The broadcaster’s arts director sets out his stall for the future. Plus, 60 reasons to love Lucian Freud
Tomorrow, the
BBC will announce its forthcoming arts programming for TV and radio. I’m hoping for some positives, because its coverage of culture, certainly on TV, has been faltering. Imagine, BBC One’s flagship documentary strand, has fewer editions and goes out too late, while BBC Two’s once great Arena has been fading from our screens.
The Film Show, once a must with Barry Norman and Jonathan Ross, was finally culled last year. Arts reviewing on TV has been all over the shop with Newsnight Review, then The Culture Show and now Front Row Late, which began disastrously in 2017 with one of its three presenters, Giles Coren, admitting he loathed theatre. So the BBC plumped for its sexagenarian poster girl Mary Beard to take over, solo. Initially gauche, she has improved with this latest run of six shows. Beard engages with interviewees and asks pertinent questions.