The BBC has shown off how organised they are by already announcing their election night presenter plans. Guido’s still in the process of sorting out drinks…
The announcement confirms that Dimbleby will be stepping down from presenting their coverage after 40 years and 10 elections, to be replaced by Huw Edwards. Huw got his work experience in by covering the last set of EU election results…
Edwards will present the BBC’s main election night coverage alongside Reeta Chakrabarti, Andrew Neil, Tina Daheley and Jeremy Vine, with the usual reporters (including Laura K).
Most excitingly for political nerds, the BBC has revamped the traditional ‘Arthur’ theme tune – used by the BBC for generations and scrapped in 2010.
We’ve announced the first details of the BBC #Election2019 coverage, led by @huwbbc. #GE2019 pic.twitter.com/lx29Eq9z6M
— BBC News Press Team (@BBCNewsPR) November 4, 2019
Depending on how Boris’s campaign goes, it could be the only thing we’re left looking forward to on election night.
Last night at the Question Time party thrown in celebration of David Dimbleby’s time in the chair of the BBC’s flagship political programme, a song (composed by Question Time’s recently promoted producer Poppy Bullard) was sung in his honour, set to the tune of ABBA’s Dancing Queen. Guido has obtained the lyrics…
It’s David Dimbleby
Young and free
Only eighty
Dimbleby
Longest serving chair of QT, oh yeah
Read the brilliant homage in full here:
Last night saw David Dimbleby’s last ever time in the Chair of BBC Question Time, drawing a remarkable 25 year era to a close. Panelist Jo Brand led a touching standing ovation in tribute to the veteran broadcaster.
“From me a happy Christmas, and not goodbye, but goodnight.”
Dimblebot is an institution and Guido wishes him well.
Question Time returns to our screens from Islington on 10th January, hosted by Fiona Bruce.
The conventional wisdom is that the BBC will appoint a woman to present Question Time. David Dimbleby is paid £450,000 a year, or £15,000 an episode. If he is replaced by a woman, gender pay sensitivities mean it is unthinkable that she could be given a pay cut. The Beeb would have to stump up the full £450,000. If a man is hired, however, insiders note, the salary could be slashed, potentially saving the BBC and licence fee payers hundreds of thousands of pounds a year. Tough one for Beeb bean counters…
Dimbley has announced he is retiring from Question Time. Is it time to end the show? #BBCqt
— Media Guido (@MediaGuido) June 18, 2018
What do you think?
The Competition and Markets Authority has provisionally ruled that 21st Century Fox’s bid to take control of the 61% of Sky it does not already own was not in the public interest due to concerns about media plurality. The CMA says the Murdoch family trust would have “too much control over news providers in the UK across all media platforms and therefore too much influence over public opinion and the political agenda.”
Which multi-platform media giant really dominates the news industry in Britain? The BBC controls some two-fifths of the news market, nearly double that controlled by Sky and News UK.
Which family really has for decades had too much control over British public opinion and the political agenda on multiple media platforms? Which family dominates BBC coverage of the Royal Family, general elections, budgets, as well as the flagship weekly current affairs shows; Question Time and Any Questions? The Dimblebys…
