Episode 3 Points of View

Hello. Jeremy Clarkson, a licence fee loophole and zombies -

all just part of your week on the BBC.

This is the show where the viewers take over the airwaves

and you have your say.

Welcome to Points Of View.

Good afternoon. First there was the controversy over this,

Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson appearing to use a racist word -

and a warning that you may be offended here.

HE MUTTERS Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, catch a nigger by his toe...

Which led to him issuing this online.

If you listen very carefully with the sound turned right up,

it did appear that I'd actually used the word I was trying to obscure.

I was mortified by this, horrified. It is a word I loathe.

And I did everything in my power to make sure that that version

did not appear in the programme that was transmitted.

Please be assured, I did everything in my power to not use that word,

and, as I'm sitting here begging your forgiveness for the fact that

obviously my efforts weren't quite good enough.

And then, before the dust had time to settle, there was the news

that the motoring series is being investigated by the media regulator Ofcom for THIS remark -

and another warning here that the language used might offend.

That is a proud moment.

But...

there's a slope on it.

You're right. It's definitely higher on that side.

Now, many of you have been in touch over this -

some to support, some to condemn -

and we've got a few of your roadside views.

For me, Jeremy Clarkson, the programme wouldn't work without him.

I'll be quite honest with you,

the BBC, if they'd taken any form of punitive action

with regards to his job, I think that

they'd be losing an institution that is very, very well founded.

I don't believe he's racist. He's just making remarks.

He didn't actually, from what I understand, say the word,

and it's an old rhyme that's been around hundreds of years, and...

I don't know, just sometimes he says things without thinking, doesn't he?

I don't think the BBC's decision to let him off is a good idea,

because I think as a journalist he should be aware of what he's saying

and know that everything is on camera, and so

he shouldn't be saying things that he thinks or hopes that won't be heard,

and I think he should probably have been reprimanded more strongly,

because I don't think it's the first time that he's done something wrong.

It hasn't changed my opinion of Jeremy Clarkson at all.

I don't like him particularly, I think he's obnoxious,

but I think he's made a mistake and it's just a genuine mistake.

And it could happen to anyone

standing in front of a camera, I suppose!

I think it's great that he made these comments

because then everyone can review how we feel about racism.

So in a funny sort of a way I think it works out,

that we all can discuss how we feel about colour and everything else

and different cultures and what have you. So actually it's a good thing.

Jeremy Clarkson's a British legend.

I think a lot of the media give him trouble for no reason.

He's entitled to his opinion like the rest of the people.

Clarkson's Clarkson, isn't he? Proper driver.

Now, the view on this seems split pretty much straight down the middle.

For its part the BBC has said it won't be commenting on the issue

being investigated by Ofcom, but, on the incident where Jeremy appeared to use the N-word,

they gave us this statement.

Staying with attitudes to race -

and if opinions were split on Clarkson, so too have they been

in the debate over diversity raised on this programme last week.

Now, we heard from one campaigning group which is threatening to

boycott the TV licence if the BBC doesn't redress

an imbalance in the number of people from ethnic minorities it employs.

We appreciate that this might be against the law,

but after years and years of discussing the same issue,

we feel that there is no choice.

Again, lots coming in on this - and here's a sample of your views.

About 13% of the UK is non-white British.

That should therefore be a reasonable guideline

for the ethnic distribution of television presenters.

Below this and it should be rectified,

but if the figure is at least this, the BBC should defend its position.

Only a finite number of presenters are required,

and you have other criteria to consider, such as gender, age,

and national and regional representation.

You risk patronising some and alienating other viewers

if you're too anxious to please everyone.

Moving on, and history was made this week

when for the first time a complete series

was released on the iPlayer before being broadcast on TV.

If I went swimming, and a big shark came up, I could punch

the shark in the head and the shark would die, would just disintegrate.

All six episodes of the new comedy series Jonah From Tonga

were available to watch on the online service last weekend

ahead of the first episode making it onto your TVs on Thursday.

And this certainly is the shape of things to come, with plans

to move all of BBC Three's content to the iPlayer some time next year.

But, are people who watch solely on iPlayer being given an unfair

advantage, because so long as they don't watch live output,

they don't have to pay the licence fee?

Andrea Solomon certainly thinks so.

They give it away, free. It's ludicrous.

And of course it's not theirs to give away,

because the licence fee payer's already paid for this upfront.

So, erm...think again, BBC.

Myself and a lot of people I know don't watch TV

in the traditional sense any more -

we'll stream a show on the way to work,

but we won't sit down in front of a TV.

Now, it says on the BBC website in black and white

that we don't actually have to pay a TV licence for this.

What about if the BBC was to introduce a catch up-only licence?

I would happily pay it,

I feel like in a way it's my duty to pay it, and I feel like a lot of

other people should pay it as well if they're consuming BBC content.

Now, the top man at the BBC, Lord Tony Hall,

has himself spoken about this,

and he believes the licence fee should be modernised

to cover viewing of all BBC programmes,

whether live on TV or on demand on the iPlayer.

