Red Moon
02-06-2007, 10:02 AM
C4 chief admits: I'm not proud of Big Brother
Lord Puttnam, the deputy chairman of Channel 4, said yesterday that he was "not proud" of the company's flagship Big Brother programme.
He went on to suggest that the "reality show" would eventually be replaced - but only when it stopped bringing in vast sums of revenue.
Lord Puttnam, who directed the Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire, spoke out against the programme when asked about the Big Brother row involving Jade Goody and Shilpa Shetty.
Speaking at the Hay-on-Wye Festival, he said: "I am not proud of the Big Brother row - I am not even proud of Big Brother.
"But Big Brother accounts for 15 per cent of the total revenue that keeps Channel 4 afloat.
"You have got to go some to replace that, but we will do it at some point, of course we will. We are in a long period of transition, but we will do it." Lord Puttnam acknowledged that time had eroded what he termed Channel 4's "sense of purpose".
But he went on: "We shall renew that sense of commitment and sense of purpose and get that 'DNA' back in another context.
"We need a remit and a sense of purpose that is right for 2010 and beyond and we shall do it".
Big Brother was widely condemned over its handling of the race row in Celebrity Big Brother earlier this year.
It was forced by the television regulator Ofcom to begin its latest run by broadcasting an apology for its "serious errors of judgment".
In Australia, the Big Brother producers, Endemol Southern Star, were criticised last week for deciding not to tell a contestant her father had died.
Such strictures are unlikely, however, to have dented the programme's audience figures.
Earlier this week Big Brother's capacity to offend was exceeded by one of its sister shows in Holland.
The Big Donor Show plans to show a terminally ill woman selecting which of three "contestants" will receive her kidneys.
Sir Paul McCartney also criticised Big Brother yesterday. The ex-Beatle called the Channel 4 show a "celebration of mediocrity".
Sir Paul, 64, said there was "something wrong" with watching the reality series, which started its eighth seriesthis week.
Asked whether he watched the programme he told the Xfm radio breakfast show: "No, I studiously avoid Big Brother.
"I'm against the celebration of mediocrity. I'm sorry about that world because I know everyone loves it and loves to watch mediocre people.
"I just don't like all that stuff I'm afraid. It's really boring."
Sir Paul told DJ Alex Zane: "It was on last night actually when I got home and I thought I'm not going to watch it.
"I probably do watch it, just in closet. That's the fascination, isn't it, seeing people being really crap.
"I just don't like it. I feel there is something wrong there."
The launch of the latest series was seen by eight million viewers on Wednesday, matching last year's opening.
But its average audience of 6.2 million was 800,000 down from last year's seven million.
Source:Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/06/02/ntv102.xml)
Lord Puttnam, the deputy chairman of Channel 4, said yesterday that he was "not proud" of the company's flagship Big Brother programme.
He went on to suggest that the "reality show" would eventually be replaced - but only when it stopped bringing in vast sums of revenue.
Lord Puttnam, who directed the Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire, spoke out against the programme when asked about the Big Brother row involving Jade Goody and Shilpa Shetty.
Speaking at the Hay-on-Wye Festival, he said: "I am not proud of the Big Brother row - I am not even proud of Big Brother.
"But Big Brother accounts for 15 per cent of the total revenue that keeps Channel 4 afloat.
"You have got to go some to replace that, but we will do it at some point, of course we will. We are in a long period of transition, but we will do it." Lord Puttnam acknowledged that time had eroded what he termed Channel 4's "sense of purpose".
But he went on: "We shall renew that sense of commitment and sense of purpose and get that 'DNA' back in another context.
"We need a remit and a sense of purpose that is right for 2010 and beyond and we shall do it".
Big Brother was widely condemned over its handling of the race row in Celebrity Big Brother earlier this year.
It was forced by the television regulator Ofcom to begin its latest run by broadcasting an apology for its "serious errors of judgment".
In Australia, the Big Brother producers, Endemol Southern Star, were criticised last week for deciding not to tell a contestant her father had died.
Such strictures are unlikely, however, to have dented the programme's audience figures.
Earlier this week Big Brother's capacity to offend was exceeded by one of its sister shows in Holland.
The Big Donor Show plans to show a terminally ill woman selecting which of three "contestants" will receive her kidneys.
Sir Paul McCartney also criticised Big Brother yesterday. The ex-Beatle called the Channel 4 show a "celebration of mediocrity".
Sir Paul, 64, said there was "something wrong" with watching the reality series, which started its eighth seriesthis week.
Asked whether he watched the programme he told the Xfm radio breakfast show: "No, I studiously avoid Big Brother.
"I'm against the celebration of mediocrity. I'm sorry about that world because I know everyone loves it and loves to watch mediocre people.
"I just don't like all that stuff I'm afraid. It's really boring."
Sir Paul told DJ Alex Zane: "It was on last night actually when I got home and I thought I'm not going to watch it.
"I probably do watch it, just in closet. That's the fascination, isn't it, seeing people being really crap.
"I just don't like it. I feel there is something wrong there."
The launch of the latest series was seen by eight million viewers on Wednesday, matching last year's opening.
But its average audience of 6.2 million was 800,000 down from last year's seven million.
Source:Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/06/02/ntv102.xml)