“Sherwood” writer James Graham has disclosed that he advocated for the BBC drama to be released in weekly installments rather than as a complete series on the streaming platform iPlayer.

Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Wednesday, where Graham was delivering the annual McTaggart lecture, he revealed that Charlotte Moore, the BBC’s chief content officer, had included him in the discussion about how the series should be made accessible to viewers.

“There was of course a discussion about whether to make the entire series available on iPlayer, rather than weekly,” he explained. “I am not against that freedom of choice for an audience. A good old binge works for some shows. But I also really cherish those television experiences that stretch out, that demand we wait, so that actual, in-real-life conversations can be generated around the work. Those infamous ‘watercooler’ conversations the morning after the night before.”

“I truly felt that not only the twists and turns of ‘Sherwood’ should be something that we protect, by revealing them gradually, so that a significant portion of the audience were roughly following along at about the same time. But also because of the social and political themes that were intentionally structured to unfold at certain points.”

Edinburgh’s annual McTaggart lecture has in recent years become known as a platform for advocacy, and Graham continued that tradition by speaking primarily about class, and in particular how working-class individuals are underrepresented. He referenced a study that found only 8% of those working in television are from a working-class background, despite representing up to 49% of the population. He also highlighted that working-class people are the largest consumers of TV.

Graham urged both the industry and the new Labour government to address the situation, stating that what is needed is “a proper, industry-wide standard and plan” including monitoring class diversity in productions and awards.

He also suggested that the new Government should “encourage ‘culture’ to play an active role in this promised ‘national renewal’ – not just kept at a distance in its own isolated compartment on the fringes of policymaking, as it often is.”

Graham also emphasized the need for a “collaborative approach” within the industry, stating that he would “welcome the resources and expertise of individuals in the television and film industry to help secure funding for building and sustaining this initiative—both as a declaration of our commitment to change and as a genuinely valuable resource.”

As a first step toward achieving this transformation, the Edinburgh TV Festival's charitable arm, The TV Foundation, has launched a new initiative called the Impact Unit, with the goal of making the industry more inclusive.

The Impact Unit will be led by The TV Foundation’s Gemma Bradshaw, and its initiatives include creating a cross-industry working group, establishing a social mobility scholarship for the festival, and contributing to the development of evaluation and monitoring systems.