The Londoner: Last rites at the Proms? Fans fear after production change

Could it be curtains for the Proms? / New recruit at The Night Manager / Labour Live's struggles continue / Winnie Harlow and friends take over Piccadilly /  
Katie Derham:
WireImage
1 June 2018

All change for the Proms, the beloved BBC staple. Production of the annual event has been “put out to competitive tender”, sparking fears by classical music fans of decline in quality.

It is the latest title to be put out to tender, whereby various companies can bid to run the service, as part of the corporation’s attempt “to open up more of the BBC’s TV programmes to competition”.

This means that independent TV crews will film the Proms, presented by Katie Derham, far left, in the Royal Albert Hall. The Proms in the Park, the last night of which will be hosted by Michael Ball, left, will not be affected. Fans were quick to criticise the decision, announced yesterday. “The BBC’s technical coverage of the Proms has been superb,” wrote Norman Lebrecht on his music blog, “Is there a huge saving to be made by contracting this out — at the same professional level? Or is this a prelude to letting it slide down the hill?”

In their statement the Corporation noted, “The BBC will retain all intellectual property rights for the programmes,” adding “The management of the BBC Proms will remain in BBC Radio Commissioning, and the Proms coverage on Radio 3 will not be impacted by the tender.”

This wasn’t enough for some. “Another slippery slope for BBC,” one aficionado grumbles. “It’s their Proms — why would they think that anyone else would do a better, cheaper, job?” says another. A Question of Sport, Holby City, Doctors and Songs of Praise all went through the same process, although only Songs of Praise was awarded “to two independent producers”. Richard Dawkins, chief operating officer of BBC Content, said: “We are continuing to make good progress towards opening up the production of more of the BBC’s programming to competition.”

One online commenter summed up the frustration: “Why BBC? If it ain’t broke?”

New man recruited for Night Manager 2

A spy-like tap on the shoulder for Charles Cumming, who has been enlisted to help write the second series of The Night Manager. Cumming, author of new book The Man Between, is well qualified: not only has he written reams of spy fiction, he was also approached by MI6 back in 1995. He joins writer Matthew Orton on script duties.

It’s uncertain whether John le Carré, whose book inspired series one, will provide new material for its sequel, but Tom Hiddleston fans may hope for a repeat of one cheeky scene.

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Congrats to chefs Angela Hartnett and Neil Borthwick, who married on May 19. They met when Borthwick joined the kitchen at the Connaught where Hartnett — a protégée of Gordon Ramsay — was head chef. The nuptials were on the same day as the royal wedding. Food writer Tom Parker Bowles, son of The Duchess of Cornwall, attended both.

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Laurence Fox is playing Lord Palmerston in the new series of Victoria on ITV. But his big arm tattoos take a lot of time to hide under make-up. He posted a photo of his make-up artist this morning. “She tells me that covering them up is the highlight of her day”, he says,with tongue in cheek.

An expectant mum? Now that’s a swell reason to join the party

Model Chanel Iman is making the most of the London party scene before giving in to a different kind of sleepless night. The former Victoria’s Secret Angel recently announced that she and her husband, gridiron star Sterling Shepard, are expecting a child. Last night she was out in Piccadilly for an event billed as “an LA Party in London”.

Fellow model Winnie Harlow, who hosted the party, was excited to celebrate the news, kneeling to kiss Iman’s bump. Harlow rose to fame on reality show America’s Next Top Model but has since claimed that the format did not help her find work. “That really didn’t do anything for my career,” she said. “It doesn’t do anything for any model’s career, realistically.”

Other guests at the party, held at Café Hotel Royal, included Harlow’s model friends Nickayla Rivera and Olivia Culpo, rapper BlocBoy JB and American actress Victoria Justice. The evening toasted the London launch of Revolve, an American online retailer.

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Kate Hoey, pictured, the Labour MP for Vauxhall who went on a boat with Nigel Farage as part of a Brexit stunt, accuses a Lib-Dem MEP of “treacherous” behaviour. Catherine Bearder complained of emails, tweets and comments she gets from trolls calling her a traitor for her anti-Brexit stance. But Hoey doesn’t disagree with them. “To work closely with EU officials against UK interests is treacherous,” she insists.

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Culture Secretary Matt Hancock is pounding the pavement: this week he backed Good Gym, which encourages people to exercise. Hancock, along with founder Ivo Gormley, went for a run that ended with helping a local woman move some boxes in her home.

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Labour Live’s struggles continue: party staffers are being told they must attend the event, and some parliamentary assistants may even have to work, says the New European. Labour by name.

Today listeners are kept on their metal

Apologetic: Nick Robinson (Photo by Jeff Overs/BBC News & Current Affairs via Getty Images)
BBC News & Current Affairs via G

THE Today programme has crossed a line: this morning Nick Robinson used the American pronunciation of aluminum. The backlash was immediate, and Robinson quickly reacted. “An apology,” he tweeted mere minutes after coming off air. “I deeply regret the distress and outrage sparked by my use of the US pronunciation — ‘aloominum’ — in an interview with, well, an American. I will be more steely in future.”

Bedtime Bill: Bill Nighy (Paul Dav ey/SWNS)

Actor Bill Nighy offered a bedtime story last night, reading from The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe at the Gladstone Library. It marked the launch of the Simba Motion, a state-of-the-art bed base.

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