Okay, in the same month that I’ve been called a ‘Brit’, a ‘Pom’ and a ‘Geordie’ (the last was most hurtful), Prince Harry called someone a Paki, Prince Charles calls a friend Sooty, and Carol Thatcher called someone a golliwog in a BBC green room.
Are we all quite so insensitive to it all?
There’s a fine line between humour, comedy, fact and hatred. The BBC is a bit jumpy at the moment, but that’s because they have some seriously duff managers filling the top layer, who would ideally have had better education before taking the job.
The most ingenious mis-representation of what a green room is and does comes from Thatcher’s spokesperson:
It is disgusting that we’ve had a leak of private conversations in the green room – the BBC has more leaks than Thames Water.
Far be it from me to point out the obvious to the spokesperson of a former PM’s daughter, but since when has a green room been the place to hold private conversations. The golden rule in broadcasting is:
If you wouldn’t say it to your mother, don’t say it in the lift.
The same goes for corridors, tea rooms, green rooms and studios. Obviously the former PM’s daughter isn’t quite as broadcast and media savvy as she lets on. It’s possible she would say that to her mother, but I seriously hope not!
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