Episode 6 Points of View

Hello, and welcome to a special edition of Points Of View.

Now, this week,

I go head-to head with the BBC's Creative Director Alan Yentob.

-What's your name?

-Alan.

-Alan what?

-Yentob.

If anyone is going to know what's what here at the BBC, it is

this man because he's been working here for 40-something years.

We just saw a Damien Hirst go for over £4 million.

We just saw this Andy Warhol, the one over there, go for £2.1 million,

the Hammer And Sickle.

Alan Yentob has seen and survived it all.

And I'm with Alan Yentob now -

from trainee to Creative Director in 40...what is it, years?

Oh, let's just move... pass over that.

How has the BBC managed to lose so many friends and supporters recently?

With the Savile crisis, the pay-off crisis, you name it, we've done it.

Do you know, I don't know that it has lost so many friends

-and supporters.

-It feels like it.

-Well, it may feel like it.

I think, it's not that we haven't made mistakes,

we have, but at the same time, you know,

trust in the BBC has not...

If you look back over the ten-year period,

rather amazingly, trust in the BBC has grown.

It hasn't diminished.

It tanked a couple of years ago...

No, it's absolutely true that when the Savile affair happened,

trust dipped, but it grew again.

Going back two years, going back to Savile and the trauma and losing

a director-general and all that, that didn't somehow

so traumatise the BBC that it lost its confidence?

Absolutely not, and I have to say

that Tony Hall is a brilliant leader of the BBC

and I genuinely think that he's not complacent about the organisation.

He knows there are issues, he knows it's a big organisation

and a time of change, that things have to happen, we need to

prove that we are efficient, to prove that we can be trusted.

From the very beginning, the first day he arrived,

when he addressed the issue of the...

the question of the payments, redundancy payments...

-That's another one, isn't it?

-No, no.

You put it like that, but actually what he did is to say

"Look, we're going to put a limit on that."

Now, you have to realise that the BBC is not unique in all this.

If you look at the Civil Service, if you look at Government

and elsewhere, the BBC has much the same arrangements as others,

so I actually...

But in many ways it is unique and the problem with that...

You've mentioned the payoffs now, so the BBC says to the Government,

"We need more money," and the Government says, "But you paid a guy

"a million quid for leaving." I mean, we don't even know what he did for a job.

No, come off it. I think that's just not fair.

The BBC has had a 23% cut in its budget and the licence fee.

Today, at £145.50 a year is less than it was

comparatively 20 years ago at £147

and yet there are many more services and many more demands.

OK, and when you say we're struggling, people say

"Well, you pay the top brass too much."

They might even say, "You get £183,000 for your job as Creative Director?"

I think, I don't want to...

Whatever, and I think he's doing a good job, but at ITV,

the head of ITV, I think, whatever, his arrangement was £7.1 million.

Tony Hall gets what he was paid at the Opera House, which is

a lot of money and all of us earn a lot of money, including you,

Jeremy, so this is an industry where a lot of money is earned.

But if you look at the BBC, first of all, in terms of talent payments,

we have cut our talent payments by 13% in the last couple of years.

The top management fees have come down by 30%.

30% in the last few years. Now, we made...

The payoffs were from many years ago

and were part of the need for the BBC to cut 23% out of its budget.

But I promise you that -

and I think we shall have to make this argument to the public -

the BBC, 30% executive pay has come down and 13% talent pay.

OK, let me just ask you about BBC Three which is being shut.

There's BBC Three, BBC Four.

BBC Four is the high-end one, the arts one, the opera one.

But the BBC's shutting the other one.

Two weeks after that decision,

the BBC Trust then says news is too elitist, it's too aloof.

What is going on?

Every service is valuable to a section of our audience.

We've made a choice there, we've signalled that we're going,

if you like, the Melvyn Bragg route, the Alan Yentob route.

-We're going the opera route, aren't we?

-No, no, no.

Let me just explain it.

First of all, I think actually in some ways,

it's a rather bold decision

because we can see very clearly that the younger audience

are moving more and more away from traditional television

and I think the opportunity - and this, the BBC has always done this, believe me -

to actually innovate and experiment

and see how we can deliver a service online, how we

can transfer some of that audience to BBC One and BBC Two is

actually a challenge worth making.

I think it's a tough decision, the truth is,

you asked me about BBC Four.

I don't know whether or not -

it all depends on the licence fee agreement in the future -

whether or not we can sustain BBC Four.

But remember, the BBC Four audience is an older audience, they do

watch traditional television in that way.

Well, that's what I want to ask you about

because the fundamental issue here is whether the BBC

when it feels threatened - we mentioned at the beginning -

that it reverts to super-serving the top end of the audience,

people like you, people like me, maybe. So, they get everything.

They get Radio 3, they get Melvyn Bragg, they get Today,

they get Newsnight, they get BBC Four.

The rest of the audience, their stuff is shut down.

No, it's rubbish. It's just not true, Jeremy, it's just not true.

I mean, the decision has been taken about BBC Three,

the budget of BBC Three will make far more impact online than it does on Three.

