Will Waspe's Whispers
Not everyone in the higher reaches of the BBC is delighted to see Bernard Braden back in his Saturday spot after his commercial break. Only by the narrowest shade did those in favour win out in the debate on whether or not he should be given a new contract. And those against now believe that — with our memories refreshed on the kind of ombudsman work Braden does — a public majority would agree that they were rightly disturbed about his involvement for fat fees with consumer goods. Suppose, they contend, Bernie's commercials had been made on behalf of Bird's Eye rather than Stork, would we still have had that gentle knock of the frozen fish steaks (" Can you tell cod from hake?") in last week's programme? Perhaps so, but I'm sure we'd all be much distressed to see anyone publicly impaled by his divided loyalties.
Personally, I think it's high time Braden gave some thought to the format and personnel of his show. John Pitman and Esther Rantzen may be properly diligent (not to say rough) in their off-screen investigatory work, but their piffling, carefully-rehearsed question-and-answer routines with the boss on-screen are becoming more and more coy; and if somebody insists on the inclusion of those comedy' interludes by Hilary Pritchard and Chris Munds, couldn't somebody else insist on employing writers to give them something funny to do?
Cool comfort
The evident popularity of ATV's ' international ' series The Persuaders, with home viewers only partially compensates Sir Lew Grade for its unpopularity in the US. All the gravy is in the export market.
Sir Lew must be even more grieved about his Shirley MacLaine series, Shirley's World, which was confidently expected to be a world-wide winner but which has been a dire flop in America. Rumour has it that episodes not yet shot will be abandoned, and even that Shirley's World will never be seen at all in Britain.
Help wanted
" There is nothing either courageous or even moderately enterprising about the Cambridge Theatre Company," complained Daily Telegraph critic John Barber after a visit to the Cambridge Arts this week. "It appears to follow the city's taste, and . . . has made no attempt to lead it."
Deplorable, of course. What right have they to be indulging this reactionary taste for Chekhov and Pinero? Perhaps the CTC need some lessons in arrogance from a consortium of trendy drama critics who would instruct them on where these backwoodsmen should be led. Never mind the empty houses, the Arts Council will see them right.
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