In 1986, BBC answered John Cleese question, “What has the BBC ever done for me?” Forty years later, that campaign has been revived at an important moment in the broadcaster’s life. The publicly funded BBC is preparing negotiations for the renewal of its Royal Charter, that expires at the end of 2027.

This time Romesh Ranganathan plays the BBC sceptic, giving BBC Creative the opportunity to show off the scope of the broadcaster’s cultural impact in a credentials pitch meets musical theatre production.

The 3.45 minute commercial, What has the BBC ever done for me?, was directed by Blink Productions director, Dougal Wilson, and features more than 90 familiar BBC faces covering a wild range of shows from EastEnders to the BBC news. The film’s original music is by Ben Foster, Ben Bailey Smith and Andy Burrows. performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra and the BBC Singers, and VFX by Untold Studios.

Kerris Bright, chief customer officer, commented in the BBC’s campaign blog. “There are very few organisations whose mission is to serve everyone, regardless of where they live, what they do or what they’re interested in.

“What is the BBC for? Why does it matter? And what would we lose without it? The answers will be different for everyone. For some, it is the trusted news they turn to when the world feels uncertain. For others, it is the local radio presenter who feels like a friend, the drama everyone is talking about, a children’s programme that becomes part of family life, educational resources helping young people learn, or major sporting moments that bring millions together.

“Given the huge range of things the BBC does, deciding what to feature in this campaign was no easy task. We used audience research to help identify the programmes, services and initiatives that resonate most strongly with viewers, listeners and users today – from Bitesize to The Traitors – while also reminding audiences of some of the things the BBC provides that they may not immediately think about.

“That felt particularly important because there are very few organisations whose mission is to serve everyone, regardless of where they live, what they do or what they’re interested in. In 1986, there were two national television channels. Today there are eight. There were four national radio stations; today there are 10, alongside national services for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and 39 local radio stations across England. We have created services that simply did not exist when John Cleese walked into that pub – iPlayer, Sounds, Bitesize, CBeebies, the BBC website and a range of digital services that reach audiences around the world.”