0:00:10 > 0:00:14Hello, and welcome to Points Of View and here we are in
0:00:14 > 0:00:17the glittering surroundings of Strictly Come Dancing.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21Very exciting to be here, and we're here because we are talking
0:00:21 > 0:00:24to the man who commissioned this very successful series, as well
0:00:24 > 0:00:27as a lot of other entertainment programmes which you will watch.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30His name is Mark Linsey.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32Strictly Come Dancing, The Apprentice
0:00:32 > 0:00:36and The Voice are just some of the flagship shows Mark Linsey steers.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow, Room 101,
0:00:40 > 0:00:44John Bishop's Britain, The Restaurant and The Sarah Millican Television Programme
0:00:44 > 0:00:47are some of the titles he has launched since starting in 2007.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50Have you ever been commentating on a sport
0:00:50 > 0:00:56- and thought, "I've just forgotten all the rules to this?"- Frequently, yes!
0:00:56 > 0:00:58Programmes such as The Rob Brydon Show
0:00:58 > 0:01:01and Junior Doctors began as ideas pitched to Mark.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03If he likes them, he will take them
0:01:03 > 0:01:07to the channel controllers in the hope that they get commissioned.
0:01:07 > 0:01:08Hole In The Wall...
0:01:08 > 0:01:10Bring on the wall!
0:01:15 > 0:01:19..Children in Need and The Royal Variety Performance also took this route.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22But Mark's quoted as favouring Russell Howard's Good News...
0:01:22 > 0:01:25Thank you very much indeed!
0:01:25 > 0:01:30..and Total Wipeout for giving his family the chance to sit down and enjoy quality time together.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36- Thank you, Jeremy.- Let's get straight in with the questions.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38Lorraine Harris is asking
0:01:38 > 0:01:41whether you would ever commission just a straight music
0:01:41 > 0:01:45and entertainment show from the Dave Arch band and the dancers.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02I've seen Dave and his singers and his band live,
0:02:02 > 0:02:05and it's a fantastic experience.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08But we have them on Saturday night BBC One 14 weeks of the year,
0:02:08 > 0:02:12so I think that's enough, and I think even Dave might agree with that.
0:02:12 > 0:02:17OK, we've got a question on the messageboard from "GZ", who's looking at The Voice
0:02:17 > 0:02:22and thinks the winner hasn't had much promotion, and wonders
0:02:22 > 0:02:27if the BBC's whole anti-commercial thing is to blame for that.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38So the winner just went missing after the show finished?
0:02:38 > 0:02:42Well, I think the purpose of The Voice was to create
0:02:42 > 0:02:45an entertainment show that could be enjoyed on Saturday night
0:02:45 > 0:02:48BBC One, and that we did.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51And we were thrilled with the success we had with it,
0:02:51 > 0:02:55it was quite unprecedented in that an average of nine million viewers watched it each week.
0:02:55 > 0:03:01And as we speak, Leanne Mitchell, our winner, is in studio creating
0:03:01 > 0:03:04and producing her own album, which will be out later in the year.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08Was The Voice an expensive mistake?
0:03:08 > 0:03:13Not at all. I think the amount of viewers it got proves that it wasn't.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16Nine million viewers a week is a phenomenal number
0:03:16 > 0:03:18particularly on a first series.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21It is quite unprecedented for a Saturday night BBC One
0:03:21 > 0:03:24entertainment show, so we were thrilled with the success.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27We are looking forward to it coming back for a second series.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30The BBC had quite a lot of success with Maria
0:03:30 > 0:03:32and Wizard Of Oz and so on.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36We, or you, have now lost Andrew Lloyd Webber, he has gone to ITV...
0:03:41 > 0:03:45Do you have any plans for more West End-style search shows?
