Rollers no more, Sydney no more...

THE SNP’s Richard Lochhead is a man with a very special set of skills. Given a chance to quiz BBC Scotland director Donalda MacKinnon at the Scottish parliament, he immediately cut to the chase and raised the issue that all of Scotland is talking about. Namely: why wasn’t its Proclaimers documentary shown to every man, woman and child in the UK, rather than just BBC Scotland? Who doesn’t love the speccy, stentorian-voiced Proclaimers, left, who sang of their first teacher: ‘Shetland made her j umpers, and the devil made her features’?

But it’s odd that a member of Holyrood’s culture committee didn’t know that, like Reporting Scotland, The Proclaimers documentary was commissioned by BBC Scotland for its local audience. If he wants Wales, England and Northern Ireland to experience the Joyful Kilmarnock Blues, that’s something to take up with someone with network arts commissioning powers.

Besides, if there’s one idea a Nationalist should be able to get behind, it should be a programme made by Scots for Scots about Scots. If, as Nationalists assert, Scotland is culturally different from the UK, shouldn’t Mr Lochhead also accept that while The Proclaimers may be considered ‘hugely important culturally’ to Scots, they might not be so musically significant elsewhere?

Tactfully, Miss MacKinnon pointed out, the BBC might yet put the show on national telly. She could have added that This Is The Story had already been available on iPlayer for anyone in the UK to enjoy.

But I doubt Richard was listening anyway. He’s probably already moved on to campaign for a radio station dedicated to the Bay City Rollers, Sydney Devine to chair Question Time and the reinstatement of a Scottish Doctor Who.