Episode 13 Points of View

POINTS OF VIEW FKA R176L/01 BRD000000

Mastermind - too many masters and not enough mistresses?

Deja vu on daytime TV - the repeat that keeps repeating...

and Smutgate continues -

fans tell complainers to keep their hands off Bake Off.

Welcome to Points Of View.

Good afternoon. Now, we begin this week

with claims of a bad bout of sexism

on one of the BBC's most popular

and long-running quiz shows - Mastermind.

It seems it has all gone a bit bloke-ish in the search

for Britain's best brain.

MASTERMIND THEME TUNE

Let's get on with it and ask our first contender to join us, please.

Hello, my name is Maureen Caulfield and I live in Chichester

with my husband and he and I enjoy watching BBC quiz programmes.

Recently, when I was watching Mastermind,

specifically during the general knowledge rounds,

I noticed how many more questions

referenced men than women.

According to Homer's Iliad,

which King of Greek mythology had 50 sons, including Hector and Paris?

Priam.

And so I started to monitor how frequently questions referenced

men as opposed to women

and was surprised to find this ratio

of 5:1 in favour of men.

-Who composed the music for the opera Tristan and Isolde...

-Wagner.

-Ninth Symphony, first performed in 1824...

-Beethoven.

-Meaning the leader.

-Franco.

This is obviously not an accurate reflection of the contribution

women make to society

and nor is it an accurate reflection of the licence-fee-paying public.

..a woman of no importance.

Discriminations of this kind tend to fly under the radar.

-They're subtle and they're probably not intentional.

-Ronnie Corbett.

-Marco Polo.

-Lewis Carroll.

-Robbie Williams!

And so I would like to ask the programme-makers,

are they aware that a 5:1 ratio in favour of men exists?

And now that I've pointed it out,

what is it they intend to do about it?

So what is happening at Mastermind?

It is definitely not Mistressmind.

Here is the producer, Mark Helsby.

I don't sit and look through

the programmes and look for that.

When I looked through the questions,

I'm looking to make sure, as best I can, that for the people

who are taking part, it's a fair competition

and that they're getting a fair spread of questions, a fair spread

of subjects and that the difficulty level is even amongst them.

The team put a lot of work in to make sure everyone gets the same

number of questions within their two-minute round...

-BLEEPER

-He started - let him finish.

In the future, I'll certainly bear it in mind

when I'm looking at the sex.

It's another thing I will look at, alongside the other things

I look at when I'm signing off the questions.

-You've done all this before.

-That is a mucky end I've made of that.

This looks amazing.

I've left the nuts quite chunky,

I don't know if that's a good thing.

-We love chunky nuts.

-Do you?!

You KNOW we love chunky nuts on Bake Off!

Mel and Sue on the Great British Bake Off

and what we are now calling "Smutgate".

Viewers complained last week, do you remember, that the pair were

ruining the series with their innuendo?

BUT there has been a backlash in the kitchen, with many taking to

Twitter to tell those complaining to...

Well, get a life.

I really can't understand the negative reactions to the

innuendos on BBC One's Great British Bake Off.

Surely, innuendo is a key part of British culture, from saucy

seaside postcards to the Carry On films to the Two Ronnies to

many of today's modern stand-ups.

Of course, innuendo must always have a double meaning,

so perhaps this is more about the viewer than the actual show?

In the words of the immortal Frankie Howard, titter ye not!

I was very saddened to find that the smut was

an issue on the British Bake Off.

Personally, I find European Cake Week to be the funniest thing

I've seen on telly. I loved the Dutch baker, it was, "Sho funny"!

"Hey, you know, let's make some cakes!"

Comedy genius. Smut? Never.

Sue Perkins has even got involved.

Don't start the row over fake accents again, Sue -

we had too many of them to deal with

from the drama department last series.

Anyway, innuendos aside,

the Great British Bake Off semifinal show, this Wednesday.

Now, moving on, but maybe not, really.

On Saturday, the BBC News Channel

obviously wanted to avoid any offence with their warning about

a documentary on one of the most endangered tribes on the planet.

This programme does contain some scenes of male nudity.

You are right, Susiesar - forewarned is forearmed, it would seem.

I'm getting a bit squeamish. Let's move on.

A couple of weeks ago,

we brought you some criticism of the series, Tumble.

We told you then, no decision had been made as to whether to

recommission the show for next year, but one young viewer is so concerned

his favourite show won't come back, that he has put pen to paper.

My name is Oliver and I'm six years old.

I live in Essex with my mum and dad and my sister.