0:03:45 > 0:03:48No, there are no more plans for any of that sort of programming.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51We had great success with Andrew Lloyd Webber and his
0:03:51 > 0:03:53musical theatre shows on television,
0:03:53 > 0:03:55and we were thrilled with their success,
0:03:55 > 0:04:00we just thought it was time to do a different musical talent show.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02That's why we plumped for The Voice.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05OK, let's break for a second if we can, Mark,
0:04:05 > 0:04:09and we'll find how some of this week's output has been received.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12First, Brazil with Michael Palin.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15As I watch the troupe take the stage,
0:04:15 > 0:04:20I'm really moved by the spirit and quality of their performance.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22They tell the story as it should be told.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26With their richly embroidered costumes and original and inventive masks,
0:04:26 > 0:04:32there's a real feeling of a community creating something out of nothing.
0:04:45 > 0:04:50On BBC Three, Stacey Dooley has ventured north of the border
0:04:50 > 0:04:53to look at Girls Behind Bars in the United States.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00Right now we're going to do showers. We have to do them eight at a time.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02Eight at a time, three minutes in the shower.
0:05:03 > 0:05:04That's insane!
0:05:04 > 0:05:09Three minutes, yeah? Tell me how to have a shower in three minutes.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Work as fast as you can. And get out.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39Now another question for Mark Linsey.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43The Entertainment department has played make or break with not
0:05:43 > 0:05:46just showbiz careers, but also business careers.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48This is about The Apprentice.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51"Bugsy 60" on our messageboard
0:05:51 > 0:05:52notices that it's not a job
0:05:52 > 0:05:55that's on offer at the end now, it's just a partnership.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01That must hurt.
0:06:01 > 0:06:06I think there'd be a lot of viewers would be devastated if we didn't do The Apprentice again.
0:06:06 > 0:06:07A hugely successful show.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10It still gets a high volume of people watching it.
0:06:10 > 0:06:15I think there'd be a lot of people upset if we didn't continue with it.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18But why don't you, as the executive, just get Alan Sugar in and say,
0:06:18 > 0:06:22"Listen - if you don't offer a job, you're fired"?
0:06:22 > 0:06:27But I think the whole idea of a business partnership gives the format
0:06:27 > 0:06:28something a bit different.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32People we have spoken to like it, they think it's quite relevant today.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35A lot of people are starting new businesses on their own,
0:06:35 > 0:06:39and it does give an insight in the sort of abilities you need to do that.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43Mike Abrahams has been in touch with us. He has got an idea.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01So a series based on the outcomes?
0:07:01 > 0:07:04Could you give him some money for thinking up that idea?
0:07:04 > 0:07:08It's a really good idea, but I'm sad to say we are already doing it.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11In each series we DO do a follow up show.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14We follow up on the businesses that the Dragons put money into.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18And indeed we do a follow up on some of the businesses that have
0:07:18 > 0:07:20grown without the Dragons putting money into it.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23So it's a great idea, but we are already doing it.
0:07:23 > 0:07:24Let's again pause there.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27We can put BBC Two under the microscope now, because they've
0:07:27 > 0:07:31been taking a very scientific approach this week, starting with
0:07:31 > 0:07:34a programme called Secret Universe: The Hidden Life Of The Cell.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37'They are just one of the astonishing micro-machines
0:07:37 > 0:07:40'that keep this bustling community healthy.'
0:07:40 > 0:07:42Scientists are asked all the time,
0:07:42 > 0:07:43how do things in a cell
0:07:43 > 0:07:46know how to get where they are supposed to go?
0:07:46 > 0:07:48And for sure cells are very chaotic,
0:07:48 > 0:07:50things are bumping into each other,
0:07:50 > 0:07:51and most of that is just random.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19And stripped throughout the week there were nightly visits to
0:08:19 > 0:08:21a Prehistoric Autopsy.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25- Look at this - this is me, This is my skull.- Your skull?
0:08:25 > 0:08:27This is my actual skull.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29There is a massive difference.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32Here's the Neanderthal skull, and if we look at it from the side,
0:08:32 > 0:08:35you can see that this Neanderthal is much longer and lower.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37Her skull is much more rounded.
