August 23rd 2024.
During the Edinburgh TV Festival on Friday, Carol Vorderman did not hold back as she discussed the state of the TV industry. The former Countdown star, now 63, delivered the Alternative MacTaggart lecture and received a standing ovation for her speech. She described herself as a veteran of the industry, having been on thousands of TV shows over the decades. However, she also mentioned being "sacked by the BBC - twice," and being a "pain in the a**e" and a "lover of parties" as well as being post-menopausal. She stood before the audience "in anger and without apology" as she shared her thoughts.
Carol spoke about her personal experience with the BBC, claiming that she was let go without any discussion when the corporation introduced new social media guidelines that she did not agree with. She also noted that the public's trust in the BBC is declining, and that this is not surprising given the controversial decisions made by BBC management. She referenced the recent scandal involving former news presenter Huw Edwards, who resigned from the BBC after pleading guilty to making child sex abuse images. Carol received another standing ovation for her speech.
She also mentioned other incidents that have caused public outrage, such as Match Of The Day host Gary Lineker's tweets about the government's immigration policy which led to him briefly being removed from the programme, and the departure of BBC chairman Richard Sharp over questions about his role in then-prime minister Boris Johnson's loan guarantee. Carol also talked about the decline of traditional broadcast television, citing research from Ofcom which found that less than half of young people watch live television in a week. She also noted that viewers aged between 45 and 54 are turning away from linear television.
Carol, who now hosts a show on LBC radio, expressed her frustration with the current state of the TV industry. She said that politics, arrogance, and snobbery have led to disillusionment among the public. She also pointed out the lack of representation for working-class people and their struggles, and the role that television has played in perpetuating this. Carol, who grew up in poverty in Wales, shared her own experiences of being judged and overlooked because of her class.
She also spoke about the snobbery within the TV industry, including regional, class, and educational snobbery. She also criticized the political bias in television programming. Carol noted that working-class people have turned to social media as a means of finding voices that they can relate to. She also cited research that found only 10% of people in the TV, video, radio, and photography sectors are from working-class backgrounds.
Carol also talked about how the appearance of Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, on the celebrity competition show I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! was contributing to the normalization of his views. She questioned the mindset of those who believed that his appearance on the show had nothing to do with them. She also criticized ITV's decision to include him on the show. However, during the festival, ITV managing director Kevin Lygo defended the decision.
After her speech, Carol sat down for an interview with Charlene White from Loose Women where she continued to share her thoughts. She called TV a "death spiral" and urged executives to get out of their bubble and visit the regions to understand the reality of the public's lives. Carol also talked about her increasing outspokenness and how she does not believe in the "unwritten celebrity rule book" of being nice to newspapers. She admitted to being frustrated with the lack of truthful voices on television and spoke about her upcoming book, Out Of Order: What's Gone Wrong With Britain And One Woman's Mission To Fix It, which is set to be published in September.
In a final note, Carol encouraged everyone to reflect on their own perceptions and the responsibility they hold in shaping the future of the country. She emphasized the need for diversity and representation in the TV industry. She also urged executives to listen to and understand the voices of the working class, who are often overlooked and misrepresented in television. Carol's bold and passionate speech left a lasting impact on the audience, and she received widespread praise for speaking out on important issues.
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