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Thursday, November 12, 2009

A Missed Opportunity

David Dimbleby will miss Question Time tonight for the first time in 15 years after an unfortunate accident involving his wife’s bullock.

The press statement reads:
David Dimbleby will not be chairing Question Time this week – the first he has missed in over 15 years – but he will return next week. John Humphrys will temporarily take the chair tonight.

David Dimbleby was injured yesterday in a minor farming accident. David was loading a bullock onto a trailer when the bullock reared resulting in David being briefly knocked out. He also received a cut to the head that required stitches.

David is recovering well. He attended hospital yesterday, but as he received a head injury, he is staying there for observation. This is just as a precaution, which is not unusual for a patient suffering concussion, and he should return home shortly.

David would like to thank the staff at the hospital and he looks forward to returning to Question Time next week. He said: “I haven’t missed a Question Time in over 15 years. Trust my wife’s bullock to take me out. I’ll be giving bullocks a wide berth in future.”
Though I obviously would wish Mr Dimbleby a speedy recovery and hope he recovers well, I was disappointed to see that the replacement host has been announced as John Humphrys. Not because I have any particular gripe with Mr Humprys, it’s just, a more radical guest host could make for a one off exciting episode.

Imagine say, David Starkey or Nigel Farage steering usually sterile debate along in a different direction. There are absolutely loads of people who could have made a one off crack at it that could have make for an excellent episode. Perhaps even more of a firebrand, someone like George Galloway who might not bother letting the panellist answer and just answer all the questions himself with some blairing rhetoric.  This is such a missed opportunity!

Ho hum.

As it happens, joining Mr Humphrys tonight will be former Tory Shaun Woodward, Pauline Nevile-Jone for the Conservatives, Lib Dem Julia Goldsworthy, Will Self and James Cracknell. Might I also recommend that if you are watching Question Time you simultaneously join in with the excellent live blog session that will be hosted over on Biased BBC where the debate and lively banter is never sterile.

2 comments:

Tarquin said...

That sounds like a yawn-fest

Neville-Jones might be interesting, Will Self is ok if he has someone to bounce off, but otherwise pretty dull

as much as a fun chair would be I don't think it would be particularly wise to have someone partisan

...maybe they should've used graham norton

Barking Spider said...

I had intended to be over at BBBC tonight, Daniel, but I unfortunately downloaded more than I bargained for at about 9.00pm and spent the next two and a half hours getting it out of my system! (21 trojans and 265 PUPs!)

Humphrys was even more lefty than Dumblebore, if that's possible, and the only one allowed to spout incessantly was Shaun "Turncoat" Woodward who talked the biggest load of bollocks and downright lies as I've ever heard in the space of an hour!!

Like the idea of Starkey or Farage, but this IS Pravda we're talking about, here NO chance!!