''Points of View'' is a long-running

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

television series broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

. It started on 2 October 1961 and features the letters of viewers offering praise, criticism and observations on BBC television programmes of recent weeks.

History

''Points of View'' began in 1961 with Robert Robinson presenting viewers' letters to the BBC. It was originally designed as an occasional five-minute "filler" to plug gaps between shows. Kenneth Robinson (1925–1994) took over in 1965, though Robert Robinson returned in 1969 before the show was dropped in 1971. During the 1960s there was also a spin-off, ''Junior Points of View''. The show returned on 31 August 1979 after a hiatus of eight years, with the dry humour of

Barry Took Barry Took (19 June 192831 March 2002) was an English writer, television presenter and comedian. His decade-and-a-half writing partnership with Marty Feldman led to the television series '' Bootsie and Snudge'', the radio comedy ''Round the Hor ...

at the helm. Originally only being broadcast in the London area as a five-minute filler whilst other parts of England were broadcasting regional programming, by February 1980 it was broadcast across the whole of the UK and moved to more familiar slot before the Nine O'clock news. Took left in 1986 and was replaced by guest presenters including

Tony Robinson Sir Anthony Robinson (born 15 August 1946) is an English actor, author, broadcaster, and political activist. He played Baldrick in the BBC television sitcom ''Blackadder'' and has presented many historical documentaries, including the Channel ...

Alan Titchmarsh Alan Fred Titchmarsh (born 2 May 1949) is an English gardener, broadcaster and writer. After working as a professional gardener and a horticultural journalist, he became a radio and television presenter and a novelist. Early career Alan Fred T ...

and Chris Serle, until

Anne Robinson Anne Josephine Robinson (born 26 September 1944) is a British journalist and television presenter, best known as the host of BBC game show ''The Weakest Link'' from 2000 to 2012, and again in 2017 for a one-off celebrity special for ''Children ...

took over as presenter in 1987. For many years during this period, the programme held a slot of 20:50 on Wednesday evenings. In 1997

left the series to concentrate on ''

Watchdog Watchdog or watch dog may refer to: Animals *Guard dog, a dog that barks to alert its owners of an intruder's presence * Portuguese Watchdog, Cão de Castro Laboreiro, a dog breed * Moscow Watchdog, a breed of dog that was bred in the Soviet U ...

''. Following another period with guest presenters,

Carol Vorderman Carol Jean Vorderman (born 24 December 1960) is a Welsh broadcaster, media personality, and writer. Her media career began when she joined the Channel 4 game show ''Countdown'', appearing with Richard Whiteley from 1982 until his death in 2005, ...

became the next regular presenter in April 1998 but was later replaced by

Des Lynam Desmond Michael Lynam (born 17 September 1942) is an Irish-born British television and radio presenter. In a broadcasting career spanning more than forty years, he has hosted television coverage of many of the world's major sporting events, pr ...

in February 1999. By October 1999, ''Points of View'' had moved to a Sunday early evening slot, being presented by

Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in Britain for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in 2009, his BBC Radio 2 weekday brea ...

and now included emails in addition to letters and telephone calls. In the 2007 series, ''Points of View'' featured diverse films, such as students from

Sussex University The University of Sussex is a public research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the South Downs National Park, and provide ...

making a passionate plea for the BBC to keep the

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...

'', John Leivers interviewing Roly Keating (the controller of

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

) on the channel's direction, and Jill Parkinson asking why there aren't more people with disabilities featured in BBC programmes. In April 2008,

Jeremy Vine Jeremy Guy Vine (born 17 May 1965) is an English television and radio presenter and journalist. He is best known as the host of his BBC Radio 2 lunchtime programme which presents news, views, interviews with live guests, consumer issues and popu ...

became the regular presenter of the series. From April 2013, production switched to

BBC Northern Ireland BBC Northern Ireland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Northern Ireland. It is widely available across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. BBC Northern Ireland is one of the four BB ...

. On the last show of the present series on 1 July 2018, Vine announced his retirement from the show. In order to refresh the series, which returned in the autumn, and allow more time for audience feedback the show no longer was presenter-led, instead being narrated by

Tina Daheley Tina Daheley (born ) is an English journalist, newsreader and presenter who works for the BBC, both on television and radio. She currently reads the news on ''The Radio 2 Breakfast Show'' with Scott Mills, often contributing to discussions durin ...

; however, the show returned to the presenter format, whilst retaining Daheley, in 2022. The 2021 series was narrated by

Nicki Chapman Nicki Chapman (born 14 January 1967) is an English television and radio presenter, talent show judge and public relations agent who previously worked in the British pop music industry. Chapman was a judge on the ITV reality shows ''Popstars ...

, a stand-in for Daheley who was absent due to pregnancy.

Public perception

The show has been seen as representing a certain

passive-aggressive Passive-aggressive behavior is characterized by a pattern of passive hostility and an avoidance of direct communication. Inaction where some action is socially customary is a typical passive-aggressive strategy (showing up late for functions, s ...

aspect of

British culture The culture of the United Kingdom is influenced by its History of the United Kingdom, combined nations' history, its interaction with the cultures of Europe, the individual diverse cultures of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and ...

;

Victoria Wood Victoria Wood (19 May 1953 – 20 April 2016) was an English comedian, actress, musician, screenwriter, and director. Wood wrote and starred in dozens of sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over several decades, and her live comedy act ...

once said: "When the Russians feel strongly about an issue they form a bloody revolution – the British write a strongly worded letter to ''Points of View''". Although, much less common now, the show has over the decades featured many a letter beginning "Why, oh why, oh why..." and signed "Upset of

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon, northwest of Charing Cross. Uxbridge formed part of the parish of Hillingdon in the county of Middlesex. As part ...

