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Radio
Presenter Loses Job
A Birmingham-based radio presenter has lost his job after
stopping the Queen's Christmas message, telling listeners it was boring.
BRMB presenter Tom Binns cut short the speech during his live show on
Christmas Day, saying: "Two words: Bor-ing".
The show was broadcast on BRMB, Wyvern in Herefordshire and Worcestershire,
Mercia, in Warwickshire, and Beacon Radio in the Black Country.
Binns, who is also a stand-up comedian, said it had just been a joke.
The stations' owner Orion Media said a number of listeners had complained.
Bins said: "We have got to allow some people to be upset without responding
with a knee-jerk reaction. We've got to stop pandering to a small minority."
He added: "I knew beforehand I needed to take the speech off the air as I
didn't know how long it was.
"I knew anyone who was interested in hearing what she said
would be watching it on TV or listening to Radio 4.
"About 88% of the population had more interesting things to do on Christmas
Day than listen to it."
David Lloyd, group programme and marketing director, said: "On Christmas
Day, one of our presenters, Tom Binns, made some inappropriate comments
surrounding the Queen's speech.
"We do not condone what he said in any way; whether said in jest or not. We
are making contact with the small number of listeners who were offended by
Tom's comments and have complained to us to convey our apologies, and have
also apologised on air."
18:40
December 30 2009 - waveguide.co.uk
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Celeb
Big Brother House Revealed
The final Celebrity Big Brother house was unveiled today and
producers promised it would polarise opinion.
The Channel 4 reality show's producers have scrapped the "back to basics"
ethos of previous years and have instead fitted the house with plush velvet
sofas, boudoir lighting, a 12-seater dining room table, fake fur pelts and
antique animal skulls.
In keeping with the "hell lies in others" theme, the walls of the sitting
room are also decorated with flame frescoes and padded walls.
The kitchen is designed to look like an "autopsy room" with clinical
stainless steel fittings, Damien Hirst-style pickling jars, and walls
painted in hospital scrubs green.
There is no house "prison" this year, and neither are the celebrities
expected to tend their own vegetable patch nor restrict themselves to just
one suitcase - but producers warned that hell might freeze over as the show
progresses.
"Who wants to go digging up vegetables in the middle of January? They won't
do it. They're celebrities and they like to be warm and cosy. They might
like that but whether it will happen all the time - who knows?" said
executive producer Shirley Jones.
Shirley also revealed a structure was being built for the garden, which is
currently bare apart from a lawn and some decking - but would not say what
it was.
She said: "There's something missing at the moment that's going to play
quite a big part. I can't say what it is yet but it's something new and it's
going to be interesting to see how it works out. It's just something a bit
different."
The house also has a covered outdoor "snug" area with sofas, throws and a
log fire, a luxury bathroom fitted with a chaise longue, bathtub and private
shower.
It is not yet known what the diary room and bedroom will be like, nor
whether there will be a private bedroom for one lucky housemate as there was
in the last celebrity series.
On the overall design of the all-seeing house - which is fitted with nearly
50 surveillance cameras and 25 microphones - Shirley Jones said: "Some
people will like the animal skulls and padded walls and velvet furniture and
some people will be like, 'that's awful and not very pleasant'.
"The famous line from Dante's Inferno is 'Abandon hope all ye who enter
here', which has inspired much of what we have done to the house,
particularly the entrance which is dark and cavernous with flaming walls.
When the celebrities arrive in the house on Sunday night they will
definitely wonder what is in store for them. It looks incredibly different
from previous years".
Commissioning editor David Williams added: "It's a bit mean and moody... and
a bit gothic."
He added that the lifting of baggage restrictions could be enlightening for
viewers.
"It used to be about 'back to basics' a little bit in the early days of
lentils and chickens and it's not now really so it's interesting to see what
people bring when they've got free range ... rather than having to recycle
underpants like Leo Sayer," he said.
"We want them to be challenged and it's going to be interesting to see how
they cope with the loss of control, because celebrities tend to have control
over their image and their lives... also we want them to throw themselves
into it, particularly with the tasks and have a bit of fun with it," Jones
added.
"The devil can take many forms. He can be naughty or funny or cruel so
that's the basis we're working on."
07:45
December 30 2009 - waveguide.co.uk
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