Rupert Everett takes aim at Tory threat to BBC

Could the battle for the future of the BBC under a Tory-led government pitch Rupert (Murdoch) against Rupert (Everett)? The actor, who has a new film to promote, gave an interview over the weekend in which he expanded on earlier comments about his fear of a Tory government led by David Cameron. "The idea of the Bullingdon Club running the country is appalling", he told the Sunday Times magazine. "But my main concern with Cameron is what he'll do to the BBC." Conspiracy theories abound about the extent of the Murdoch family's influence over Tory media policy, of course, which may well be what Everett was hinting at. "If you're in showbusiness, the BBC is a vital thing," he continued. "[It's] one of the most unique mechanisms in entertainment, and almost the only way of getting films made here." Readers may recall that Wire star and fellow toff Dominic West expressed his "contempt of the Murdoch doctrine" at last year's MediGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival, following James Murdoch's attack on the BBC in his MacTaggart lecture. Thespians of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but your lucrative BBC contracts!