Obviously any changes to the licence fee would be decisions

the Government would have to make, but with growing viewing online

it seems that change may need to happen sooner rather than later.

Next up, not who pays for the TV licence

but what it should be used for.

You're always keen to tell us whether you think the licence fee is being well spent,

so here's one viewer who believes in the race for ratings

the BBC has forgotten its founding principles.

Hi, my name's Rich, I'm from Coventry,

I'm 26, and I run a software development company.

I personally love the BBC,

and I think £13 a month for the licence fee is great value for money.

But I don't always think the money is being spent where it should be.

I think the money should be spent on more innovative programmes -

innovative programmes like the ones that the BBC are world-famous for.

Play it nice and cool, son. Nice and cool, you know what I mean?

Only Fools And Horses, Ab Fab, Doctor Who...

-I never forget a face.

-I know you don't.

..they're all programmes the BBC took a risk on.

By buying in formats from America like The Voice

they're just chasing ratings, and it ends up with BBC One looking like

every other broadcaster, when the BBC should be different.

And it really angers me to hear that BBC Three's TV channel

is being closed down, and its budget vastly reduced.

BBC Three is watched by a third of 16 to 35-year-olds currently,

and all of a sudden the BBC has decided that that audience

isn't important enough to have its own channel.

Instead, it would rather spend the money

keeping middle-aged Middle Britain glued to its TVs on a Saturday night.

BBC Three was not only for young people,

it was a launch platform for risky programmes...

What's occurring?

..like Gavin And Stacey and Little Britain.

Where do those risky programmes go now?

Vicky Pollard, stay behind.

-Good luck, Vicky.

-Yes, thank you, Kelly.

I believe that over the last 90 years the BBC has done the UK proud

in its mission to inform, educate and entertain the nation.

Isn't it time that the BBC stopped spending so much of the licence fee payer's money

only entertaining the mainstream and chasing ratings,

and instead spend more of it informing and educating the wider British public?

Rich Bishop, expressing the anger of many over the plans to lose BBC Three off the TV schedules.

Now, this is one of the issues we're going to be raising with the Director of TV

when we interview him next month for a special Points Of View programme.

So if you have got a question you would like us to put to Danny Cohen,

please tweet it to us using @bbcpov,

and the hashtag "askdanny".

There are 3.5 million people in the UK who would not be happy at all to be up here.

They're the people affected by acrophobia -

an extreme and totally irrational fear of heights.

Acrophobia, the fear of heights, and the condition

behind an hour-long documentary titled Vertigo Road Trip on BBC One on Wednesday. Did you see it?

Wait a minute. VERTIGO Road Trip?

Well spotted, Elie - as remember, the show's presenter Mel Giedroyc pointed out...

Acrophobia - an extreme and totally irrational fear of heights.

But it wasn't just the incorrect diagnosis that got you talking on this one -

it was the distances the production team went to

to cure the fear of those taking part.

We've left the Alps far behind us

and travelled almost 3,000 miles to the United Arab Emirates.

Hey! How are you, boss?

-How are you?

-I'm good. I'll just grab my stuff.

Another road trip, but this time a bit closer to home -

two likely lads took to the road for Bank Holiday Monday's

-When Corden Met Barlow.

-Can you pop the boot?

What's happening? We're only going for two nights.

The pair of famous friends retracing pop star turned pop judge

Gary Barlow's rise, fall and rise again.

-Sorry, Gary. But I was always the talented member of the band.

-CHEERING

Thank you very much!

I mean...

-That's all right.

-It's all right NOW...

-It's all right now.

It wasn't worse than any of the other ones, but it's just...

I don't want to dwell on... too much, like, "Feel sorry for me."

I absolutely loved When Corden Met Barlow.

I thought it was an amazing insight into not only Gary as a musician

and a songwriter, but we also got a chance to see what it was

really like for him during his downfall in the music industry.

I thought that James Corden did a brilliant job.

His love for Gary and Take That truly is uplifting.

The whole documentary was inspiring, brilliant and hilarious.

It was amazing to see Gary's story.

We all know it, but now we got to see his point

and how the press affected him.

Depression affects everyone, and it's lovely to see Gary back,

and back to his best.

-Now, have you been doing your affirmations, love?

-Yep.

OK, do one for us now, will you?

I'm a Partially Deceased Syndrome sufferer, and that is not my fault.

In The Flesh returned for a new series,

with plenty of zombie action.

SNARLING AND GROWLING

Looks like that one gave you the right run-around, Gary.

These rabids are getting more vicious.

Catching rabids - that's rabids, not rabbits -

all in a day's work for the bounty hunters,

and it seems like a job well done for the In The Flesh team.

Thanks for your comments this week. If you'd like to have your view aired,

you can do so by writing to us...

Or there's e-mail...

You can also call us -

the number's charged as a local rate call from any landline.

Or join the messageboarders, always lively there...

And get us on Twitter too...

Well, that's it. Another busy week. Until next week - goodbye.