Episode 14 Points of View

This week, the railway series that's been sending all the right signals,

and the coastal-based show you feel that's perhaps run aground.

Who writes this?

Welcome to your Points Of View.

First up this week,

a trip back in time to the dark and dangerous world of Victorian London.

Continuing their fight to bring order to the lawless streets

of Whitechapel, H Division's officers have been back in action

in the latest rip-roaring series of Ripper Street on BBC Two.

This week, Detective Inspectors Drake and Reid

tackled the murder of an iron foundry football player.

Mr Hackman. Inspector.

Did you come to cart off more of my players?

Elliott, trap it first.

You spend every lunchtime thus?

Most days. Good for the boys.

Ripper Street's journey has been as bumpy

as a carthorse ride on cobbles.

Originally cancelled by the BBC after two series,

it's thanks to Amazon's streaming service

that the current fourth season is on air.

Regardless, you have been riveted by its return.

Ripper Street is one of the best dramas ever made.

It's brutal, it's funny, it's emotional,

the cast just work so well together,

the scenery and the costumes.

I think that everybody must have worked so hard.

It's just the best-ever drama.

Good news and bad news, LydgSquidge.

While there will be another series next year,

creator Richard Warlow has said that

that will be the final outing for H Division.

At least one of you will be hoping next year brings about

a change in facial furniture.

Well, the razor-sharp amongst you spotted this clanger

in the series' opening episode.

What a day we shall have come the Jubilee, the four of us together.

Did you see it?

What a day we shall have...

Indeed.

And here is what the programme makers had to say about that.

We do love a good slip up.

If you've spotted one, do get in touch.

Coming to a conclusion on BBC One on Thursday night

was Dr Chris van Tulleken's two-part social experiment

aimed at discovering if patients

really need their repeat prescriptions.

The Doctor Who Gave Up Drugs featured some startling revelations...

In the course of a lifetime a healthy person could

easily consume up to 100,000 pills.

..and saw Dr Chris join a GP's surgery, asking patients

to ditch their drugs and try alternative treatments.

Today is the last day that you are going to take these drugs...

OK.

..in the way that you've been taking them.

For some of you the programme was the perfect tonic.

I felt this was an excellent programme and very informative.

Dr Chris was a superb presenter.

Having been in a similar situation myself, coming off drugs,

I could relate to the programme very well.

It's very educating to all of us.

More, please, BBC.

But getting in touch after the first episode, several of you felt

the programme's approach to the subject was perhaps too simplistic.

Sticking with medical matters,

a new documentary from BBC Three

has recently taken a fresh approach to the subject of obesity.

With 65% of us apparently now overweight,

in what's been billed as a first,

the online channel's Obesity: The Postmortem

followed a pathology team

as they conducted a postmortem on the body of a 17st woman.

Being part of a filmed postmortem is a very unique opportunity.

Death terrifies some people.

But what it also does is, it eventually gives you

a real sense of the fragility of life.

Your feedback had the scales firmly tipped in favour of this one.

I'm a forensic anthropologist.

I think Obesity: The Postmortem is exactly

the kind of programming we need.

It was bold, eye-opening and educational,

without being sensationalist or disrespectful.

It's made me realise how much I need to change my lifestyle

to get my cholesterol down and my weight down

so I can live a much longer and happier life.

Obesity: The Postmortem is available to view on the iPlayer now,

and there's also a behind-the-scenes film on BBC Three's website.

Last week saw the publication of the draft

of the BBC's next Royal Charter,

which included a clause that will see the BBC reveal

the salaries of staff and stars

paid more than ?150,000 a year.

The corporation's director-general, Tony Hall,

has already said the move could make it harder for the BBC

to retain its talent,

and it appears some of you agree.

Well, prior to the document's publication last week,

reporter Scarlette Douglas headed to sunny Southend-on-Sea

to get more of your thoughts on the issue of presenters' pay,

with the help of some familiar faces.

So, the plan is to let people know exactly how much some presenters are worth.

But I wonder, what do people THINK they're worth?

Let's put it to the test, shall we?

# Money, money, money... #

I want you to put these presenters in order

of who you think earns the most per year.

Graham Norton. Gary Lineker.

Oh, you think Fiona?

Yes, so we'd probably go for this side as the highest paid

and that side for the lowest paid.

He's quite famous.

Anything to do with football, the money's there.

So what do you think Gary Lineker gets a year?

90,000. I don't know.

Oh, it's got to be more than that.

More than me.

So do you think it's fair for us as the public to find out what

these presenters are on?

Yes, definitely

because they get paid by public money.

I think they all get paid too much.

It's right that the government should look at what they get paid.

I don't think anybody should be entitled to know what anybody earns.

We pay our licence fee,

I think that we need to know we're getting value for money.

I think it's only fair, given that the BBC is obviously a public body.

You don't need to know everyone's salaries.

No-one's asking mine, no-one's asking yours,

so why do we need to know theirs?

It's private. Yeah.

We don't need to be nosy.

It's none of our business.

If I asked you how much you earn in a year, you'd be like, "Shut up."

Like, "I'm not telling you."

Yeah, exactly. I know.

And there you have it.

Completely mixed views from Southend-on-Sea.

And so I reckon I'll keep quiet on my pay,

for now, anyway.

The draft charter will now be subject to parliamentary debates

before coming into force next year.

A seasoned traveller well-versed in the workings of Westminster

was given a ticket to ride once again on Tuesday night.

Clutching what by now must be a well-worn copy of

George Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Railway Guide,

former Cabinet minister Michael Portillo is back

for a fifth series of Great Continental Railway journeys.

Tuesday's episode saw him venturing east, through Romania.

This is the main hall of the castle.

The skylight was the king's idea,

which can be opened.

Does it still work? Yes.

PORTILLO LAUGHS Oh, that's beautiful.

If the first episode is anything to go by,

Michael is definitely on the right track.

Steaming ahead!

Wednesday night saw BBC Two take a hike around the Cornish coastline

in Coast: The Great Guide.

The first in this new series, which includes classic Coast stories

from the past decade, saw Tessa Dunlop and Neil Oliver

journey from the River Tamar to Tintagel Castle.

In Porthleven Tessa discovered what it's really like

to live in the storm-hit harbour town.

So we're just arriving in Porthleven,

and you can see right on the seafront

there's a clock tower. It's a classic Cornish view.

But, in fact, keen watchers of the news might recognise

this particular clock tower from unhappier times.

I think it would be fair to say you weren't fans of the format.

What a mishmash this episode was.

How did the producer imagine that flipping backwards and forwards

around the coast would enhance the viewer's pleasure?

Using a map to show where we're looking at could have been

a good idea, but instead the viewer is tossed around

the Cornish coast like a shipwreck.

And you felt there was simply

no need to keep reminding you which show you were watching.

This is our Great Cornish Guide.

Great Guide.

Our Great Guide To Cornwall.

Great Guide.

Our Great Coast Guide.

I won't repeat its title.

That show continues on Wednesday night.

And finally this week, last Friday night saw BBC One

take one more trip to the supermarket

for the final episode in the current series

of Eat Well For Less?

The show sees MasterChef's Gregg Wallace and greengrocer

Chris Bavin aiming to help families slash their weekly food shop bills.

Providing cost-saving recipes

and encouraging families to switch from big brands are just two

of the weapons in the duo's penny-pinching arsenal.

You were spending ?1.75,

these are 40p.

Oh, no!

Lots of you loving and benefiting from the money-saving series.

But some of you took issue with last Friday's episode

in which Gregg and Chris encouraged a family

to ditch their expensive organic habit.

Mm.

Really nice, Gregg.

That's really good.

So you like it? Yes. I thought you would.

And that broccoli is not organic.

Oh. Told you!

If something you see on the BBC's television channels this week

leaves you delighted or displeased,

do get in touch and let us know.

You can send us your thoughts or upload a video

through our website...

Or drop us an e-mail...

We're on both Twitter, where we're...

And Facebook...

And finally, of course, you can put pen to paper,

the old-fashioned way, and write to us at...

We're back at 3pm next Sunday afternoon

right here on BBC One.

See you then.

Sir Terry was the ultimate master at talking to his audience.

Thank you for being my friend.

He comes from a country where the national hobby is talking.