Episode 7 Points of View

This week, your reviews are in on two of the BBC's latest dramas.

And, yet again, one of the corporation's

comedies has firmly split opinion.

All that and more coming up in the show that lets you have your say

on the week's BBC television programmes.

Welcome to your Points Of View.

We begin this week with the BBC One drama that debuted on Tuesday

night after being postponed from the previous week.

The latest work from Liverpudlian writer Jimmy McGovern,

Broken stars Sean Bean as a compassionate Catholic priest

in an impoverished northern community.

Amongst the members of his congregation is struggling

single mum Christina, played by Anna Friel.

-Did you know that she was having chest pains?

-Yeah.

Did you know she was having chest pains?

Because I didn't, everyone else knew.

When was her pension last drawn, Christina?

-An hour ago.

-Oh, Christina.

SHE CRIES

Broken had you reaching for the tissues.

And there was praise, too, for the drama's portrayal of life on

the breadline.

Broken is a great series because it highlights real social issues

that affect the UK today, everywhere. It's so true to life.

Broken continues on Tuesday night.

It's been less than a month since

MasterChef crowned its latest winner.

Bake Off: Creme de la Creme just reached its conclusion on

Wednesday night,

but this week saw the return of yet another competitive cooking show.

Running on weekday afternoons,

Yes Chef sees professional chefs picking a partner from a selection

of keen, amateur cooks after putting them through their paces.

The pair from each day's episode then go on to compete in

a Friday cook-off final.

'The teams try desperately to plate up everything in order to

-'finish on time.

-Yeah, a little bit of stock.

A little bit of stock.

-Where's that vinaigrette I asked you to make?

-Yeah, the vinaigrette here?

At least one of you feels Yes Chef is an improvement on its

bigger budget rivals.

Yet the appearance of another cookery show in the schedules

got you all steamed up.

The perfect example of too many cooks, perhaps.

Next, there may be no such thing as a free lunch, but turn up in

the right place at the right time recently and you could have

been in line for a complimentary breakfast, courtesy of the BBC.

As part of their election coverage, BBC Breakfast have been travelling

the country with a butty van in tow

to grill voters on their election views.

On Wednesday, the van pitched up in Portrush.

As an economist, looking at this region of Northern Ireland,

how does it differ to the UK?

Because a lot of the issues we're talking about is exactly what

the rest of the UK is talking about.

Yes, indeed, and in many ways, the region is quite similar.

It's got pockets of absolute brilliance.

The van's appearance on BBC Breakfast proved

a rude awakening for some.

That budget perhaps not stretching far enough, though.

Because of the unique way the BBC is funded,

we've only actually got one microphone.

It wasn't just the cost of the roving roll outlet that had

you spluttering in your coffee either.

Adam Bullimore is the man in charge at BBC Breakfast.

We put your views on the show's Bapmobile to him,

and this is what he had to say in response.

When it comes to the BBC's election coverage,

it hasn't just been the style of the coverage you've been criticising,

but also the content,

with many feeling the corporation's reporting has been biased.

In the interest of impartiality, however,

it is only fair to point out that we also received the following.

I journeyed into the heart of the BBC's news operation to put

those accusations of bias to the person responsible for the

BBC's flagship news bulletins.

Some of our viewers think that the news is biased

one way or the other. What do you have to say to that?

Well, I mean, unsurprisingly, I'd reject the idea that the news

is biased and to sort of reassure audiences, we go through

meetings, processes, discussions,

editorial discussions all day as we prepare the news and

prepare it for broadcast, and so news in itself can be controversial.

There can be a range of opinions, particularly during election periods

when you've got different political parties saying different things.

But I want to reassure audiences of BBC News that we go through

a lot of stages every day very carefully.

We take a lot of care to ensure that the news isn't biased.

One interesting thing is when you DON'T cover a story, Paul.

So, a march happens and someone's on it

and they say, "Well, where is it in the news?"

The bulletins that I look after,

there's a finite space and there's a lot of competition for that space.

Quite often in those particular cases,

somewhere within BBC News, the website or radio or another

platform, that story is being covered.

We may have covered an issue three months ago, it comes up again now.

The judgment on the day is actually,

we have discussed and covered and analysed that issue fairly recently,

so it's not going to get on today because we think we've got

something else which is more important, more significant,

or the audience would perhaps prefer to be hearing about.

Is being unbiased just a destination you never quite reach?

Absolutely, because I think we are committed to impartiality,

we are committed to delivering for audiences, and it's not our

job to demonstrate or show bias,

and I think the experience and the quality of the reporters and

the producers and the programme editors we have,

we are pretty successful at delivering that.

Whether it's to compliment or criticise something you see

on the BBC over the next seven days,

please do get in touch with your point of view.

You can drop us a line at...

..or contact us via our website, where you will also find links to

catch up on the programmes we've discussed this week.

The address is...

If you are social media-savvy, you can tweet us at...

Or why not join in the conversation about the week's TV on our

Facebook page? Just search for BBC Points of View.

And if you prefer non-electronic forms of communication,

you can of course put your pen to paper.

Our postal address is...

We're waiting to hear from you.

This week saw the halfway point

reached in BBC Two's dark new thriller.

Unfolding over three episodes,

Paula sees the life of

a comprehensive school chemistry teacher

take a torrid turn after a one-night stand

with an odd-job man

originally called to rid her basement of rodents.

I was thinking I might...

I might get a pizza if you want...

Yeah. Look, James, I don't want to hurt your feelings,

but this is a really, really bad time for me. I'm sorry.

No problem.

Some of you were gripped from the outset.

But others felt the drama's opening episode was more likely to

induce sleep than keep anyone awake at night.

You can make up your own mind on Paula

by catching up via the iPlayer.

The first two episodes are available now.

Last weekend, BBC Two whisked us off for a whistle-stop tour

around the haunts of one of Britain's best loved authors.

Historian Lucy Worsley was our guide in Jane Austen: Behind Closed Doors,

which aimed to show how the houses the author lived and

stayed in influenced her writing.

Now, this might not be the big and glamorous ballroom

that you were expecting,

but it was possible to hold a ball in just an ordinary house.

A novel delight by most accounts.

But there were also complaints from those who felt the programme

lacked both style and substance.

From the 19th-century life of a classics author to the rather

different experiences of 1980s Essex wheeler-dealers.

Taking us back to an era we'd probably all rather forget

fashion-wise, BBC Two's new comedy White Gold,

follows the characters at a double glazing salesroom, with

a fast-talking and ever so slightly smarmy Vincent Swann at the helm.

-So, what is it you sell?

-Double glazing.

-Fancy.

I quite like them patio doors.

I bet they're expensive, though.

Oh, you'd be surprised, Gillian.

It appears the BBC may have struck gold with this one.

That's dedication for you.

And there was approval from industry insiders, too.

Short but sweet, Mel.

White Gold may have dazzled some,

but others found it to be no laughing matter,

thanks to the characters' rather colourful language.

Perhaps not for everyone, then.

Finally this week,

you've been paying tribute to one of Blue Peter's best-loved

former presenters, John Noakes, who sadly passed away earlier this week.

"Get down, Shep" was the unforgettable catchphrase.

We're back on BBC One at 4:45pm next Sunday, and until then,

we will leave you with a clip of that, frankly, terrifying ascent.

Take care.

I found myself literally hanging from the ladder

with nothing at all beneath me.

You told me there was overhang,

-but you didn't tell me it leant to one side.

-No.

-That was the awkward part.

-My God.

It's a long way up, really, isn't it?