White middle-class men are struggling at the BBC, according to the Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman, who said yesterday that they were being discriminated against at the corporation.

The interviewer, best known for his aggressive inquisitions, surprised delegates at the Edinburgh Television Festival by disputing claims that it is an industry dominated by men — and pointed to a string of powerful female executives.

“Do I think it's a man's world in television? That is the most ridiculous question I have been asked all week,” Mr Paxman said in a prerecorded interview. “The worst thing you can be in this industry is a middle-class white male. If any middle-class white male I come across says he wants to enter television I say 'give up all hope'. They've no chance.”

The Cambridge graduate listed Jana Bennett, the director of BBC television, and Jay Hunt, the controller of BBC One, as examples of women who had reached the top in television. Other senior female executives include Dawn Airey, the chief executive designate of Five, and Lorraine Heggessey who runs the production company that makes Britain's Got Talent and The Bill.

However, his observation left others unimpressed. The broadcaster Mariella Frostrup, who was once told by a producer on Stephen Fry's show QI that there were so few women on the programme because “there just aren't any intelligent women out there”, was quick to criticise. She said: “He lists women because he couldn't possibly name all the men in positions of power in TV because he would be there all bloody day.

“He talks about middle-class white men being a beleaguered species on television. Well, excuse me, but Jonathan Ross, Jeremy on Newsnight. Look at the Today programme, Have I Got News for You, Newsnight. It seems to me that TV is a fantastic place for middle-class white males.”

Katherine Rake, director of the Fawcett Society, which campaigns for women's rights, condemned Paxman as “out of touch”.

Fawcett Society research concluded that only one in 17 people making behind-the-scenes editorial decisions was a woman, and that women were underrepresented on some programmes.

Speaking from the audience, she said: “Unfortunately, he's very out of touch with reality, with what's going on in TV.” She added: “If you look at the last series of Have I Got News for You, out of 20 contestants they had four women. There is a failure to represent women in terms of news and political content.”

Ms Hunt said that despite the statistics, it was male viewers who often felt disenfranchised. Sixty per cent of television viewing on BBC One, and on most channels, is done by women, and it is hard for broadcasters to find large male audiences except for sports programmes.

She said: “I do think there's quite a profound sense among male viewers that they have been disenfranchised by television. There's a Jeremy Paxman-esque malaise amongst male viewers who feel they haven't got anywhere else to go ... I'm not sure what it's about.”

Delegates also heard that Alan Whicker is to return to BBC Two in a four-part series, reflecting on Whicker's World, his series of travels and interviews with the rich and famous.

Editor's choice

• The 100 Best Films of the Decade
• 70 facts you didn't know about Marvel
• The 50 Biggest Movies Of 2010