THE BBC’s coverage of the Queen’s passing has left little to be desired.
Even many of her most fervent fans can't believe the state of what is being put out on the national broadcaster.
Did you want to watch Nicholas Witchell’s uninterrupted ramblings about her health? You got it.
Did you want gratuitous claims that the Catholics were driven out of Scotland? You got it.
Did you want dozens of positive stories about the monarchy on the BBC News website to the exclusion of all other news (including the pivotal events in the Ukrainian war)? You got it.
Do you want a five-day-long livestream of her coffin “lying-in-state”? You’re in luck.
But while the BBC’s intense coverage of the Queen’s passing has garnered hundreds of complaints at home, it hasn’t gone unnoticed abroad either.
Dutch comedian and TV host Arjen Lubach poked some fun at the UK’s national broadcaster in his “De Avondshow met Arjen Lubach” (The Evening Show with Arjen Lubach) earlier this week.
“In Great Britain the news is about nothing else [than the Queen],” he told his viewers – more or less anyway, he was speaking in Dutch which isn’t the Jouker’s strongest language.
Lubach said he had been channel hopping and found “BBC extra plus”, which had a special live report…
You can see how that went here (and don't worry, it's not all in Dutch – though best avoided if you don't want a heavy dose of irreverence):
Of course, “BBC extra plus” isn’t a real service, and its web address takes you to the site of De Avondshow met Arjen Lubach – which is shown on VPRO, a Dutch public broadcaster.
Lubach's sketch won him some fair laughs and applause from his audience in the Netherlands. Heaven forbid what would have happened if he'd done the same in the UK.
