The BBC is failing to provide new and exciting programmes, according to licence fee payers.

Viewers believe the broadcaster lacks innovation and is still providing a diet of reality shows and copycat formats.

This is the key finding of an audience survey of 4,500 people - the most comprehensive ever undertaken by the Corporation.

The results were published today with the BBC’s Annual Report and reveal significant gaps between what viewers want from the BBC and what they feel they actually get.

The BBC Trust, which took over from the old Board of Governors, responded by demanding the Corporation take more creative risks.

The Trust said: “A key message from our work with the public is that audiences want the BBC to be more innovative. They value fresh and new ideas - and feel that the BBC could be doing more to deliver them. This a challenge for the BBC that we will pursue vigorously in the year to come,” the Trust said.

“Whilst public approval of the BBC remains stable, audiences have also told us that fresh and new programme ideas must be a high priority and more effort is needed. This message, alongside a desire for high quality - which need not necessarily mean high cost - is consistent across all groups who have participated in our consultations and it is one of the key factors we will consider when deciding the BBC’s strategic priorities in the autumn.”

In a reference to ratings chasing, the Trust added: “BBC Television has done well to continue to appeal to very large numbers of viewers... the question is whether or not this strong competitive response overall has been achieved at the cost of creative and cultural ambition.”

At a press conference in Westminster following the unveiling of the report, the new BBC chairman Sir Michael Lyons said that the Corporation has listened carefully to what audiences want.

He said: “The one area where there’s a significant and noteworthy gap between what the public value and their perceived performance from the BBC is under the heading of innovation. People want to be constantly challenged by new and exciting programming.”

Mark Thompson, the BBC Director-General, said: “The central challenge for the BBC Trust about innovation is a good challenge for the BBC and one we should rise to.”

He pointed to innovative successes such as Planet Earth and The Manchester Passion, adding: “But it’s interesting to hear so strongly from the public the message that they want more experimentation and risk-taking. That’s something I hope the BBC can rise to.”

Mr Thompson said other channels were now copying BBC formats. He singled out BBC shows How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? and The Apprentice. Although he did not name their imitators, the formats have been replicated by ITV1’s Grease Is The Word and Tycoon.

“It’s great seeing entertainment coming back to life on BBC1,” he said. “BBC1 is now being paid the ultimate compliment by other channels. With almost every one of our hits you can find a matching attempt on another channel to reach the same kind of conclusion.”

The Annual Report also praised dramas Life On Mars and Doctor Who as examples of what the BBC does best. The Jane Eyre adaptation, Billie Piper drama Ruby In The Smoke, documentary series Trawlermen and Stephen Fry’s The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive were also hailed as success stories.

But the BBC admitted that some shows over the past year have been notable flops. They included Castaway, the original reality show which was brought back with great fanfare but proved to be a ratings disaster.

Mr Thompson admitted to “one or two disappointments”, saying Castaway “wasn’t quite the roaring success we hoped at the time of commissioning”.

He added that there was a “slight patchiness and lack of ambition that we have to address” in the channel’s science programming.

Other TV failures singled out in the report included BBC2’s This Life revival, political thriller The State Within and legal drama The Innocence Project, all of which failed to capture viewers’ imagination.

Both the Trust and the Executive Board were critical of BBC3 for using “punchy” programme titles which may have put viewers off watching what were actually informative and high quality shows. Recent examples could include Booze Bird, actually a serious exploration of alcohol-fuelled female violence, and Sex - With Mum And Dad, in which families discussed sexual issues.

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