01355383 Varieties of English and Cultures of English Native Speakers 07 | Page 12

In the past, BBC TV and Radio newsreaders were obliged to speak RP
because it was believed to sound more formal and more intelligible.
But since WWII, BBC has been allowing newsreaders to speak in
their regional accents in the efforts to unite the country through
its diversity (Eschner, 2017). Today, BBC has many regional
channels such as BBC Scotland, BBC Wales, BBC Northern
Ireland, BBC Yorkshire, and BBC West Midlands. It also vows to
present more people with different accents on TV.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-north-england-voice-overturned-bbc-tradition-180967208/