Iain Dale has an amusing insight into how the Beeb “balances” the panel on Question Time. He reveals that UKIP’s Nigel Farage was bumped off the panel in preference to the CBI’s Richard Lambert, the former FT editor who famously got the newspaper to back Labour in the 1992 election (although he seems less keen on them now):
So why don’t you bump Janet Street Porter instead, pleaded Nigel, pointing out that he has many years experience of in the City of London. No, we can’t do that, said the person from Question Time. “We need to keep our gender balance.”
“We need to keep our gender balance”
Mmm..is that why the Producer of QT conducted gay singer Will Young live on-air to invite him onto which panel is convenient for him?
However what about the transgendered community – when oh when will they have a representative on QT? And then there’s the Islamist community..oh, forgot, they have trolls like Jacqui Smith to represent their needs.
QT is a farce. Note how Dimblebore kept giving our venerable Home Sec the chance to respond every time Government was criticised.
Well they had a transvestite recently. Will that do?
And also, Nigel Farage is a star performer on Question Time, regularly trouncing the other panellists and we can’t have that on the BBC, can we ?
David Vance 7:57
I remember many months ago, David Miliband was a guest, sitting so close to Dimblebore he was almost in his lap.
Dimblebore nursed him through the show like an uncle with a nephew.
The funniest bits were when the two of them thought they were off camera and were obviously conspiring on how to handle the next question. The mike also caught them whispering to each other off camera, but, alas, I couldn’t make out what they were saying.
It was one of those real BBC “pass the sick bag” moments. In fact, I am feeling a bit quesy now just writing about it.
“And also, Nigel Farage is a star performer on Question Time”
That’s because people think he is ARCHIE ANDREWS.
What strikes me about Cliché Time (not to be confused with the other Dimpleby prog, Any Clichés? on Radio Gaurdian) is how boring it is, no cliché is too obvious to not be stated. It’s assumed nobody can remember the most obvious fact (i.e. what The Bailout is) for 5 minutes.
DV asks: what about our transgendered?
Er, wasn’t Bo Peep mentioned by someone on here?
I am not sure who Bo Peep is, though. Is it Jacqui Smith?
Millie Tant: You don’t know who Bo Peep is?
http://www.timeout.com/newyork/resizeImage/htdocs/export_images/658/658.x600.art_turnon.grayson.jpg
Don’t vomit.
Ooer…Martin. So it’s not Jacqui Smith. There really IS a Bo Peep! Well, I never.
Do the panel get paid for QT? If so then Farage woul probably have a case for sexual discrimination.
Random: But if he didn’t, then Janet Street-Porter would!
Random 4:25
Of course they get paid. It is about £2000 per appearance, plus expenses.
“We need to keep our gender balance.”
Surely Street=Porter keeps the species balance. She holding up the Equine end.