422 Points of View

First  viewed : February /March  1980

Points  of  View  was   returning  to  the  schedules  after  almost  a  decade's  absence  having  run  from  1961  to  1971  as  a  five  minute  space  filler  where  some  luminary  read  a  selection  of  extracts  from  viewers'  letters. Even  in  the  less  cynical  sixties  there  had  been  some  suspicion  that  the  Beeb  had  written  the  letters  themselves.  That's  not  likely  to  have  been  true  but  some  gatekeeping  must  have  taken  place, not  aggravating  tetchy star  talent  - I  don't  remember  much  criticism  of  Esther  Rantzen making  it  through  - or  highlighting  attacks on  programmes  they  wanted  to  axe  anyway.

The  programme  was  first  revived  as  a  regional  feature  on  BBC  London  then  went  national  as  a  ten  minute  filler  before  the  Nine  o  Clock  News   on  Fridays  from  the  end  of  February  1980. The  host  came  with  it.

Barry  Took  had  an  impressive  c.v.  as  a  comic  scriptwriter,   working  extensively  with  Marty  Feldman  on  shows  like  Round  The  Horne  and  The  Army  Game,  but  going  in  front  of  the  cameras  did  him  no  favours. Leaning  back  in  his  chair  with  middle-aged  spread  to  the  fore,  he  came  across  as  dull  and  dessicated  as  fellow  old  bores   Frank  Muir  and  Dennis  Nordern   with  his  sarky  put-downs  and  mock  shock  at  criticism.  While Took  was  just  about  respectful  to  most  of  the  correspondents,  the  over-theatrical  reading  of  the  gobbets  suggested  that  the  producers  regarded  even  the  little  old  ladies  who  had  nothing  better  to  do  than  write  in  about  how  much  they  enjoyed  Hinge  and  Bracket  with  the  utmost  contempt.

In  1986  BBC  One  Controller  Michael  Grade  publicly  denounced  him  as  "boring "  and  axed  him  from  the  programme. Barbaric  as  that  was,  it  was  difficult  to  find  much  sympathy  for  Took  who  retreated  to  radio. His  replacement  was  acerbic  Daily  Mirror  journalist  Anne  Robinson  who'd  made  an  impression  as  a  panelist  on  Question  Time. Although  prone  to  irritating  digressions  like  responding  to  an  inane  query  about  her  ear-rings  ( not  great  when  you've  only  got  a  ten  minute  slot )  she  was  an  improvement, at  least  giving  the  impression  of  being  independent  rather  than  a  smug  lackey.

She  left  in  1997  to  concentrate  on  her  other  show  Watchdog . After  brief  stints  from  Carol  Vorderman  and  Des  Lynam  it  went  to  Terry  Wogan  for  eight  years  and  now  Jeremy  Vine  although  I  must  admit  I  hadn't  realised  it  was  still  going. I  think  I  may  have  caught   the  odd  Wogan  episode  but  otherwise  I  think  I  lost  interest  in  it  during  the  Robinson  years.