0:00:10 > 0:00:13Good afternoon and welcome to Points Of View.
0:00:13 > 0:00:14At some point in this programme,
0:00:14 > 0:00:17I may disappear and then come back again.
0:00:17 > 0:00:19Well, if MasterChef can do it, so can I!
0:00:19 > 0:00:23MasterChef's magic centres on the celebrity contestant Linda Lusardi
0:00:23 > 0:00:26who was knocked out of the competition last week
0:00:26 > 0:00:28and then miraculously reappeared,
0:00:28 > 0:00:31much to the confusion of legions of fans.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02Oh, honestly, Eric, it is quite simple.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05Having invested in celebrities,
0:01:05 > 0:01:07MasterChef is getting the most for its money
0:01:07 > 0:01:09by making daytime episodes as well
0:01:09 > 0:01:13in much the same way as Strictly Come Dancing - It Takes Two
0:01:13 > 0:01:17except the MasterCheffers are mostly whisking instead of twirling.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20The main weekend show makes use of this extra filming
0:01:20 > 0:01:23showing clips of what's been happening during the week,
0:01:23 > 0:01:27only they focus on action round the hotplate and not the high lifts.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30But unlike Strictly, the elimination occurs in the daytime,
0:01:30 > 0:01:33so if you watch everything, it is possible
0:01:33 > 0:01:38to have witnessed the departure of a failed celebrity chef in the day
0:01:38 > 0:01:43only to spot them once more slaving over a hot cooker on Friday night.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45This is why Linda, who was voted out on Thursday,
0:01:45 > 0:01:49didn't appear on the early afternoon episode on Friday,
0:01:49 > 0:01:52but did then appear in the evening programme
0:01:52 > 0:01:55and the Saturday catch-up episode.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58And one more thing - the celebrities are grouped together in rounds
0:01:58 > 0:02:03and once one round is over, you won't see even those still in
0:02:03 > 0:02:05until the finals at the end.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08So it might mean value for money for MasterChef,
0:02:08 > 0:02:11but we can see where the confusion arises.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14Another big daytime show, Escape To The Country,
0:02:14 > 0:02:17could do with chasing value for money as well,
0:02:17 > 0:02:19according to some viewers, or possibly
0:02:19 > 0:02:23stop transmitting altogether during the current housing crisis.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28A pool. Wow!
0:03:28 > 0:03:31You get hidden extras in this house.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34I didn't want just a view.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38This is proper leisure house. I'm liking it.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40Do you like a pool? Some people are scared off by pools.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43- This is a beautiful pool, I think. - Our nephews would love it.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45You'd be so popular!
0:03:45 > 0:03:49No, that doesn't really look like your average urban two-bed terrace.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52Can Escape To The Country escape the criticism?
0:03:52 > 0:03:57Do they have to deploy the media buzz-word "aspirational" to do so?
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Across any series, we do have quite a wide spread of house prices
0:04:00 > 0:04:03from around £200,000 upwards.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06These house prices are set by the contributors,
0:04:06 > 0:04:10and it is one of many factors that we look at when we cast the shows.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13However, on future series, we will be keeping an eye on the housing market.
0:04:13 > 0:04:19Even in the current climate, research shows us that people come to view Escape To The Country
0:04:19 > 0:04:23for lots of different reasons. Some like to look at the beautiful homes
0:04:23 > 0:04:25and countryside or learn about rural life,
0:04:25 > 0:04:27so the programme still has a place.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31Well, she didn't say "aspirational", but I think she meant it.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33Now, stand by your beds!
0:04:33 > 0:04:37There's been an upsurge of interest in the armed forces across the BBC.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40Someone at the top clearly likes a man in uniform,
0:04:40 > 0:04:43or in the case of Casualty, a female army medic.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Here's a roll call of current military output.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50The latest recruit to Saturday night accident & emergency is
0:04:50 > 0:04:53Major Sam Nicholls, a former army doctor.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56On BBC3, Young Soldiers has been following new army recruits
0:04:56 > 0:04:59from sign-up and training camp
0:04:59 > 0:05:01through to active duty in Afghanistan.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07And on BBC4 the Regimental Stories season has documentaries on
0:05:07 > 0:05:09the Forces and aired a fly-on-the-wall look
0:05:09 > 0:05:12at Sandhurst at the famous officer training college.
