Archive for the ‘BBC’ Category

Terry Wogan has said that he intends to continue presenting the BBC’s Children In Need show “until hell freezes over”.

The 71-year-old, who recently announced he would step down from presenting his Radio 2 breakfast show next year, says he has no plans to retire from the annual programme.

“They’re going to have to shoot me to get me off that,” he told BBC News.

Wogan was speaking at the launch of the single All You Need is Love, which will raise money for Children In Need. The group of performers includes Paloma Faith, Andrea Corr, Lee Mead, Peter Gabriel and Wogan himself. The single will be released on Monday.

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Channel 4’s head of programming, Julian Bellamy, has warned of a “culture of compliance” in British television. He said that the industry was becoming less creative, and that there was “less surprise and variety” than there should be.

In particular, he criticised the BBC for being “increasingly conservative in its editorial decision making”.

“After a string of scandals about taste and decency, it seems to avoid disruptive, potentially controversial ideas like the plague,” Bellamy told an audience at the Royal Television Society last night. “Time and again producers tell me this. And I believe it.”

He added that the recent culture of restraint was an “unintended consequence of the BBC’s method of funding” and the unrivalled public scrutiny that came with it.

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Today’s digital switchover in North-West England has contributed to a massive rise in the number of dumped analogue TVs, environmental campaigners have said.

Figures from Cumbria County Council, which serves nearly half a million people, reveal a 70% rise in the number of TVs dumped in landfill in the region over the past year. This year, the council dealt with over 50,000 TVs, of which 30,000 could have been converted to digital with a simple set-top box costing as little as £20.

Devon County Council, which switched over to digital earlier in the year, saw the number of dumped televisions nearly double between April and September.

Around 7 million viewers in Cumbria, Manchester, Liverpool and the rest of the Granada TV region had their analogue signal for BBC2 turned off in the early hours of this morning.The permanent digital switchover of BBC1, ITV1, Channel 4 and Five will take place on 2nd December for all households served by the Winter Hill transmitter.

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Former This Morning presenter Fern Britton has landed her series on BBC1, it has been announced.

Over the course of the four-part series, called Fern Britton Meets, Britton will talk about faith with high-profile figures in the run-up to Christmas.

Confirmed guests include Tony Blair, who converted to Roman Catholicism shortly after stepping down as Prime Minister; Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his opposition to apartheid in South Africa; and the country singer Dolly Parton.

The final episode will see Britton interview the actress Sheila Hancock, who is currently playing a nun in the West End version of Sister Act, but is herself a Quaker.

“All of the interviewees come from very different backgrounds but what binds them together is the fact that although their faith has been challenged, they’ve emerged with strong spiritual beliefs,” said Britton.

Aaqil Ahmed, the BBC’s first Muslim head of religion and ethics, added: “This Christmas offers an exciting and diverse range of programming across BBC TV and Radio, from thought-provoking documentaries to traditional music and live worship.

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Jeremy Clarkson has said the only way to avoid offending Top Gear viewers would be to broadcast a silent episode of the BBC show.

“One day we’ll do an episode of Top Gear in which none of us speak. It’s the only way they will have nothing to complain about,” the controversial presenter joked. “I don’t think I’ve done anything naughty this year, though, have I?”

The 49-year-old, who presents Top Gear alongside Richard Hammond and James May, regularly sparks complaints from viewers with his close-to-the-wire comments.

In a 2005 Top Gear episode, Clarkson caused widespread offense when he gave a mock Nazi salute and referred to the German invasion of Poland whilst describing a “quintessentially German” car.

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Gordon Ramsay is to be a producer on a new US remake of MasterChef. He will also appear on the series from US network Fox in a yet unspecified role.

US independent producer Reveille, a subsidiary of Elisabeth Murdoch’s UK-based Shine, will co-produce with Ramsey. Fox, which also owns the Hell’s Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmare brands, is expected to order between 12 and 15 episodes of MasterChef.

“This is a huge, nationwide search for the best amateur cook in America,” said Howard T Owens, executive producer of Reveille.

“It’s about people who are lawyers, construction workers and stay-at-home mums but whose real passion is to make great food. This is their shot to prove they have what it takes.”

