The BBC licence fee should be replaced by a Sky-style subscription, a new poll has found.
Forty per cent of those polled backed subscriptions, compared with 37 per cent who favour the present £157.50 annual charge.
The survey, commissioned by the Defund The BBC pressure group, also found 15 per cent of viewers say they will not watch any BBC programmes during Christmas, while a third plan to watch a maximum of five hours.
The BBC licence fee should be replaced by a Sky-style subscription, a new poll has found
Boris Johnson is coming under growing pressure from Tory backbenchers to re-examine the way the broadcaster is funded.
Sir David Jason talks about turning 80, keeping busy through lockdown at his Bucks home and how the Del Boy tag hasn t always been his friend. Multi-award-winning actor Sir David Jason, best known as Derek Del Boy Trotter in Only Fools And Horses, is pondering how comedy has changed since his acting career began more than 50 years ago. Maybe we ve lost censorship, says the actor, whose performances in the iconic sitcom, and other shows including The Darling Buds Of May and A Touch Of Frost, have won him a clutch of awards. We had censorship when you couldn t say certain things, you couldn t show certain things because it was disrespectful or bad manners. You needed to be clever with your dialogue in order to get round things - now you just say it and we are going further in a downward spiral.
It wouldn t be Christmas Day on ITV without Birds Of A Feather, and this one-off special episode features guest stars Les Dennis and Ami Metcalf. Dennis plays Dorien s love interest, Graeme, while Metcalf joins as Jordan. The new cast members, plus familiar faces Linda Robson (Tracey Stubbs) and Lesley Joseph (Dorien Green), tell us what s in store for their characters this festive period, and discuss the sitcom s long-lasting success. Les Dennis - What can you tell us about your character, Graeme? He s very charming . or is he? He s a dentist, a Harley Street dentist. He and Dorien met online, he s very upper class, quite dandy-ish. He was fun to play. Different to me.
Back in the days when we only had terrestrial television, the BBC was considered one of our great national institutions.
Whether for happy events, such as a great sporting fixtures, or sad commemorations, such as a state funeral, the BBC was a fulcrum around which the nation gathered.
Never was this more true than during the Christmas period.
That is why it is so dispiriting, albeit not unsurprising, to see the BBC’s dismal Christmas selection this year.
For me, and I’m sure for many others, the reasons for disappointment are endless. There s Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas Special (pictured) – a sitcom that deeply divides opinion
Have fun with the family this Christmas with these cheap and cheerful games
Edited by Giselle Wainwright
18 Dec 2020, 20:00
ONE of the best ways to bring people together at Christmas is a game or two.
After the year we’ve all had, a little fun is the perfect remedy.
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These cheap and cheerful options will score highly with all members of the family.
Up for the cup: Beer pong always goes down a treat. In the game, players try to throw a ping-pong ball into one of several cups of beer at the end of a table. If a ball lands in a cup, the opponent has to drink the contents. The full rules can be found on Google.