Russell T Davies claims that “we’ve got a Government that is
morally and profoundly opposed to the BBC”, adding: “Please don’t think they’ll change their minds about the BBC” during the coronavirus crisis.
In February the government announced plans to consult on the licence fee, before coronavirus changed their focus.
The Doctor Who screenwriter said that on top of that, coronavirus was a “grave threat to all broadcasters, everywhere,” but pointed out that during lockdown “everything is doable online”.
Speaking at a recent Royal Television Society event on the future of TV, he said that in 2008 he was told by people working at ITV, “‘We don’t know if we can show this episode of The Bill tonight,’ [because] they were so short of advertisers and money.”
Now, facing a recession, Davies believes “is going to be even bigger” than the financial crisis, he warned that not only will commercial channels be affected, but streaming companies “will start cutting back as well”.
As for lockdown art, though, Davies is sceptical: “The last thing I would want to watch now is a drama on lockdown, with everyone in isolation. Unless it’s very gay and sexy, I suppose — then I’d watch it.”
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John McEnroe protests, “When I said, ‘You cannot be serious’ to the Wimbledon official, I said it literally once in my 15-year career.” He continues to Variety, “you can’t imagine how many times people have come up to me [and referenced that]. It is inescapable.” If only there were a pithy way to express McEnroe’s frustration ...
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Playwright Michael Frayn “despised” the theatre for years because of an experience at Cambridge. He wrote the May Revue, a play which traditionally transferred to the West End briefly, but tells the Meet the Writers podcast “my show was the first for many years which didn’t go into the West End, because it was terrible. I’m afraid I reacted badly and turned against the theatre”. Points for honesty.
SW1A
After Nadine Dorries retweeted a doctored video of Keir Starmer and later deleted it, media lawyer David Banks warns her that “deleting or locking your account” after potentially libelling someone in “the hope that things will go away is a really, really bad idea”. Banks points out that courts take into account “what you did to undo the harm of what you published”, such as an apology. Thin ice.
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Former first sea lord Baron West appeared in the virtual House of Lords yesterday with at least 12 pictures and models of ships, including a charming-looking sailboat and a miniature aircraft carrier, complete with a tiny helicopter. That’s what you call showing off your naval background.
Washing up, walking the dog … feeling desperate (and cute)
Georgia Toffolo wore washing-up gloves and shades in snaps captioned “Desperate Housewife 2020”. Indeed. Model Emily Ratajkowski and her dog “got dressed and felt cute”, though one wonders how a dog gets dressed. Dua Lipa celebrated her sister’s 19th birthday and singer Anne-Marie made friends with plants. Now that’s relatable.
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