Radio
Softsoap
Mary Kenny
I was talking to Robin Day it was last summer about the reason why Ian McIntyre, the Controller of Radio Four, was subject to so much criticism from BBC personnel. (Private Eye still gets more malicious 'leaks' about McIntyre than about any other BBC executive.) I put it to Day that one reason was that McIntyre was not favoured by the progressives who dominate the broadcasting business; McIntyre is a Conservative, a Christian and a Scot, whereas the dominant element in broadcasting is Socialist, atheistic and southern English. 'Nothing to do with this at all,' said he, and continued, like a disappointed child, 'I only criticise him because he took my programme away from me my lovely radio programme.' Robin's programme was a phone-in called It's Your Line on Tuesday evenings in which cabinet ministers and the like talked to the public over the telephone. I could see his point. One does tend to be upset when this sort of thing happens. Nevertheless, the Controller of Programmes must have had a good reason for wanting to change about the schedules. As with editors of newspapers, when you hire a man you must trust his judgement and let him run the show for at least two years before properly assessing him.
It is coming up to two years now since Jan McIntyre was appointed, and it seems to me that some of the changes he has wrought have been very successful. Some, not all.
But -pace Robin Day the phone-in which is replacing It's Your Line in character, Sunday Morning's One Man, One Voice
(11.30 Radio Four), is turning out to be very good. The anchorman is Michael Charlton.
He is much more polite than Robin, and takes pains to show courtesy both to the VIP in the chair and, more importantly, to the public. Yet he doesn't let the VIP usually a politician or head of a big public organisation — get away with too much softsoaping. Charlton is an interesting study of how to be very polite and yet actually nail people down quite firmly.
Robin's problem was that although he is an admirable broadcaster, he was too dismissive of the public. This is all right when you are George Gale (LBC, Tuesday afternoons, 3.00 p.m.) and dealing with generalised opinions. But many of the individuals who phone in on these BBC specialist programmes are very well-informed, and all the more interesting for their expertise. It is obvious that Charlton respects his public, and encourages individuals to be as technical as they like, since he knows that it's the technical bits that are interesting. Anyone can have opinions about oil spillages (last Sunday's subject) from giant tankers; it's the bloke who really knows the ins and outs of the subject who is valuable to listen to.
Sunday morning is, I think, rather better listening now under the new regime than it was under the ancien, even though, like a lot of people, I regretted the passing of From the Grass Roots, and I'm not sure that one is very disposed towards financial affairs (Money Box, Sunday 10.35 a.m.) at this time of the week. The Sabbath still is, or should be, a day of rest from matters such as money. With Sunday, I still think there are things that are appropriate and things that are not appropriate. In some respects, a new Sunday-morning programme called Not Now I'm Listening (12.15) is perfect material for the time and the day. It is a very original, sophisticated compilation of witty anecdote, urbane social comment, cynical short stories, clever poetry and droll little sketches, presented by Richard Mayne, who is just about the only broadcaster who doesn't call the Continent 'Europe' (as though we were all Americans). Not Now I'm Listening has some first-rate writing behind it, and strikes just the right note to go with that sherry before lunch. Yet I do think one has to be careful. They had a sketch last Sunday which turned on a rather laboured and explicit joke about pederasty. I don't mind jokes about seducing little boys, in principle, but I don't particularly want to hear them on an Easter Sunday morning. I don't mind them on, a Friday night, but I don't like them on a Sunday morning — silly, isn't it? It's a question of what is appropriate.
The Archers really have a problem at the moment. The actress who played Aunt Laura, the bossy New Zealand aunty, very sadly died, and the production team is obviously in two minds whether to replace the character with another actress or not. This is the second time this has happened within a twelvemonth; the lady who played the friendly, garrulous Ulster barmaid, Nora, died suddenly too. In the case of Nora, they found another actress to continue the part, but so far it has not been a success simply because the human voice is inimitable for sincere purposes. It was so obvious that the new Nora was a different person. With the
character of Aunt Laura, instead of replacing her straight away, they have sent her off on a fictional visit to New Zealand while they decide whether to find a new actress or not. My strong advice is to desist from recasting the part. I think that when the actor or actress who plays a strong part in a soapopera dies, the producer should allow the character to die too, or at least to fade away. It makes it much more dramatic and plausible.
Listen With Mother (2.45 p.m.) is asking people to write in and let them know whether the time of this programme is right. It isn't really, because it's just when mothers are setting off to fetch the older children from school. For heaven's sake, somebody write in, or they'll axe the only children's programme left that is not obsessed with skateboarding, punk rock and Star Wars.
Wireless sets to the ready next Monday afternoon when, at 2.25 p.m., Radio From Parliament will be broadcast. A very important moment for the telegraphe sans file.
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