In fact, if I'm honest, because we've had difficult decisions

and budgets have been cut on all services and channels,

we've had to prioritise BBC One because that is so critical,

you know, BBC drama for instance, but the truth is that everyone is

having to make savings and BBC Three is no exception.

Just reassure people who watch

that the BBC's not forgotten the power of Strictly

and the power of the stuff that your average punter wants to see.

OK, let me just say, I promise you we have not forgotten that.

Strictly is growing and blooming.

The Voice, which a lot of people complained about

because we paid quite a lot of money for it

but we've really committed to it and are trying to make it good.

We DO believe in popular programming of high quality.

We have invested significant sums of money in new drama.

I mean, that's where we've prioritised on BBC One drama AND

we've invested more money than we've ever invested in BBC Two drama.

So, really, the idea that we're ignoring the audience,

that...we're being elitist is just not true.

And I really do believe that the BBC is absolutely committed

and that's why we believe in the licence fee and the rest of it.

We believe that the BBC is for everyone.

Let me just ask you if I can about the comedy W1A.

-It's not a comedy if you work in the BBC.

-Oh, it is.

It portrays a culture of wastefulness, inane managers,

a culture of meetings, political cravenness. What part of any of that is amusing?

Look, this is... First of all, it's a comedy, Jeremy, OK?

Secondly, it's not just a portrait of the BBC,

it's a portrait of office life at its worst, if you like, but also...

-You're in it, aren't you?

-I am in it.

-Would you like to...

-That was the moment.

-That was the moment, OK.

-Did you have to be persuaded or...?

-Not particularly.

It was quite fun, really, one way or another.

It was either Kylie Minogue or Salman Rushdie.

But doesn't it give people the impression that we're just

-larking around the whole time?

-Well, look, it's a comedy show.

I mean, one thing I'd say about the BBC just generally speaking is

that whatever it comes to, the BBC is not afraid to mock itself,

to make fun of itself, and as you know, the news and current

affairs division has little time for BBC management scruples.

One of the great things about the BBC is that

I think that the BBC interrogates the BBC and what it does

and this is a comedy and some of the bits are a little too true

and some of the things are just comic.

I think the British public is rather pleased that the BBC

is prepared to mock itself.

Alan Yentob, thank you very much indeed.

And now a look at some of the other programmes you've been watching, maybe even enjoying this week.

The start of a new series, Quirke, on BBC One -

the drama based on the books by Benjamin Black

about a pathologist in 1950s Dublin.

-What are you doing here?

-Oh, no, the other way around, Mal.

This is my office. I'm pathology, you're obstetrics.

What are YOU doing down here among the dead men?

Lots of you getting in touch to air your frustrations over not

being able to understand parts of the dialogue.

It's late, Quirke, you should go home.

I settled down on Sunday evening

to watch Quirke, with a lot of anticipation.

I could've enjoyed it, but how disappointing.

As with Jamaica Inn, poor sound quality, bad lighting

and over-dramatic music spoilt it for me.

Why can't the BBC trust a good story to do its own work any more?

What is the point of taking the time,

effort and money to make such

a production and then let

a backroom IT geek ruin it?

Surely good drama depends on a good story and good acting?

But if the story is rubbish then no amount of visual effects will

make it any better.

Last weekend, BBC Two went to town

to celebrate 50 years of comedy on the channel.

Reunited for a one-off special, the cast of Goodness Gracious Me

looking older, but were they still as funny?

India's most popular newspaper is officially...

The Delhi Mail.

Goodness Gracious Me was THE show for many British Asians like me

whilst growing up,

so I was very excited by the prospect of the show's return.

Thankfully, despite being away from our screens for over a decade,

the team haven't lost their touch.

This was an enjoyable mix of interesting new characters

and heart-warming old ones. I really enjoyed the Delhi Mail sketch.

I only wish there were more to come!

I look down on HIM because I was born in Britain. I am British.

I look up to HIM because he is British.

But I look down on HIM because he's an immigrant.

I am naturalised.

You want taxi?

The cast of Goodness Gracious Me leaving some of you

wishing for a more permanent return of this series.

The new channel has a name. All it needs now is someone to run it.

A king or queen, a tsar, a fuhrer, a fat controller.

Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse gave us

their unique biography of the channel.

..and Porky Peacock knew exactly what Porky Peacock wanted.

Long documentaries about the First World War that went on for weeks

and weeks and weeks...

Plenty of poking fun at Auntie Beeb here.

Election fever swept the BBC this week,

but did the coverage get the viewers' vote?

The BBC's coverage of the EU election campaign has been

the most biased pile of garbage I have ever had

the displeasure to witness.

Programme after programme,

reporter after reporter have been biased against UKIP.

In my opinion, heads should roll for this,

and if not, I for one will not be renewing my licence fee.

I have no desire to listen to a load of left-wing propaganda.

Quite a selection there.

Thank you for your views. That is it from us for this week.

We'll do it again next Sunday. Lots of ways, as always, to get in touch.

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Thanks very much indeed for watching

and we'll see you next week. Goodbye.