Peter Rhodes on kids' TV, 100 years of the Shipping Forecast and a contender for the funniest film ever
In an impassioned plea for “quality” TV for children, Baroness Floella Benjamin laments: “Where now is Grange Hill? Where now is Byker Grove? Where now is Tracy Beaker?”
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And the answer is, in the dustbin of history. While “progressives” may have praised these kids' dramas to the heights, all three were bedevilled by storylines exploring issues from drug addiction to gay relationships, that many parents simply didn't want explored, at least not on their own telly and in their own living rooms.
The baroness, who seems to be on a personal crusade against YouTube and any other online shows, may look wistfully back on Grange Hill, Byker Grove and Tracy Beaker as a golden age of television but plenty of mums and dads will agree to disagree.
I referred recently to Gavin & Stacey being hailed as “better than any other comedy you’ve seen this year.”
