Greta gets an easy ride from ‘our’ BBC

“SOMETIMES,” perma-frowned Greta Thunberg scowled, “you need to anger some people.”

And Andrew Marr, one of the BBC’s last remaining half-decent interviewers, just let it go.

It was Sunday morning and all the boring political TV shows were talking about the climate conference in Glasgow.

A procession of trite interviewees lined up to spout rubbish, and the broadcasters, Sky and ITV were just as bad, allowed them to say whatever they wanted without challenge.

But it was the Marr interview, and the fact it was on the BBC, that really irked.

About two weeks ago that very same organisation was jerking itself off into a frenzy because one of its other nerds had a pop, live on air, at the prime minister.

“Prime Minister,” said Nick Robinson of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, which almost everyone everywhere doesn’t listen to, “you are going to pause.”

Bellicose

Then, because Boris was being Boris and being a bit bellicose, he added: “Prime Minister, stop talking, we are going to have questions and answers, not where you merely talk, if you wouldn’t mind.” Fighting talk, innit? Which is absolutely fine by me if it’s applied in all cases.

Like Greta, for instance, batting away the idea that the halfwits she “inspires” aren’t doing anything bad just because it annoys a few people.

How does that argument work, exactly?

And why didn’t Andrew Marr ask the question?

When the BBC wants to promote something, which is everything “progressive”, constantly, we never hear the end of it.

EastEnders? Absolutely no-one in the east end of London would ever recognise Albert Square.

Strictly has lost the average viewer’s plot.

And a panellist who for all her loveliness and comedic talent really isn’t ideal for Question Time on the grounds that many viewers struggle to understand a word she’s saying.

This is not being cruel, or nasty. Just accurate.

But there’s nothing from Our Nick or Our Andrew about these subjects, because these are Our BBC-approved subjects.

Things we must be subjected to and are never allowed to complain about.

Because to do so would make us Very Bad People.

Stuff like Hateful Brexit, Galloping Climate Change, Chicks With Dicks, Doctors Staying Off Work, Nasty Police, Skint NHS… all BBC approved subjects.

If you don’t like the licence fee, or the BBC, or Greta, or fairly questionable science, or GPs taking the piss, or largely great cops getting stick because of a couple of genuinely bad ones, then no, it’s not approved by the little Pravda-lite wonks in Broadcasting House.

So let’s go back to not-so-great Greta, the only 18-year-old the BBC will ever listen to unless they are diverse, put-upon, mentally ill, and want a free car.

“Sometimes you need to anger some people,” she had declared, smarmily. Yes, luv. But has it ever occurred to you that you might be angering some people in completely the wrong way?

And yet again, why did almost £400,000-a-year Andrew Marr not ask her the same question?!