Contestants will compete for a place in the semi-finals by cooking for a panel of three judges. The semi-finalists will then compete in a series of cooking challenges until the winner remains.

Ramsay will also host an hour-long special for Fox, called Gordon Ramsay Cookalong Live, on 15th December.

Rebecca Adlington’s agent has said the BBC Trust did not do enough to discipline comedian Frankie Boyle over comments he made about the 20-year-old swimmer on Mock the Week.

Boyle made derogatory jokes about Adlington on the satirical BBC2 show shortly after she won two gold medals at the Beijing Olympics last year.

He said that the swimmer looked like “someone who’s looking at themselves in the back of a spoon” and compared her appearance unfavourably with that of her boyfriend, adding: “From that I have deduced that Rebecca Adlington is very dirty.”

The remarks provoked 75 complaints from viewers and the BBC Trust’s Editorial Standards Committee ruled they were “offensive and unacceptable for broadcast”.

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The BBC is to change its policy on what type of food can be cooked up on Masterchef, after conservationists complained that the programme had included endangered species on the menu.

Three chefs in a recent episode of Masterchef: The Professionals were told to make a meal using smoked eel as the main ingredient. But environmental campaigners said that the eel is an endangered species, and accused the BBC of acting irresponsibly, as the inclusion of the delicacy on the show could encourage more viewers to try it.

The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is in dramatic decline, with numbers of young eels – known as elvers – down by as much as 99% since the 1980s. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature includes it on their “red list” the world’s most endangered species, classified as “critically endangered” – only one step from extinction in the wild.

Willie Mackenzie, of Greenpeace’s Oceans Campaign, said: “Serving up European eel on a popular television show like MasterChef is irresponsible – and likely to lead to even more demand for a species that is just as endangered as tigers or pandas.

“Eels are intrinsically linked with London, as a traditional dish, yet it is our overfishing of this species which has pushed it towards the brink of extinction – they are now internationally recognised as ‘critically endangered’. It’s about time people realised you can’t make entertainment out of creatures that are close to extinction.”

Eels only breed when they are mature adults, at around nine years of age. Elvers taken from the wild reduce the number of elves able to breed. Whilst specialist farms are used to supply restaurants, even this type of enclosed breeding is not necessarily sustainable.

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The British National Party could have a panellist on Question Time once a year, BBC director general Mark Thompson has said.

Thompson said that the level of support the party received in the European elections this year, where it gained a 6% share of the vote and two MEPs, meant that the corporation was duty bound to include the far-right party in some of its television and radio debates in order to get a balance of political opinions. Support for the BNP has now dropped to 2-3%.

The BBC’s decision to invite the BNP on Question Time sparked a great deal of controversy, with several high-profile politicians refusing to appear on the show and over 500 protestors gathering outside BBC television centre last Thursday.

However, the corporation has vigorously and consistently defended its inclusion of Nick Griffin in last week’s Question Time debate. Giving evidence to the House of Lords Communications Committee, Thompson said that it was the BBC who initially approached the BNP, and not the other way round. He added that the corporation had been considering inviting the far-right leader onto the show for “months and years”.

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Barbara Windsor is to leave EastEnders after 16 years in the role of Peggy Mitchell, mother to the notorious Mitchell brothers and landlady of the Queen Vic pub.

“EastEnders has been wonderful to me and it’s no secret that it changed my life all of those years ago,” said Windsor, 72, who received an MBE in 1999.

“I’ll be so sad to leave Peggy behind; she’s such a wonderful character to play. I have had the pleasure of working with a marvellous cast and crew and have made many lasting good friends. To have had the honour of showing the Queen around the set is something that will stay with me forever.

“I would like to thank the BBC for the incredible opportunity they gave me and above all, I must thank the wonderful viewers for their support over the years. I’m looking forward to the future and I suppose when all’s said and done, I should spend a bit more time with my old man, as he’s not getting any younger.”

EastEnders‘ executive producer Diederick Santer said: “Barbara has contributed so much to EastEnders over the last 15 years, plus countless episodes, and countless amazing storylines.

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