For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
Ken Loach has long established himself as a leading creative voice in the UK's socially conscious cinema scene, with his latest, Palme d'Or-winning I, Daniel Blaketackling the social welfare system.
In an interview with the Radio Times, Loach criticised television's reliance on period drama as, "this rosy vision of the past, it's a choice broadcasters make. Don't bother your heads with what's going on now, just wallow in fake nostalgia. It's bad history, bad drama. It puts your brain to sleep."
Aside from reality TV, many of the most popular shows on British television are indeed period dramas; between the likes of Downton Abbey, Victoria, Poldark, Call the Midwife, and War and Peace - it's a genre that's become something of a UK speciality.
However, Loach argued that these programmes were, "the opposite of what a good broadcaster should do, which is stimulate and invigorate... TV drama is like the picture on the Quality Street tin, but with less quality and nothing of the street."
Furthermore, he sees it as imperative that broadcasters "diversify" to produce more regionally-controlled content; adding, "Now the drama is produced by outside production companies and horribly micro-managed. The directors I know in television say it's a nightmare. That's true for all the broadcasters, but the BBC is a rotten place for a director."
I, Daniel Blake focuses on a middle-aged widower in northern England struggling to work or claim government benefits following a crippling heart attack. Written by frequent collaborator Paul Laverty (The Angels' Share, Jimmy's Hall), the award-winner stars Dave Johns as the titular Daniel, alongside Hayley Squires and Dylan McKiernan.
The films to know about at Cannes 2016
Show all 14
The film hits UK cinemas 21 October.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies