Lisa Nandy

"Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not": DCMS Secretary Lisa Nandy on TV's need for regionalism

Lisa Nandy MP gives a keynote speech at the RTS London Convention

For the first time in 15 years, a Labour Culture Secretary took to the stage at an RTS convention. Lisa Nandy, appointed in early July, mounted a passionate defence of public service broadcasting, telling broadcasters and streamers to be less London-centric – and giving a shout-out to beloved CBBC puppet Hacker T Dog, who hails from her own Wigan constituency. 

She praised children’s TV for being “one of the things your industry and our country is brilliant at”.

Lisa Nandy's Secretary of State Keynote at the RTS London Convention 2024

"Good afternoon everyone, it’s brilliant to be here with you today.

I know you hear from newly appointed Cabinet Ministers that becoming Culture Secretary is a dream job.

But in the last few months I’ve had the chance to meet some of the most creative people I’ve ever met in my life. And to see what they’re building and creating in every single part of the UK. 

And that’s just Hacker T Dog.

Seriously though. There was a reason my first meeting with the BBC was with Hacker T in Salford.

Lisa Nandy: What does the new Culture Secretary mean for media?

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport wasn’t exactly what the Manchester-born Shadow International Development Minister Lisa Nandy had in mind in the months leading up to July’s general election.

Nandy, 45, had counted on the international development brief —a natural extension of her work since September 2023. But there was a fly in the ointment: Shadow Culture Secretary Thangam Debbonaire, a cello-playing arts champion, lost her Bristol seat to the Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer, leaving the key role open.