Roger and out


The closing section of this week's Feedback on Radio 4 was a question-and-answer session to its sacked presenter Roger Bolton, marking his last appearance. 

As he couldn't interview himself, the programme got a faithful listener - who turned out, bless her, to be the living embodiment of a stereotypical elderly Radio 4 listener, with views to match - to put the questions. 

Everyone loved Roger and she loved the BBC, and at the end of this love-in they agreed on the corporation's necessity.

Roger wasn't keen on the present BBC bosses though, and repeatedly slammed them for being reluctant to come on his show.

He has subsequently gone on to tell The Observer that Emily Maitlis was right, especially over her criticisms of the BBC's Brexit coverage for not being anti-Brexit enough. 

I see in our archives a huge pile of pieces slamming Roger Bolton for being biased on that issue, and several others. 

He's not been shy about it either, openly stating his disdain for criticism of the BBC from 'people like us'. 

He's never been a wholly impartial champion of the Radio 4 listener. And regular readers might recall long posts here recording his anger at John Humphrys after JH - despite voting Remain himself - slammed the BBC, especially over pro-EU bias. 

As we said at the time, Roger Bolton truly took the hump against the former Today presenter. It sounded like he strongly disagreed and that he almost took it as a personal affront. JH became a regular Feedback target thereafter. I wrote here as if it was a vendetta.

What Roger Bolton's saying now as an 'ex-BBC presenter' is exactly what we claimed he believed while being an active BBC presenter because, whilst hiding being BBC impartiality, he frequently wasn't impartial, framing discussions in certain ways and asking particular questions in differing ways and giving his own opinions.

I know he has many fans but I think the new BBC management are well shot of him - as they are of Emily, Jon and Lewis. Clear the while lot out, and take Mark Easton with them! 

If only those BBC bosses can now hold off from the urge to really 'troll' their underlings - and the public - and make Amol Rajan the next Feedback presenter. I'm hoping if gobby Gary L gets the Golden Boot from Match of the Day after one too many egregious tweets about women footballers and bras that Amol will get that gig too. 

I've given up my old habit of predicting Samira Ahmed for every job vacancy as she never gets them, especially since her pay row triumph over the BBC. She'd keep her opinions to herself better than Roger Bolton. She tends to vent her opinions [usually about Nigel Farage, of whom she's not a fan] on Twitter, during protests, and via magazine articles while being far more neutral on Newswatch - i.e. while broadcasting for the Beeb. She'd be good for Feedback, if we can't have News-watch's David Keighley, who'd be even better. 

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