0:05:12 > 0:05:17So is the BBC's current military mania passing muster with viewers?
0:05:53 > 0:05:56Entry to Sandhurst relies on passing a very rigorous interview.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59The kind of interview you see happening
0:05:59 > 0:06:02all the time in the BBC's current affairs programmes.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06But when does a rigorous interview turn into an aggressive one?
0:06:06 > 0:06:09And are those still welcome or painfully out of fashion?
0:06:18 > 0:06:21Do you know how they died? Friendly fire, that's how!
0:06:21 > 0:06:23I'm interviewing you cos you were involved.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27- Which one would you like me to answer?- It's not whether you want to be in or out of Europe.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31I want you to say whether you think there should be a referendum!
0:06:51 > 0:06:53So you don't trust the voters to give their opinion?
0:06:53 > 0:06:55- No, that's... - Well that is the question.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58- So...- Is printing money a solution, is it or isn't it?
0:06:58 > 0:07:01Look, you signed up to this report, can you please tell us
0:07:01 > 0:07:04what you meant by talking about the provision
0:07:04 > 0:07:07of culturally appropriate accommodation. What is it?!
0:07:07 > 0:07:10Jeremy Paxman's dry, acerbic interview style has seen him
0:07:10 > 0:07:12rise to near national treasuredom.
0:07:12 > 0:07:17But some viewers think his recent performances on Newsnight have overstepped the mark.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32It's terribly frightening listening to that idiot in Brussels.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35Er, Mr Idiot in Brussels, would you like to respond?
0:07:40 > 0:07:45- Yes or no?!- The question of... - Should we have joined the euro as you advocated, yes or no?
0:07:45 > 0:07:49- If...- The question I asked was if you still think it'd be a good thing to have joined the euro!
0:07:49 > 0:07:50Yes or no?!
0:07:50 > 0:07:53Of course individual editors are responsible for these programmes,
0:07:53 > 0:07:56their presenters and their interviewing styles,
0:07:56 > 0:08:00but Stephen Mitchell handles big editorial issues for BBC News,
0:08:00 > 0:08:02so he is well-placed to notice changes.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06I expect our interviewers to get to the truth
0:08:06 > 0:08:10and to paint as clear a picture as possible on behalf of the audience
0:08:10 > 0:08:13and sometimes robustness works and sometimes you don't need to be
0:08:13 > 0:08:17robust and actually sometimes you have to step back a bit
0:08:17 > 0:08:19and let people have a bit more space.
0:08:19 > 0:08:24I certainly can't detect an overall increase in aggressiveness,
0:08:24 > 0:08:27robustness or anything like that.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30So what kind of training are interviewers
0:08:30 > 0:08:32and presenters receiving?
0:08:32 > 0:08:37There's no one standard training scheme that we would submit everyone to.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41Some people who are coming to the job new from perhaps being
0:08:41 > 0:08:44reporters or something are given some training.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48Some people need training in techniques that apply to specific programmes.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51And some people, the more experienced people have learnt through
0:08:51 > 0:08:54the university of life and that's their training.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57And I would encourage people, if they have anxieties or concerns about
0:08:57 > 0:09:02individual programmes or individual interviews, to contact the programmes.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05I can assure you that we do talk about these things all the time
0:09:05 > 0:09:10and those conversations always involve the presenters and the interviewers.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12Swings and roundabouts?
0:09:12 > 0:09:14So if we look at all of the BBC's output
0:09:14 > 0:09:17we will apparently see that the interviewing styles even out.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21Whichever way you look at petrol prices, I think most motorists
0:09:21 > 0:09:23would agree that they are very high at the moment,
0:09:23 > 0:09:26and Panorama aired an exclusive investigation
0:09:26 > 0:09:30into the organised crime that the high prices have now triggered,
0:09:30 > 0:09:31The Great Fuel Robbery.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34In the last two years, the cost of petrol
0:09:34 > 0:09:36and diesel has risen by around a third,
0:09:36 > 0:09:40and 60% of the price that we pay at the pump is tax.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44Such are the profits to be had from avoiding this duty, that there
0:09:44 > 0:09:47now exists a whole new level of organised crime.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06There is no end of depressing economic news.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08House prices, fuel prices, you name it.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12So how about a little light relief in the form of music or dancing?
