Episode 8 Points of View

This week, the recipe ruckus that had you turning up the heat

on them in there, and you ask,

is it time that we changed our tune when it comes to Eurovision?

Welcome to your Points Of View.

First up, it was last orders this week

for one of Walford's most loved characters.

Having first set foot in Albert Square 25 years ago,

pint-size publican Peggy Mitchell

has been played by Dame Barbara Windsor since 1994,

when she appeared at the bedside of a very young-looking Phil.

Are you telling the truth, Phil?

Why would I lie about a thing like that?

-You weren't fighting or anything?

-No.

Tuesday night saw closing time called

on Peggy's spell on EastEnders.

After a last look at the Queen Vic, and a stroll around the Square,

Peggy decided to take her own life,

but not before a beyond-the-grave visit from an old friend

famed for exotic earrings.

I will go as I have lived,

straight back, head high...

..like a queen.

Now, in the main, you felt the episode was a fitting farewell

to the nation's favourite landlady.

But, at least one of you felt Peggy

giving up on her battle against cancer

was out of character, and a missed opportunity.

Some felt other goings-on in the Square on Tuesday night

were an unnecessary distraction.

I could not feel any emotion for what was going on,

as I was too distracted by the other things

which had completely nothing to do with

what was actually going on with the story.

EastEnders, you really, really got it wrong this time.

And there was to be disappointment for one person getting in touch

in advance of Peggy's demise.

While Tuesday didn't have Peggy uttering those words,

we do aim to please.

Get out of my pub.

Get him out of my pub.

Get out of my pub!

Oh, she is going to be missed, isn't she?

As Peggy bowed out of the Square,

news broke this week of another impending departure,

this time from the BBC's online presence.

On Tuesday, the Corporation announced plans

to close the BBC Food website,

currently home to around 11,000 recipes from ackee and salt fish

to zabaglione.

Recipes, the BBC assured us, would be archived,

but with the home page and search function disappearing,

they would be almost impossible to find.

So if you were hungering for a hamburger, to find the recipe,

you would either need to know the page address

or the exact dish name to pop into a search engine.

And you were quick to get in touch, begging the BBC to reconsider.

Don't, please don't take the BBC Food website away from us.

What are you thinking of?

I needed a pomegranate recipe.

There are 105 on your website. I found the one I liked

and it was the basis of a very successful evening.

Well, before Tuesday was out, things had reached boiling point,

with over 120,000 of you signing an online petition

demanding the food site be maintained in its current form,

and for once,

the BBC moved quickly, issuing the following statement.

No, just make them tricky to find.

People power in action.

Next, it was back with a Boom-bang-a-bang on Saturday night.

The return of Eurovision last weekend saw wild dances,

rock 'n' roll kids and well, all kinds of everything really,

as the 61st refrain of the song contest

was beamed live by satellite to BBC One.

The night finished with euphoria and a fairy tale ending for diva

Jamala as the voice of Ukraine was crowned winner.

I really want peace and love to everyone!

-Thank you, Europe!

-Jamala!

But those of you hoping to catch the climax on the iPlayer were left

hanging like a puppet on a string when the show cut off early.

I listened to songs, watched the performances and the voting.

And then the announcers stated they were down to the final ten votes

for the winners, and then hey, presto, all of a sudden,

the programme disappeared, presumably due to an overrun.

How evil are the BBC to do this?

Nothing to do with me, Eileen - not a bad thought though.

Apparently, Eurovision overrunning caught out automated processes

which ensure live programmes appear on the iPlayer quickly.

It was rectified the next morning, though.

# You're not alone, we're in this together... #

While they may have been heroes in your eyes,

there were only teardrops and a Waterloo moment

for the UK's entry Joe and Jake, who finished 24th!

It has been 19 years since the UK scored a win,

and if we are ever to rise like a phoenix,

you've been making your mind up

it is time for the BBC to rethink the whole strategy.

And you suggested the BBC needs to devote more airtime

to finding the UK's entry than a one-off special,

as was the case this year.

While our poor results may have been driving you diggi-loo-diggi-ley,

others took it as a sign that it was time to pull the plug

on the BBC's funding of the show.

Speaking of saving cash,

this week marked three months since BBC Three

became an online-only offering.

Since then, the channel has served up series such as Witless

and Stupid Man Smart Phone.

But trying to track down episodes on the website has been

proving tricky, as three viewers got in touch to tell us.

My opinion of BBC Three programmes is very high.

I think they are very good quality,

and I tend to watch dramas and documentaries on BBC Three.

I used to be a big fan of BBC Three programmes.

We used to watch every single night like Siblings, Bad Education.

The sort of things I really like

are the documentaries Professor Green has done

and the innovative new comedy

that comes through with Greg Davies and Cuckoo.

-Cuckoo.

-Get out!

-Argh!

-HE YELLS AND RAGES

Get out!

I watched a programme on my tablet, a drama called Thirteen.

I was highly impressed by it,

it was a great storyline with fantastic acting.

Is that what really happened the day you were taken?

About where Phoebe is.

How many times? I want you to find her.

I wanted to know when the next episode was,

so I looked it up on the website

and could find no reference to any future programmes.

When I go on my smartphone,

I love Stacey Dooley's documentaries.

I'll hit the roads with young women...

-Stand up for what you believe in.

-..who are fighting back.

But it is kind of hard to find out when the next episode is on.

I can't find a schedule anywhere and I have completely lost interest

in trying to engage with the service.

I was extremely frustrated and disappointed

not to be able to find out

when the next episode was going to be available.

I am really disappointed with the new BBC Three website.

I understand the BBC, through having to cut costs, have moved BBC Three

online, however, they seem to have forgotten how I as a customer,

as a viewer, am going to access it online.

Since they moved online,

I have definitely been watching it much less than before.

What would make me much happier

and much more inclined to watch BBC Three

is if they would put a schedule on their website so I can find out

the availability of the next episode of a programme I want to watch.

All right, well, let's put some of that to the man himself,

the controller of BBC Three, Damian Kavanagh.

Three frustrated fans because they just don't know when anything is on.

I know. I'm sorry to hear

that viewers are finding it harder to find our content.

We do work really hard to try and tell people what is happening.

We work really hard across different social media platforms.

We also have a what's on BBC Three this week.

There is a schedule of sorts,

both on the BBC Three website and on our page on BBC iPlayer.

However, I don't think we are doing enough

and I think we have to work harder, so with that in mind,

we have developed a schedule which will appear on the top of our page.

We are working on it now. The design work is done,

so that when you go to the BBC Three website,

over the next couple of weeks,

you will start to see a schedule there.

It will tell you exactly what's happening, how many days you have

-to wait and so forth.

-Damian Kavanagh, thank you.

It was time to get those needles poised

and thimbles at the ready on BBC Two this week,

as the Great British Sewing Bee returned for a fourth outing.

Ten fresh-faced contestants were put through their paces on Monday night,

challenged to follow a deceptively difficult pattern,

transform a maternity dress and fit a skirt,

with each task judged by Patrick Grant and newcomer Esme Young.

This is a linear pattern but it doesn't have straight edges

so this black stripe here is at a different position

to the black stripe here, and it may not line up.

I don't think it will.

The series seems tailor-made for some.

Thank you so much.

But the show's move this year from an 8pm slot to 9pm

has some of you worried.

Not that we're aware of.

You also pointed out the show's 9pm start time means the series could be

losing out on some younger viewers.

Why, oh why,

have the BBC scheduled this for after the watershed at nine o'clock?

This is a family show, surely?

We have young and old sewers alike.

So come on, BBC, put it right.

Coming to an end on BBC Two last Sunday

was one man's very personal journey to Myanmar, formerly Burma.

Accompanied by explorer Ed Stafford,

mountaineer Joe Simpson was retracing

the World War II footsteps of his father, Ian,

who served in the Chindits Special Forces in Burma in 1944.

While the first episode had seen Simpson

get a taste of his father's hard slog through the Burmese jungle,

last Sunday had Joe experiencing an acute sense of a soldier's fear

of death, when he ventured into a militarised zone.

This place is literally littered in land mines.

We seem to have walked into a war.

We have walked into a war, so we had better walk out of it.

Joe's mission particularly resonated with those of you

with relatives who fought in Burma.

The BBC Burma Secret Jungle was an amazing documentary that gave me a

fascinating insight into the journey the Chindits faced

which included my grandad.

Joe Simpson's emotional coverage was brilliant,

given a real understanding by his own father's diary,

along with footage from the archives.

But some of you felt the documentary's focus

on Joe's personal journey

meant the opportunity to explore other angles of the country,

and its history, was missed.

That's all for this week.

But, if over the next seven days,

you see something you love or loathe on the BBC,

please do get in touch.

You can reach us or send a video through our website,

bbc.co.uk/pov or fire an e-mail to us at [email protected].

You can follow the conversation about the week's TV on Twitter

where we are @BBCPOV, or by finding us on Facebook.

Very easy, just search for BBC Points Of View.

We are back just a shade later next week.

You'll find us here on BBC One at 5pm.

See you then.