I am surprised to read in my free copy of the North Bristol Observer that there is a Facebook group to save Radio Bristol’s John Darvall from the axe. It’s called the “BBC Radio Bristol Keep John Darvall’s Morning Show On Air” – a catchy little name, don’t you think? It turns out that Darvall has become engaged to the populist right wing Tory MP Charlotte Leslie and to quote a BBC suit, “We have every confidence in the professionalism and impartiality of all our presenters and staff, but given the heightened sensitivities of an election period John Darvall will move from the Mid-Morning Show to present the Afternoon Show on BBC Radio Bristol. This is to avoid any perception of a conflict of interest. The arrangement will continue until after the General Election.”
My first point of opposition to Darvall is that his show is terrible. He’s yet another dreary journeyman presenter employed by incompetent and bumbling Managing Editor Tim Pemberton, who has turned a much-loved, much-listened to local station into the purveyors of generic tosh. In employing non personality personalities like Darvall, Pemberton who never bothers to reply to listener correspondence unless he really has to, has wrecked Radio Bristol. You do wonder if Pemberton really does have a clue about radio given his awful record of recruitment over the years. Sam Mason, Peter Rowell, Dave Barrett – these are but a few of the former TV “personalities” employed by Pemberton, as well as over 100 stand-ins at various times.
Ask your friends if they know any of the daytime presenters and I’ll wager hardly any of them do. No one will listen to Darvall if they can listen to the likes of Nicky Campbell or Ken Bruce instead. By lunchtime the entire audience, such as there is an audience, will have departed for their early afternoon until the nurse wakes them up for tea again.
But the point about Darvall’s politics is a good one. I have listened less and less to his show over the years. His smug, self-satisfied style, combined with his ghastly use of dead air, is a real turn off and no one can seriously doubt his political leanings. Darvall says he is not “a card-carrying member of any political party” but anyone listening to his aggressive corrections when someone makes reference to the Bedroom Tax, he quickly reminds people it is really the less offensive sounding ‘spare bedroom subsidy’, never even mentioning the reality on the ground of the people who are suffering from it. He adds grist to the mill by saying he is not a union member. Well, I doubt that anyone left-leaning would proudly announce that.
And what if Darvall’s show does return to its morning slot? That would be fun if he had to interview his wife to be on a controversial subject. Can you just imagine that? Or perhaps he could get the weatherman to do that?
It’s not just Darvall, though. The entire station is awful. Take out Geoff Twentyman and his sports team, and the ever-improving Steve Lefevre who would be SO much better in a lunchtime magazine format, and you have a grim, dated formulaic schedule that appeals to pensioners and almost no one else. Don’t believe me? Then listen to Darvall’s phone-in.
I blame Pemberton for creating this mess. He does not learn from his mistakes and the station barely matters these days. If this is the way local BBC radio is going, then you might as well hand the entire operation over to commercial radio.
The answers are actually close at hand. BCfm, the local community station, already has the best breakfast presenter in the area (by some considerable distance, actually) in Pat Hart, the daytime shows are more modern and relevant than anything Pemberton’s dinosaur churns out and their sports coverage, notably the quite excellent Midweek Sports Bar, is unlike anything else locally and actually complements Radio Bristol’s one remaining strength, its sports department.
And what about the brilliant Ali Vowles? Much loved by the listeners, and who is both a great presenter and fine journalist. A shoe-in for the mid morning show, surely? Ah but women are only any good as stand-ins, aren’t they, Tim?
Ms Leslie herself says, “John has always been completely professional and impartial. I understand this is being done to protect him and the BBC for the few weeks of the final election period. It would be extraordinary if he were not allowed to return to his programme after the election.”
Well, hang on, Charlotte: you would say that, wouldn’t you? You’d hardly say he was unprofessional and biased, would you? And would it be extraordinary if he wasn’t allowed to return to “his programme”? What if the managing editor actually made a decision to return this ailing radio station to something like it used to be and could be again with the right amount of will?
Like many others, Radio Bristol lost me when Pemberton made his cull of the best presenters and replaced most of them with automatons. I don’t expect anything to change because the station is set in its ways and doubtless Darvall will return to his show to entertain his pensioner fan base but no one else. I certainly won’t be joining the Facebook group, that’s for sure.
