Episode 1 Points of View

Good afternoon and a rather special welcome to Points of View, not just

a new series but a new production centre. We're coming to you this

week from Belfast. And a good moment to answer a fundamental

question put directly to us on the To answer that question let me take

you back a few years. 51 years in Good evening. Everyone Monday at

this time I'm going to read you your own letters. I do hope they

are going to be highly critical and frightfully disbeadient and help

television from one of its sins, which is complacency. Welcome to

Points of View. Enough! This is yet another television

stitch-up. I get really frustrated. Thank you of it more carefully in

future... To hear profannities, swearing and blasphemy, it is not

on. So there we are. The aim of Points of View is the same now as

then to give you a voice on TV, and to keep them on their toes.

clearly didn't get it right on this occasion and I'm sorry about that.

I think some people would refer the music... It's a first and a great

example of people power. Following the positive feed-back of

Helicopter Heroes to Points of View, we've decided to air the programme

on Monday evening at 7.30pm. I did consider this a bit of a kick in

When you come into your own home you expect the television is going

to reinforce the messages that you teach your children.

So I was very disappointed when we sat down to watch the new animation,

Sarah and Duck. As far as my son was concerned, the little girl was

going off with a stranger. Come back with me. I have just the thing.

OK. It made me really cross, because it is sending out the wrong

message to children. It is saying that the stranger danger we are

trying to teach them doesn't exist. Get inside. That sounds like a very

good idea. Sarah and Duck are always accompanied by the narrator.

He is with them in the house and out of it, every minute of the day,

so they are never left on their own The scene where they meet the scarf

lady on the street, the narrator says, "Hello scarf lady... So you

know they know each other. That it was first time we ever saw that

episode. We couldn't tell she wasn't a stranger and there was an

offscreen presence, the narrator. To me they are overestimating the

cognitive reasoning abilities of a three-year-old. I didn't get that

from the episode and I have a psychology degree. If most

important thing is to say that on C CBeebies the welfare of the

children is paramount. We'll record dialogue to make it absolutely

clear to the viewers that Sarah, Duck, the narrator and the Scarf

lady know each other. When we know we can make a message clearer, we

do everything to do that. There you go, our first score on

the board for the new series. Your views and opinions count, so let's

hear them. Views like a perceived lack of air time for religious

programmes over Easter, Good Friday I think during Holy Week there was

a lot of programming on TV and radio, Easter at Kings, a

documentary about Mary Magdalene, a documentary about Christie and

poetry, a Pope's speech. There was a lot of programming. We can never

please everybody but there was enough programming there to really

give a good service to our viewers over the Easter period.

The one religious programme that aired on Good Friday on BBC TV was

"The Mystery of Mary Magdalene" in which Melvyn Bragg tackled the

controversy of one of the Bible's most enigmatic figures. But it just

Something which is still challenging to the church today and

which has provoked a great deal of speculation among biblical scholars,

that Mary Magdalene might have been did lover of Jesus Christ and even

his wife. Don't think the programme was inflammatory and speculative.

It had academics from around the world. As a subject matter it has

been there for a long time. There was nothing particularly shocking

in that. If people are upset by it, we never set out to do that and I'm

sorry about that. But I think the vast majority of people who watched

it, and the audience figures were very good as well, they would have

come away with a deep understanding of the importance of Mary Magdalene

story. Rediscovered texts give voice to these visionary women and

illustrate the struggles they were having with the mainstream churches.

We do lots of programming to reflect as wide an audience as

possible. In this programme, I think it was good programme and

That fits perfectly. This pie is relatively small compared to the

Christmas pies of all. Although it will take three hours to cook, we

are more than happy to hang around to see how it turns out. There he

is! Surely nothing pays finer tribute to our great British fowl

than a Yorkshire Christmas pie. Well, maybe it's been this weather

that's been making us think of Christmas!

Speaking of times past, BBC One rewound a whole century on Sunday

evening for the start of the new Lots of praise for the concept, but

a rap on the knuckles from the Hubert Parry's Jerusalem is played

by the brass band as the village's young recruits march off to war. A

poignant departure and dramatic ending to the first episode. Except,

And that wasn't all. This is Bill Jones, who plays young Bert in the

series. And this is accomplished actor David Ryall, who plays that

same Bert in his latter years. Notice anything wrong? An

No, Margaret, your eyes weren't deceiving you. But you aren't alone.

Some fans of Jonathan Creek couldn't believe what they were

watching on Monday night. I thought it might be a good idea to pool our

thoughts and see if we can't nudge this one into the back of the net.

Sceptic as I was about that secret society nonsense it was at the

heart of this illusion, as That's what we asked the comedy

And while the plot confused some, others were offended by the

treatment of a transgender character. I was born a man.

Exactly. Must not forget by the way, it's Jack and daveina's anniversary

today, so many congratulations to you both. To the lucky husband and

And the name I suppose, Jacqueline, appropriate with your identity

issues. Jacqueline Hyde? How you do mean

Programme makers are always on the hunt for the next big thing, and

who'd have thought they'd have all stitched up with a sewing show?

have ten minutes left on this alteration challenge. As soon as

that time pressure came on you saw a couple of moosive clangers.

think Tilly was a little overambitious. She gave herself a

pat everyone drafting challenge as well as making the collar for her

Funny you should mention that, we're tucking into cookery shows

next week. If you've got anything to say about those or anything else

on BBC TV, please let us know. And you can do so by using the same

Thanks to those of you who've been in touch while we've been off air.