LETTERS The British disease
Sir: Television reviewers will always criti- cise programmes, and television companies will always be upset when they do. It hurts when hard work and sustained backing for talented actors, producers and directors are not appreciated, but this is inevitable and not worth complaining about.
However, what James Delingpole wrote about Carlton (Television, 18 May) went far beyond all that. His piece was one of the most ill-informed, biased and, frankly, big- oted reviews I can remember reading.
I would argue with anyone who said that Sharpe represented a 'new depth of market- led crassness', when, unlike many television programmes, it is shot on film, in a range of overseas locations, with a highly rated scriptwriter, hundreds of extras and an array of well-regarded British actors and actresses. But, as I say, whether you like the result is clearly a matter of judgment.
What infuriates me is the totally unjusti- fied assertion that Carlton's programme- makers are only interested in 'appealing to the lowest common denominator'.
I could reel off a list of high-quality pro- ductions like Cadfael with Derek Jacobi or Kavanagh QC starring John Thaw, and I could fill the page with a list of the awards that Carlton Television has won since we set it up. However, that is not the point I want to make: what Mr Delingpole wrote is not just nonsense, it is damaging nonsense.
How will it sound to the creative teams responsible for John Pilger's breathtaking documentary about Burma, to the talented animators responsible for our production of Wind in the Willows, or to everyone working on the next episode in the much- loved Inspector Morse series?
More seriously, what does it say to the younger writers and directors whom we are encouraging to develop new material for television?
Regrettably, in this country it is fashion- able to attack anything 'new' in television, and particularly any 'new' company coming into the industry. Mr Delingpole's review was one of the worst manifestations of this particular aspect of the British disease that I can remember, and I find it intensely depressing.
The Spectator rightly prides itself on the quality of its writing and the expertise and ability of those who contribute. I find it sur- prising therefore that you have room for someone who knows so little of the industry about which he is writing and who, appar- ently, cares even less.
Michael Green
Chairman, Carlton Communications Plc, 15 George Street, Hanover Square, London WI
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