Channel 4 executives will be forced to explain their handling of the Celebrity Big Brother race row to its board today as it meets to discuss the programme for the first time. Andy Duncan, the broadcaster's chief executive, has faced mounting criticism over his response to the controversy after he failed to intervene or admit racism was involved in bullying of Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty by fellow housemates.
The board is understood to be reluctant to rush to judgment on the row and, contrary to weekend reports, is not expected to make a decision about whether to drop the show after this series ends on Sunday.
But the furore surrounding the programme - and executives' apparent failure to manage it - has left Channel 4 facing questions beyond the future of Big Brother. There have been calls for the broadcaster's entire remit to be examined and the future of its public subsidy called into question.
Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, weighed into the debate yesterday, saying that the broadcaster should admit it had handled things badly.
Alan Johnson, the education secretary, said teenagers should be taught "British values" to combat racist and ignorant attitudes. "The current debate has highlighted the need to make sure schools focus on the core British values of justice and tolerance. We want the world to be talking about the respect and understanding we give all cultures, not the ignorance and bigotry shown on our TV screens."
Mr Phillips called on the channel to censure Luke Johnson, its chairman, and said that Tessa Jowell, the culture secretary, ought to intervene if it failed to take appropriate action. He told BBC 1's Sunday AM: "There is no question that if the Channel 4 board does not say that Johnson was wrong not to talk about it last week, that his executives were wrong to say that there was no racism involved ... if the board does not take that stand then I think Tessa Jowell has to step in and ask if this is a board that is capable of holding a public asset in trust for us. I think it is that serious."
Ms Jowell has been one of the leading critics of the show, describing it as "racism as entertainment".
Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator, has said it will write to the channel following 40,000 complaints about the alleged bullying of Shetty by housemates and police are also looking into claims of racial abuse. Jade Goody, who was evicted on Friday, admitted that she was racist in her treatment of Shetty, in a newspaper interview. Liz Forgan, former director of programmes at C4 and now chairman of the Guardian's Scott trust, told the BBC: "Channel 4 has got big problems. It was awful to hear the chairman of the channel in the middle of a big crisis say 'I've got nothing to say, read my press release'." Channel 4's non-executive board members include Labour peer Lord Puttnam and former BBC News head Tony Hall.