The other day, I wrote a letter to Points Of View.

"Dear Sir or Madame, I have been enjoying Tumble on Saturdays..."

It's the Tumble grand final!

"My mummy tells me it will not be on again. Ever!

"Can you change your minds?"

# I'm holding on for a hero till the end of the night... #

"I really like it

"because I like gymnastics and dance."

# Because I'm happy

# Clap along if you feel

# Like a room without a roof... #

"Thank you, from Oliver, aged six."

Please, please, BBC - bring Tumble back!

Well, Oliver, there still hasn't been a decision on

whether your very obviously favourite show will make

a return - we'll keep you posted on this one.

Tuesday saw the start of a new crime drama starring David Morrissey

and written by BAFTA

and International Emmy award-winner Danny Brocklehurst.

I thought you were supposed to be going straight?

How am I supposed to say no to these guys, eh?

-I thought you said you were sick of being ordinary.

-I am.

That doesn't mean I want to be extraordinary in prison, do I?

Praise too for another drama,

this time on Sunday nights on BBC One.

Our Girl, starring Lacey Turner,

tells the story of a young medic in her first posting to Afghanistan.

Did you pass geography at school, Dawes?

-No, sir.

-No.

-Did you, Smurf?

-Oh, yes, sir.

-Good.

Then you can show our Doris where the female quarters are.

This...

is stags only.

Sunday saw the return of the hit drama Our Girl to the BBC.

I found this drama intense and gripping,

whilst at the same time it really cut deep into a subject that will

resonate with millions of people across the UK right now.

I for one am really, really excited that this drama has come back

and I think that Lacey Turner is an absolutely amazing actress

and should win a BAFTA for her role.

Well done, the BBC - bring on episode two.

I think our girl on BBC One was

absolutely brilliant this week.

I think the storyline was amazing -

at times it had you absolutely hysterical laughing

and the next minute, you're on the edge of your seats.

I think Lacey Turner was brilliant in it, like she is in everything.

I can't wait for the rest of the series.

But - and there is always a "but" -

why schedule it up against ITV's Downton?

Next, repeats on daytime.

Now, complaints on this general theme keep on coming.

But when an already repeated episode of Bargain Hunt from 2012...

We're heading off somewhere incredibly interesting...

..was repeated AGAIN on 9th September...

..Incredibly interesting...

..and AGAIN on Wednesday,

-just two weeks later...

-..Interesting.

Well, antique fans who like old stuff normally were left

saying even for them, this was too much.

I'm a regular Bargain Hunt viewer

and I know that from time to time,

there are repeats of this programme.

But imagine my disappointment today -

24 September - sitting down to lunch

and finding the programme had been aired just last week.

Come on, BBC -

we don't forget things THAT easily.

You do need to get someone to keep track of your scheduling.

The schedulers say human error was to blame,

as if it could be anything else.

They say they're going to look into it

and try to ensure it never happens again.

One show fans wouldn't mind seeing repeated though, would be BBC Two's

Marvellous, the fact-based drama

about the life of against the odds Neil Baldwin winning many fans.

Let's just play the game right

and the main thing is this -

this is what you've got to get into your noggins.

The main thing is,

go out there and score more goals

than the other team!

Thanks, Neilo. Was that...

Was that supposed to be me, aye?

-Brian Clough, boss.

-Oh, right. Classy.

-Come on!

This programme has BAFTA written all over it

and was a wonderful piece of television.

The quality acting interspersed with Neil Baldwin himself was

fantastic and the story is truly inspirational.

No question, this was the BBC at its absolute best -

funny, moving and most of all, real.

Congratulations to the BBC and to Neil - you should both be proud.

Marvellous by name and by nature, it would seem.

And it is TV moments like these we want you to tell us about.

We're introducing our brand-new slot called My Choice - we want

you to choose a favourite moment from any of the BBC's TV channels

over the last seven days and tell us why you liked it so much.

You could do that by recording a video on your smartphone or maybe

a PC or perhaps you've got a tablet like this.

Very simple - go to our website...

Or you can tweet us at...

For letter-writers, e-mailers and good old-fashioned phone-callers -

your call by the way is charged at the standard rate -

the details are at the bottom of the screen.

Our website lists a plethora of contact details, too.

For this week's My Choice,

John Stokes explains his -

BBC Four's Storyville, entitled

The Himalayan Boy and the TV Set.

And in a style adopted by my predecessor,

the great Sir Terry Wogan, formerly of this parish,

we leave you with just some of what for John

and so many others made this documentary so special.

Until next week, goodbye.