The BBC’s strange obsession with remakes

BBC Director General Tim Davie, in his proclaimed push to create ‘landmark’ TV shows appears to be steering the Corporation in an increasingly conservative (small ‘c’) direction, intent on trading off past glories.

Former soft drink marketer Davie’s lack of programming and editorial experience is often painfully apparent; he is increasingly given to sweeping crowd-pleasing statements, such as the remarks he made to the public about BBC’s staff’s attendance of Pride marches, telling staff to stop virtue-signalling on social media.

Despite having spent 16 years in various senior roles at the Corporation, Davie doesn’t appear to have the antennae to pick up on the mood of his workforce. He may well believe upsetting the BBC’s woke types improves his hand when dealing with the government; case in point the cancellation of The Mash Report (now revived by UKTV’s Dave). Unfortunately, Davie has a track record for spouting out marketing twaddle to suit any situation. In his days as a Pepsi-Cola salesman in the 1990s, he made this daft statement about the decision to change