea of the BBC selling licences in the US (Michael Crabtree/PA)

PA Archive

“Its financing is beautifully old-fashioned and it’s not modern in that way, but it works.

“It produces the most incredible stuff. No-one else but BBC would’ve done Peaky.

“BBC is the only broadcaster that had a good Second World War, they did great things in the Second World War, no-one else did.

“I would sell BBC television licences in the States, definitely. If they want to watch iPlayer and they want to watch BBC: buy a licence.

“Anybody in America who wants to get unbiased news, for example: get a BBC licence.

“I always think there has always been sort of resistance to allowing the BBC to be what it could become. I think it should do that. It should use all of it.”

The BBC has been contacted for comment.

Knight added: ‘Anybody in America who wants to get unbiased news for example, get a BBC licence’ (Ian West/PA)

PA Wire

Along with Peaky Blinders, Knight wrote and directed the films Locke, Hummingbird and Serenity.

He was also one of the creators of game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

Knight will also pen the script for the next James Bond film.

The film continues to draw in significant speculation surrounding who will play the next spy in the franchise – especially after Amazon MGM Studios took creative control of it.