Sometimes a simple apology is not enough. The BBC should’ve publicly torn a strip off DJ Nathan Turvey and his production team for managing to out-Partridge fictional DJ Alan Partridge.
They broadcast an unbelievably crass competition on Radio Leeds in which listeners were invited to guess the identity of a well-known person who had recently been in the news from a series of musical clues. That person was Ian Brady and among the clues were the theme tune to the Brady Bunch, All the Young Dudes by Mott the Hoople and Psycho Killer by Talking Heads.
This wasn’t an accidental and therefore easily forgivable on-air slip up, but an item that involved some planning. There would have been at least one discussion in a production meeting, then clues had to be thought up, records ordered online and a script written. I didn’t hear the original programme, but listened to the offending segment online. It is gobsmacking stuff.
I know many DJs aren’t the sharpest tools in the box, but this went beyond dumb. Anyone at Radio Leeds who thought it was a good idea to have a fluffy music quiz based around a child killer might need to question whether broadcasting is really the career for them.
Such poor judgement should not come without consequences and I hope all involved in the debacle will be disciplined in some way.
