RANDOM JOTTINGS


A blog about music, sports, theatre and rants





I have been receiving puzzled emails from readers wondering where my Prom rant went to. I deleted it and all related posts. My mistake. Putting the word Brexit into a post and also being critical about the lordly attitude of SOME of the Remainers, I am stressing the word SOME here, caused quite a slew of comments and snitty remarks. I rebutted some of them, politely, I might add both on and off piste, but in the end thought it just was not worth the effort so deleted the entire kit and kaboodle.

I still stand by my stance though that disgruntled Remainers should keep their sticky mitts off the Proms and not use it as a political football.

BUT BUT BUT forget all this, forget Brexit. Something worse has happened. The Great British Bake Off is going to commercial TV and the nation has gone into meltdown. A good week for the EU hierarchy, mainly Juncker, to go nasty on us as most of us are not listening and do not give a hoot, all we are worried about it Mel and Sue and Mary and Paul and what is going to happen.

I am pretty moany about the Beeb at times as regular readers will know, their arrogance and overweening conviction that the masses are pig ignorant and when they complain should be ignored, drives me up the wall (along with others in case you think it is just me), and I nearly combusted one day when I had a letter from the Head of the Trust or whatever it calls itself telling me that my complaint 'was not deemed of importance' Yep true. That is the aspect of the institution which needs attention. We fund it after all.

However, on this occasion I am going to stick up for the BBC. Love Productions, which makes GBBO, for the BBC has decided it wants more money. Of course, they have not said so, phrases like 'expanding the brand' and 'finding a secure future home for the programme' have been bandied about. These quotes roughly translated mean OK BBC we want more money to flog this programme off to all and sundry and make our fortunes and if you do not cough up well off we go'. Never mind that it was the BBC who took on what was originally a tiny niche programme which they thought would attract about 50 viewers. But they persisted with it and made it the phenomenon it now is and so Love Productions say thank you very much now get stuffed.

So it has been sold to Channel 4 who claim that they have bought it 'to save it going behind a paywall'. In case you did not know Love Productions is 70% owned by guess who? Yep Rupert Murdoch. This means that C4 can now claim to be a saviour. Nobody is fooled nobody.

I mentioned in my now deleted Prom rant that I loved the Last Night of the Proms because it is barking. It is a reflection of British eccentricity at its best. Where else would you get a Peruvian tenor dressed up as an Inca King singing Rule Brittania? Yes precisely. Where else would you get the Queen of a country taking part in a James Bond sketch at the Olympic opening ceremony? Yes precisely. And now we have the nation going into a collective snit over the loss of the Great British Bake Off.  Love it.

Complaints abound that it will be wrecked with adverts and product placement. And this is it of course. Love Productions will make a fortune from flogging advertising and getting sponsors from bake ware manufacturers and Berrythe like for the programme and its charm will be totally lost. We will also have ad breaks taking out 20 minutes from each hour and will also have a voice over after each ad break telling us what has just happened before the adverts in case we have forgotten in the interim. The commercial channels do that all the time.

Mel and Sue have already said they will not be going to Channel 4 and now we await with bated breath the decision of Paul and Mary. I am not sure that Mary will want to go and Paul would be wise to look at what happens to other superstars who leave the BBC for a commercial channel and watch their career go into free fall.

Without the presenters and the judges Channel 4 may have made a misjudgement. As somebody pointed out on TV this week ' they have basically paid £75m for a tent'……

Watch this space…

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12 responses to “Forget Brexit – What about the Great British Bake Off?”

  1. Margaret Powling Avatar
    Margaret Powling

    I think Bake Off has run its course. I no longer watch it, so I don’t really mind where its gone … we need some fresh programmes, fewer cookery programmes or perhaps instead we need cookery programmes which actually teach people how to cook and not just to stuff their faces with the wrong kinds of food. I was in our local town today and it was hard to see someone who wasn’t not only overweight but positively obese. The TV could help promote more healthy living and Bake Off doesn’t do that – but I do appreciate it’s a contest and it’s fun for those who enjoy it.

  2. Elaine Avatar

    No point in keeping contentious posts up and I was just fed up with the negativity I was receiving to no more. I loved the tennis but sad we did not make the David Cup final despite the heroics of the Murray Bros. But so glad to see Del Potro back and playing so well

  3. Elaine Avatar

    I know there are far more important things in life than a baking show and the forums have had people commenting why are you making a fuss when people are suffering and are starving? well, yes we know this but not watching and enjoying a delightful gentle TV show is going to make much difference in the scheme of things
    It is just a matter of priorities

  4. Elaine Avatar

    It is sad but it is now ended. The show on Channel 4 will not be the same. It may be interesting and they may do it well but it is NOT the same

  5. Elaine Avatar

    This news has only been eclipsed by the Brangelina Divorce!!

  6. Anne Raynaud Avatar
    Anne Raynaud

    Thank you Gillie. You restore my faith in kindred spirits……

  7. AnnP Avatar
    AnnP

    Glad to see you back but a shame the other posts had to go. Have you been enjoying the tennis?

  8. Gillie Avatar

    Hear, hear, Anne, I get my reality from my family life, thank you! Don’t need to watch it!

  9. Anne Raynaud Avatar
    Anne Raynaud

    I meant to add, keep ranting.
    Too much commercialism taking over
    But then I’m an old fart, remember when cricket was totally amateur, plus other sports.
    You can all come down like a ton of bricks on me, but I have to say ‘so called reality tv’ increasing commercialism is not my thing.
    But as I said, I’m an old fart, and care about to me more important things than the GBBO….cancer research for ex, …

  10. Anne Raynaud Avatar
    Anne Raynaud

    Bravo

  11. Joan Kyler Avatar

    I’m in the U.S. and am completely addicted to the show. However, I have to wait lag time for it to be shown on our Public Broadcasting Stations or snatch it from YouTube before the BBC demands that the post be removed. PBS was late to the party and has only show the last three or four seasons. What will I do if I can’t go to my Happy Place with Mary, Paul, Sue, and Mel and the rest of the lovely British bakers? The American baking shows are too much like game shows, not to my liking at all.

  12. Gillie Avatar

    I don’t watch it, being over here, but follow the doings with interest and absolutely, Elaine, you make an excellent point. Now very hard to imagine only 50 people watching ……..lol! Absolute greed, LOVE Productions my foot……that last wasn’t my original word………

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