" or " Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells", or something similar (these days, most, if not all, simply use their real names). Along the way the show has catered for those who wish to see particular parts of programmes again, featuring letters asking "Please, please, please could you show the clip where

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 1917 – 18 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is Honorific nicknames in popular music, honorifically known ...

sang to the troops on the 50th anniversary of

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

last week", and the like. The series has been criticised for featuring too much praise of the BBC and its programmes, and playing down criticism. This tendency has been sent up by many comedians over the years, including memorable skits in ''

Monty Python's Flying Circus ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (also known as simply ''Monty Python'') is a British surreal humour, surreal sketch comedy series created by and starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Terry Gilliam, w ...

'' and ''

Not the Nine O'Clock News ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' is a British television sketch comedy show that was broadcast on BBC2 from 16 October 1979 to 8 March 1982. Originally shown as a comedy alternative to the '' Nine O'Clock News'' on BBC1, the show features satirical ...

''. In the latter, positive letters said such things as "I think the (television licence) fee is far too low. I would willingly sell my house and all its contents to help the BBC." Further criticism came from comedians

Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...

and

Hugh Laurie James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, singer, musician and writer. He first gained professional recognition as a member of the English comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. Fry and Laurie act ...

in their

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

show ''

A Bit of Fry and Laurie ''A Bit of Fry & Laurie'' is a British sketch comedy television series written by and starring former Cambridge Footlights members Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, broadcast on both BBC1 and BBC2 between 1989 and 1995. It ran for four series with ...

''. In a sketch where Fry had supposedly removed Laurie's brain, Laurie said that he was "off to write a letter to ''Points of View''". In a later episode, a woman claims she has had two letters read out on ''Points of View'', and that "they say if you get three, you're automatically sectioned under the Mental Health Act." The programme became (around 1994) the first BBC TV show to invite contributions by

email Electronic mail (usually shortened to email; alternatively hyphenated e-mail) is a method of transmitting and receiving Digital media, digital messages using electronics, electronic devices over a computer network. It was conceived in the ...

, and at one point, its producer Bernard Newnham – who produced more than five years' worth of shows, four of which were with Anne Robinson – had the only Internet connection in

BBC Television Centre Television Centre (TVC), formerly known as BBC Television Centre, is a building complex in White City, London, White City, West London, which was the headquarters of BBC Television from 1960 to 2013, when BBC Television moved to Broadcasting H ...

Presenters

* Robert Robinson (1961–1965; 1969–1971) * Kenneth Robinson (1965–1969) *

(1979–1986) *

(January 1987 – September 1997) * Guest presenters (September 1997 – March 1998) *

(April – August 1998) *

(February – May 1999) *

(October 1999 – September 2007) *

(April 2008 – July 2018) *

(September 2018–present) *

(April – October 2021, stand-in)

Timeline

''Junior Points of View''

Between 1963 and 1970, Robert Robinson (later replaced by Sarah Ward, and Gaynor Morgan Rees) presented a version designed for children's letters entitled ''Junior Points of View''.

Theme

The original theme tune to the programme was the first 13 seconds of

Kid Ory Edward "Kid" Ory (December 25, 1886 – January 23, 1973) was an American jazz composer, Trombone, trombonist and bandleader. One of the early users of the glissando technique, he helped establish it as a central element of Music of New Orle ...

trad jazz Trad jazz, short for "traditional jazz", is a form of jazz in the United States and Britain that flourished from the 1930s to 1960s, based on the earlier New Orleans Dixieland jazz style. Prominent English trad jazz musicians such as Chris Barb ...

piece "Yaaka Hula Hickey Dula", played by the Dutch Swing College Band. When the series returned in 1979 a new piece called "Northern soul" was used before switching in 1982 to adopting

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' "

When I'm Sixty-Four "When I'm Sixty-Four" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon–McCartney) and released on the 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. It was one of the first songs McCartney ...

" as its theme tune (because of the lyric "Send me a postcard, drop me a line, stating point of view"). This was dropped at the end of 1990. In 2000, a bespoke acapella theme tune, entitled "Blah Blah" or "Blah Boopity Baya" was introduced, alongside a new title sequence in 2003, featuring members of the public talking to a screen showing BBC programmes and channels, set against a black background with streaks of light flying past. The composers and performers involved in the creation of this theme tune are unknown. In 2009, the theme gained notoriety when it was featured on

BBC Radio 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...

's Adam and Joe radio show, with the presenters mocking the theme tune's upbeat sound compared to the overall serious tone of ''Points of View'' at the time (then presented by Jeremy Vine; though the show became more light-hearted across Vine's overall run as presenter), adding that "the BBC's been in some quite serious trouble of late, so this is just a suggestion to our colleagues at the castle [

]... you might want to change that music". In 2011, an alternative mix of the previous theme came into use, with the acapella vocals being swapped for a synthesizer and background strings.

References

External links

* *{{BBC programme, b006mysv 1961 British television series debuts 1960s British television series 1970s British television series 1980s British television series 1990s British television series 2000s British television series 2010s British television series 2020s British television series BBC Birmingham productions Criticism of journalism British English-language television shows Television series about the media BBC Television Service (TV network) original programming BBC One original programming