British PM David Cameron has urged the BBC to produce more home-grown dramas and comedies instead of relying on Danish imports such as the international hit series 'Borgen', 'Broen' (The Bridge) and Forbrydelsen (The Killing), the UK news agency Press Association reports.

"So let's try and make sure we produce the hits of the future, rather than having to brush up on our Danish and read the subtitles," Cameron said yesterday on Birmingham Heart, Capital and Smooth Radio.

More British TV
While the prime minister said he remained a supporter of paying the licence fee to the BBC, he felt the public broadcaster should aim to produce more British TV programmes.

"I'm in favour of the licence fee, but I'm in favour of making sure they get good value for money,” he said.

Do like the Americans
"I often wonder why it is that we make something amazing like 'The Office' and we just make eight episodes [there are actually 14]," he said. "You've got 'Modern Family' and they [the US] are churning out series seven or something."

A BBC spokesman said that with global hits like 'Doctor Who', 'Sherlock' and 'Call The Midwife', the vast majority of programming on the BBC is actually home-grown and that imports make up a very small percentage of the output.

Many creators of classic British TV series in the past, like Ricky Gervais, have said they prefer to take the 'Fawlty Towers' approach and favour quality over quantity.