‘What has the BBC ever done for me?’ Romesh Ranganathan reboots corporation’s 1985 licence fee plea

The Guardian reports that comedian Romesh Ranganathan is reviving one of the BBC's most famous advertising campaigns. In nineteen eighty-five, John Cleese appeared in a landmark advert asking a pub full of celebrities, 'What has the BBC ever given us?'—a pitch for the value of paying for a television license, which then cost fifty-eight pounds a year. The new version features Ranganathan in a similar setup, with contemporary celebrities including Claudia Winkelman and David Jason, making the BBC's case to modern audiences.

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