Let’s give up BBC bashing for Lent
Perhaps that's what the Telegraph was doing today with what at first glance appears to be a rather amusing parody of an outraged Daily Mail story bashing the BBC. You know, one big bloated blowout of lardy pretend-shock before Ash Wednesday; a carne vale, but saying goodbye to silly stories about the BBC doing something entirely inoffensive, rather than bacon butties. Maybe...? Surely. They can't be serious about this, can they? I mean, they won't be so pearl-clutchingly shocked by the idea of a man taking part in a women's race that they use CAPITAL LETTERS to tell you what position he finished in, will they?
The historic Shrove Tuesday race, which started in 1445, has only ever been open to women over 18 who have lived in the town for more than six months.
But Joel Defries, 24, put on a scarf, apron and blonde wig and came THIRD in the 415 yard race.
Horrors! No! Murder! Help! Waft something under my delicate nose before I faint onto the verandah! Oh come on, this must be a spoof, mustn't it?
Furious residents said it was a disgrace for the BBC to let its male children's TV presenter take part in the competition, which attracted crowds of more than 2,000 people.
Pfffft. A man dressed as a lady tossing a pancake and running at the same time? They should be delighted - it just goes to show that men can multi-task! But apparently not.
A spokesperson for the BBC said: "The Olney pancake race organisers were keen Blue Peter covered the event and Helen Skelton, its female presenter is currently kayaking in the Amazon for Sports Relief, so they gave Joel special dispensation to take part in the race.
"It would not be in the style of Blue Peter to simply film the race, the whole thing about the programme is that the presenters take part."
Forgive me if I'm wrong - we took The Sun in my house when I was growing up - but did the Daily Telegraph really used to get in a tizzy about Noakes, Purves and Singleton carrying out crazy capers? So some chap went and took part in a women's pancake race to give it some nice publicity - is it really the end of the world? Apparently, it is. But still, maybe this is just a bit of tongue-in-cheek daftness from the Tele, and there's no desire to simply get mock-angry at anything the BBC does.
And I managed to write this whole post without using the word 'tosser' once, so I win!
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February 17th, 2010 - 13:55
Of course, the Daily Mail themselves were equally incensed, in what also looks like a parody, because there were health and safety people at the race. Damn them and their obsession with ensuring they’re not legally responsible for injuring people.
February 17th, 2010 - 14:42
It could be even more ridiculous – Doctor Who got on Newsnight due to being a bit anti-Thatcher in the 80s!
February 17th, 2010 - 14:45
I love how the Telegraph are utterly oblivious to the person just behind the Blue Peter in their picture. Clearly also a man, though how long he has lived in Olney for and whether or not he works for the BBC is unclear.
Never let photographic evidence get in the way of a good BBC bash and all that.
February 17th, 2010 - 14:49
I suspect these furious residents would be the same people who were incensed a while back over someone painting the front of a shop purple…
February 18th, 2010 - 07:18
Way back in the 1970s, John Noakes took part in the Up-Helly-A ceremony on Shetland, despite not being a native Shetlander. He was given special dispensation by the people who organised it.
Just as this presenter was to take part in the pancake race.
February 19th, 2010 - 14:05
…am I missing something? (Busy morning at work, so forgive me if I’m being thick) Are people ‘really’ up in arms about this?
Reading the article, I understand that Tony Evans, (head of the Olney Pancake Committee no less) along with the committee themselves decided to allow this to happen, because they didn’t want to tell everyone that the BBC had pulled out. And providing he didn’t win the race, everything would be rosy. “Then” the villagers got their BBC-pitchforks out.
The BBC have “broken the tradition” in the same way that the gas-man “broke into my house” when I let him in to read the meter, surely? New committee, anyone?
I actually expect the annual “H&S won’t let people run in the 200th annual Scissors-race!” type article, but when the article negates itself half way through… it’s time to think about who you should be naming a big twat.