BBC iPlayer Record Broken

Reality series The Voice has broken the record for the most requested show on the BBC's iPlayer service.

The reality show, which features Jessie J, Tom Jones, will.i.am and The Script's Danny O'Donoghue as judges, broke the service's record of most requests to watch a programme in a single 24-hour period.

The previous record was held by Sherlock, which was watched 623,000 times during a single day, but The Voice quashed that total with 746,000 views in a 24-hour period.

April 25 2012 - waveguide.co.uk

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Bang Goes The Theory Flight

Inspired by the 50th anniversary of human-powered flight, BBC One's Bang Goes the Theory's resident engineer, inventor and presenter Jem Stansfield succeeded in getting airborne with pedal power alone.

Stansfield said: “I’ve flown under human power, which is something I never thought possible, even when we started the project. An average man can fly - not a pilot, not an athlete - a normal bloke can actually fly.”

The experiment features on Bang Goes The Theory on BBC One on Monday April 30.

Only a few people have succeeded in the past to power an aircraft with muscles alone and this has usually been after many years work, intensive athletic training, the backing of a large team and considerable aeronautical experience.

Stansfield is not an athlete and he and the basic team of two Bang engineers had no experience of working with carbon fibre. The plane, made largely of foam, a plastic material similar to cling film along with the carbon fibre, was built in a few weeks. The ‘flight’ took place at Lasham airfield, Hampshire, early one Spring morning. The lightweight aircraft has a wing span of 23m, comparable to the size of a Boeing 737, so it was vital that the weather conditions were perfect.

Despite having a degree in aeronautical engineering Stansfield has never attempted to build a real scale flying machine before, because he appreciated how difficult it would be to make anything that ultimately has to go airborne.

Jem added: “It’s an amazing thing to fly under your own steam, it feels like nothing else on earth – literally, because you’re not on earth. You feel as if you have just been plucked off the ground. I was too shocked to do anything - I’ve never had anything like that happen to me before!”

April 25 2012 - waveguide.co.uk

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Jeremy Hunt Claimed Due Process Followed

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has told MPs he "strictly followed due process" in the way he handled a controversial BSkyB takeover bid by News Corporation.

He said it was not true that the firm had any "back channel" of influence, when he was ruling on the bid.

His special adviser Adam Smith has quit over contact with the firm that he said "went too far".

But Labour's Harriet Harman said Hunt had been "backing" rather than "judging this bid" and should resign.

Hunt delivered his statement in the House of Commons, following the publication of emails at the Leveson Inquiry relating to his handling of the takeover.

Labour said these show he fell short in his impartial "quasi-judicial" role in ruling on the company's bid to fully take over broadcaster BSkyB.

April 25 2012 - waveguide.co.uk

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New Strictly Judge

It has been confirmed today that former Principal Dancer at the Royal Ballet Darcey Bussell, will be the new judge on BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing when it returns in the autumn.

Bussell joined the Royal Ballet in 1988 and during her career performed as a guest artist with leading international ballet companies around the world, including the New York City Ballet. She retired in 2007 but is still very active within the dancing world.

She is no stranger to Strictly, having appeared as a guest judge on the series in 2009, during which she and Strictly professional Ian Waite performed a jive together. Bussell will be joining the panel to sit alongside head judge Len Goodman, Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli.

She said: “I had such a lovely experience in 2009 when I was a guest judge, that coming on board now feels very natural. Strictly combines quality dance and great entertainment, which is such a positive for everybody involved. I am very excited and really looking forward to being part of the Strictly team.”

April 25 2012 - waveguide.co.uk

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Jeremy Hunt Fights For Job

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt is fighting for his political life following claims that he secretly backed News Corporation's bid to take over satellite broadcaster BSkyB.

Labour leader Ed Miliband insisted the Tory Cabinet minister must resign, accusing him of "acting as a back-channel" for the Murdochs.

Hunt however, insisted he had conducted the process of deciding whether to green-light the deal with "scrupulous fairness" and requested an early date at the Leveson Inquiry into press standards so he could give his side of the story in formal evidence.

The row is set to intensify as Labour prepares to face down David Cameron over the allegations at Prime Minister's Questions.

Cameron's own links to the Murdochs will also come under the spotlight following Tuesday's evidence from James Murdoch at the inquiry.

The News Corp executive revealed that he and the Prime Minister had briefly discussed the BSkyB bid in December 2010 - two days after Business Secretary Vince Cable was stripped of his decision-making power on the takeover. That was at a Christmas dinner hosted by News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks the PM attended on December 23 2010.

James Murdoch told the inquiry that he and Cameron mentioned what had happened. "He reiterated what he had said publicly, which is that the behaviour had been unacceptable, and I imagine I expressed the hope that things would be dealt with in a way that was appropriate and judicial," he said. "It was a tiny conversation ahead of a dinner where all these people were there, so it wasn't really a discussion."

The inquiry released a 163-page dossier of emails detailing contacts between the Culture Secretary's office and a senior executive at News Corp.

Labour said the documents showed that Hunt failed to fulfil his quasi-judicial role in relation to the proposed takeover, which he had promised to carry out in a "fair and even-handed" way. Ed Miliband said: "He should resign. He himself said that his duty was to be transparent, impartial and fair in the BSkyB takeover. But now we know that he was providing advice, guidance and privileged access to News Corporation. He was acting as a back-channel for the Murdochs."

Hunt said: "Now is not a time for knee-jerk reactions. We've heard one side of the story today but some of the evidence reported meetings and conversations that simply didn't happen. Rather than jump on a political bandwagon, we need to hear what Lord Justice Leveson thinks after he's heard all the evidence. Let me be clear my number one priority was to give the public confidence in the integrity of process."

April 25 2012 - waveguide.co.uk

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