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Doctor Who boss attacks Tories and the Murdochs
‘Everything will be shit’ including the BBC if David Cameron becomes PM, says Stephen Moffat
The boss of one of the BBC's biggest shows has launched an extraordinary attack on the Conservative party, saying that a win for David Cameron's party would see the "brilliant" BBC turn to "shit".
Stephen Moffat, who has just taken over as head writer and executive producer of Doctor Who, told the Guardian that he dreads the prospect of a Tory government keen to slash the size of the BBC.
"I hope the Tories don't win. Let's not beat around the bush," he said. "[But] I'd hope that anyone who becomes prime minister would look at the organisation and ask themselves if the world would really be better off without it."
Moffat - the man who created some of Doctor Who's most sinister monsters - also dreads the influence that Rupert Murdoch and his son James could wield within the UK broadcasting industry under a Tory government. Rupert Murdoch has reportedly decided to back David Cameron while his son, Sky's chief executive James Murdoch, is said to be close to Tory shadow chancellor George Osborne.
"Are we really going to put James Murdoch in place of [the BBC]?" asks Moffat. "Can you imagine how shit everything would be? Never mind the fine and glorious things that the BBC does, imagine how shit everything would be! Stuff would be shit! Let's not have really good restaurants, let's have Kentucky Fried Chicken!"
Moffat says that while he is not blind to the BBC's faults it is still an "an incredibly responsible and brilliant organisation" that is "never given credit for trying to hold itself to a higher standard, one that no newspaper or other broadcaster is".
As Doctor Who's new executive producer, Moffat's influence is potentially huge. The multi-award-winning show regularly pulls in audiences in excess of 10 million and makes massive amounts of money for the Corporation in both international broadcast sales and merchandise. Although the BBC will not disclose exact sums, the drama has been sold to more than 50 overseas territories and has shifted 3.3 million DVDs and more than 7 million action figures. ·
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Fair enough really. Just about everything that's come out of the Murdoch stable has been s¨¨ +just like KFC, a certain appeal on the outside a gooey disappointment on the inside. The BBC is more gourmet at one end and newly ehanced, healthy and appetising school dinners at the other.
they sacked gadfly Rod Liddle, dare they sack the Tardisupremo just as the show is rebooting?
Methinks not.
Kudos* to Mr Moffatt for using his power wisely to speak out exactly when he can have the biggest impact.
( I'm a huge fan of 'Coupling' and most of his Docteroo work - more riversong, less pompadour punchlines)
*kudos = Gallifreyan, loosely translateable as respec'.
Well Stephen Moffat, I too am fed up of reading articles on how the BBC spends more money putting up more staff in the Winter Olympics than we had competitors competing in it! Less I go on about salaries! (cough "Jonathan Ross"). It seems to me the BBC has grown so much bigger than what it should be.
It is about time a LARGE axe came down on top of the BBC budget when the rumour is that the defence budget is due to reduce by £10bn!
Yes I know the BBC makes revenue selling its shows to other countries but initially that comes from a tax on every household (that I do not feel it is fair to have to pay)