THE BBC is under threat.

David Cameron has ordered a Government review ahead of the corporation’s charter renewal next year.

It’s led to criticism and warnings of what could be lost from Daniel Craig, Sir Ian McKellen and JK Rowling.

I share their concerns.

Two things made me consider this. I watched an interview with film director Ken Loach, who came to prominence with seminal television dramas like Cathy Come Home. The next evening I watched the concluding part of The Outcast.

The Loach programme was on BBC4, The Outcast on BBC1.

Serious political and science documentaries, arts coverage and challenging drama are pretty much the preserve of the BBC on British television these days.

Don’t even think of tuning into ITV, which has to appeal to the lowest common denominator to pull in audiences and attract advertising revenue. ITV killed its arts programming a few years back when it told Melvyn Bragg to unplug The South Bank Show, a tragic decision in my view as for 40 years it had been the key to opening the door to the varied, sometimes esoteric, world of the arts to people who would not otherwise have been interested.

That is why we need to protect the BBC, our state broadcaster, and keep it free from the pressures of commerce and outside interest.

Not that the BBC is exempt from paying its way, of course. In these days of austerity and budget cuts, the Beeb must be good value for licence fee-payers’ money. Hence Cameron’s review.

Ken Loach said in the sixties progressive BBC television producers like Tony Garnett allowed film-makers the freedom to go out and make the films they wanted without interfering with them. Can you imagine that kind of freedom at the BBC now?

Back then it allowed artists to follow their visions and to make mistakes, and in due course gave us writers like Dennis Potter, Jack Rosenthal and Mike Leigh.

And yet had they not been encouraged it’s unlikely we would have had The Singing Detective or Abigail’s Party.

The BBC still makes great, affecting programmes.

Like millions of other viewers, I was gripped by The Outcast, which was told over three hours and two episodes. It was adapted by Sadie Jones from her own award-winning novel.

The film was intense, slowly-paced, lacked modern TV’s addiction to jump cutting, was beautifully acted and filmed and was utterly compelling. If it was down to me it would sweep the board at next year’s BAFTAs.

The Government needs to be very careful where it slashes its scalpel.