Channel 4 has an exceptional record, unique in UK broadcasting, of tackling difficult issues through drama, championing writers and film-makers with sometimes discomforting perspectives on life in contemporary Britain. This tradition of illuminating current debates through gripping human stories goes back a long way. GBH, Alan Bleasdale's epic tale of local Labour politics in the Thatcher era, ranks among the most powerful UK dramas ever made. In 1991, it was Channel 4's riskiest project ever in terms of length, cost and creative ambition. That risk was rewarded with immediate critical and popular success, with productive controversy and a lasting reputation.

In 2007, Channel 4 was still taking risks by investing in dramas on important subjects that other broadcasters prefer to avoid: British troops under pressure in Iraq (The Mark of Cain), homophobic violence (Clapham Common), paedophiles living in the community (Secret Life) and the rehabilitation of a juvenile killer (Boy A, described by the Daily Telegraph as "exciting, moving and terrifying in turns. A brilliant example of Channel 4 drama"). Peter Kosminsky's two-part Britz attacked the sensitive subject of home-grown Islamic terrorism from the point of view of two British-born Muslim siblings who choose devastatingly different paths. Based on extensive research with young British Muslims, it explored the root causes of Islamic radicalism in the UK, prompting controversy and productive press and online debate in the weeks around transmission - "the kind of talking-point production Channel 4 should be about", said the Mail on Sunday. Powerful story-telling with a wider public purpose.