0:09:04 > 0:09:05Back with Mark now.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09One area you seem to be very successful in is the panel game,
0:09:09 > 0:09:11so Have I Got News For You
0:09:11 > 0:09:13and Never Mind The Buzzcocks are the old stagers.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15You've got Would I Lie To You? coming on.
0:09:15 > 0:09:22Don't you have a bit of a problem, because the old ones are so strong it is hard to bring on new ones?
0:09:22 > 0:09:25It's really hard to bring new shows on.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28Panel shows are difficult to get right,
0:09:28 > 0:09:31but when you do get it right the audience really enjoy it.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34Have I Got News For You is a great example of that - Mock The Week,
0:09:34 > 0:09:39Buzzcocks, QI, are all long-running shows that the public love to see.
0:09:39 > 0:09:44It is hard to get new shows right. We will be trying some new shows.
0:09:44 > 0:09:49We pilot an awful lot of new panel shows, and indeed on BBC Three
0:09:49 > 0:09:52we plan a couple new ones in the early part of next year.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55But would you for example recognise
0:09:55 > 0:09:58if Have I Got News For You just got stale?
0:09:58 > 0:10:02I think what Have I Got News For You has each week is the news,
0:10:02 > 0:10:03and the news is always changing.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06It always has a different host as well.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08But the audiences are enjoying it.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12Can you imagine something like Would I Lie To You? going for ten years, 20 years?
0:10:12 > 0:10:15Well, you could say that about a lot of our panel shows -
0:10:15 > 0:10:19Buzzcocks has been on air for 26 series now.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21So let's see in 20 years' time, Jeremy.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24Now, we have to ask you about the Christmas line-up.
0:10:24 > 0:10:25What have you got planned?
0:10:25 > 0:10:29As ever, as in past years, we have got a fantastic line-up,
0:10:29 > 0:10:32it includes Have I Got News For You specials,
0:10:32 > 0:10:34we've got Graham Norton specials, we've got a wonderful
0:10:34 > 0:10:40special from Sarah Millican on BBC Two and also our Top Gear special...
0:10:40 > 0:10:43and as ever we've got a 90-minute Strictly special which
0:10:43 > 0:10:45we're planning at the moment.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47We've also got some new stuff,
0:10:47 > 0:10:49we've got John Bishop doing an end of year show,
0:10:49 > 0:10:51it's John Bishop's Big Year -
0:10:51 > 0:10:53and it's certainly been a big year for John Bishop
0:10:53 > 0:10:56and a big year for 2012.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59And we also have Superstars coming back.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01Mark Linsey, Head of Entertainment, thank you very much.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04We've just got a little bit more time to catch up on what has
0:11:04 > 0:11:07been catching your eye this week.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09You've Been Trumped on BBC Two...
0:11:10 > 0:11:13I look at Mr Forbes and his disgusting conditions
0:11:13 > 0:11:16in which he lives,
0:11:16 > 0:11:17and that people have to look at that.
0:11:17 > 0:11:23Mr Forbes is not a man that people in Scotland should be proud of.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Cashing in on the trend for programmes about the elderly,
0:11:58 > 0:12:00Golden Oldies.
0:12:00 > 0:12:06If you've got losses, which we all have losses, try not to count them,
0:12:06 > 0:12:11but to count the blessings that you still have.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48After the Great British Bake Off final, there was a masterclass.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52One of the real problems when you're creaming butter and sugar
0:12:52 > 0:12:55together to make a cake is getting the butter at a right temperature.
0:12:55 > 0:13:00It's nearly always too hard. This is a foolproof way of softening it.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04Here I've got butter. It's very cold, straight from the fridge.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07Put those squares into lukewarm water,
0:13:07 > 0:13:10sort of the temperature of a baby's bath.
0:13:21 > 0:13:27We don't have a programme unless you get in touch, so please do. Here's the address...
0:13:31 > 0:13:33You're also more than welcome to e-mail...
0:13:36 > 0:13:41Jump onto the messageboard, always lively there...
0:13:41 > 0:13:43Or phone us.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47The number is charged as a local rate call from a landline.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49Here it is for you.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53Goodbye.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd