Attenborough: too little culture and arts on BBC
It’s not enough simply to say, ‘Well, it doesn’t get a big enough audience’
SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH, the naturalist and former controller of BBC Two, has criticised the BBC for failing to broadcast enough arts and culture programmes, saying it must cater for all tastes, even if they are not watched by millions.
Sir David, who helped introduce colour television to Britain and commissioned some of the BBC’S bestloved shows, said there were a “lot of gaps” in the corporation’s coverage now, thanks in part to too much focus on viewing figures.
“The cultural, the arts programmes,” he said, when asked what the public service broadcaster, paid for by the licence fee, was lacking. “I don’t think the BBC does enough. It’s not enough simply to say, ‘Well, it doesn’t get a big enough audience’.
“If you’re a public service broadcaster, what you should be saying is, ‘We will show the broad spectrum of human interest.’
“People of all kinds should be catered for. You can measure success not necessarily by the maximum size of the audience, but by the maximum width of the spectrum, and see whether there aren’t any gaps in it and how you’re filling them.
“There are lots of gaps in the BBC’S coverage now, in my view, and that’s because they are harried and badgered by all sorts of people.”
In an interview with Radio Times, which is celebrating its 95th year, he added: “But if the BBC was to disappear from our homes one morning, surely we’d miss it desperately? You’ve only got to go to America to know that.”
Sir David began his career at the BBC in the early Fifties, with early shows including Zoo Quest in 1954, and became controller of BBC Two in 1965.
There, he introduced colour television and commissioned programmes including The Old Grey Whistle Test, Monty Python’s Flying Circus and Civilisation, the 13-part arts series by Kenneth Clark.
Now best-known for his natural history broadcasting, Sir David’s latest BBC series, Blue Planet II, was the most-watched TV programme of 2017 and reached 37.6 million viewers in the UK, according to the BBC.
Speaking to Radio Times, which has featured him on the cover more times than anyone except the Queen, the 92-year-old broadcaster said: “In 1952, you made an appointment with television and shaped your evening around that. You’d paid your licence money, and so you felt that you’d better watch it all – you had, as it were, bought it.
“But the way that television is used now is transforming. The mere fact you’ve got these various devices for catch-up television is comforting in a way, because you can dial up a programme that you heard someone talking about.
“I read the reviews in the press and think, ‘Why haven’t I watched that?’ And so you catch up.
“In a way, I’m surprised that television hasn’t changed more. There’s quite a lot that people hang on to.”
Sir David said that new technology had made documentary making more accessible and encouraged young producers to take up the mantle.
“Now the technology is so versatile, so small, anybody can make a natural history programme,” he added.
“When people say, ‘How do I become a natural history film-maker?’ – the answer is, ‘Do it! It couldn’t be easier.”’
The full interview is in Radio Times.