0:10:12 > 0:10:14Well, not Strictly Come Dancing cos that apparently is
0:10:14 > 0:10:18more about celebrities than the arts, according to viewer
0:10:18 > 0:10:22David Ride who makes the case that the BBC has given up on the high ground.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28I thought that maybe a little prompt would be in order to try
0:10:28 > 0:10:35and get the BBC off this cultural bias track they seem to have.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39I would like to see, on the BBC, more regular
0:10:39 > 0:10:46performances of classical ballets, and grand operas and they could take
0:10:46 > 0:10:51the opportunity to screen some of the amateur productions that are on.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54First-quality amateur productions all round the country.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58I was watching a BBC news broadcast
0:10:58 > 0:11:04and they were very keen on reporting on a Gilbert and Sullivan
0:11:04 > 0:11:09festival that was held in Buxton in Derbyshire and how successful it was.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11I thought to myself,
0:11:11 > 0:11:16"When did the BBC last screen a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta?"
0:11:16 > 0:11:19And for those of you thinking, "Hang on a minute, there was
0:11:19 > 0:11:22"a very good Gilbert O'Sullivan documentary on BBC4 recently."
0:11:22 > 0:11:26We are not talking about the Irish crooner from the '70s,
0:11:26 > 0:11:30but the Victorian theatrical partnership of Gilbert AND Sullivan.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32SINGS LOW NOTES
0:11:32 > 0:11:39There is, out there, a young section of society who are missing out
0:11:39 > 0:11:42on these cultural opportunities.
0:11:42 > 0:11:47I attend the Salisbury Playhouse here on a regular basis
0:11:47 > 0:11:53and frequently a whole row will be taken up by a sixth form
0:11:53 > 0:11:57who are studying that particular production and I'm sure
0:11:57 > 0:12:04if such opportunities were given to them on BBC1 and channel 2,
0:12:04 > 0:12:08they would benefit and everybody else would benefit as well.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12Well, perhaps the schedule has spotted the shortfall as well,
0:12:12 > 0:12:16David, because next week on BBC4 alone they are celebrating a music hall week
0:12:16 > 0:12:20with 6½ hours of variety performances
0:12:20 > 0:12:23and backgrounders into theatre heritage.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25I hope that's to your taste.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28Now Formula One, and for once not the complaint that coverage
0:12:28 > 0:12:31skips channels mid-race or even that those spoilsports
0:12:31 > 0:12:35on news keep telling you the results before the highlights are broadcast.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38No, this is a completely different complaint.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42I've had it with Formula One tyre-babble.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46It's well-nigh impossible to get more than ten seconds without it.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50Let's switch some of the ghastly replay Muzak to drown out
0:12:50 > 0:12:53the rubber fetish, and enjoy the racing!
0:12:53 > 0:12:56Tyre-wear promises to be a big problem in the race today
0:12:56 > 0:12:58so that much of the midfield
0:12:58 > 0:13:01are saving their new tyres to give an advantage in the race.
0:13:01 > 0:13:06"Tyre-babble." That is a new word to add to the Points Of View lexicon.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09So less commentary chit-chat, more action.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13And that's all we've got time for this week. Next week I'll be putting your questions to
0:13:13 > 0:13:17the BBC's head of science and nature commissioning, Kim Shillinglaw.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20The Origins Of Us and Frozen Planet are two new science programmes
0:13:20 > 0:13:22on next week, off the top of my head,
0:13:22 > 0:13:26so we ought to let her know what you think of those.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29You can write to -
0:13:29 > 0:13:32E-mail us -
0:13:32 > 0:13:36Or hop on the message board and join discussions at -
0:13:38 > 0:13:39And you can phone us, of course.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43Calls are charged at a local rate from a BT landline.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49That's all for now, goodbye.
0:13:49 > 0:13:50Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:13:50 > 0:13:53E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk