To take over from Wogan. Wicked.

wants to stay in his job when takes over from Tel they'll have to be careful how they rename the T.O.G's!

Given that Radio 2's 'young' audience is driven, in the main, by a load of presenters who are far older than the target demographic: Wogan, Bruce, Kennedy, Steve Wright, it would make a change to have someone a teensy bit younger!

- but what slot? Give Ken Bruce the bounce - they wouldn't would they?

Danny Baker - should have been doing Jonathon Ross's Saturday Morning slot years ago

And Guy Garvey's 6music deserves to be on 2 if they're having a shake up

He'll be there at R2 next year.
And I hear Richard Allison is due to sit in for Ross for the next few weeks.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I am always amused by his way of reading out emails from his listner(s) when he's on stand-in duty. He always emphasises the familiarity to give the impression that his presence there is by design rather than anything else: usually "Oi, Allinson, I'm driving down the M42 is there any chance of hearing something by the Eagles?"

I'm driving down the M42 listening to Radio 2. Is there any chance of hearing something other than the fxxxxg Eagles?

F*ck off.
And take O'Dreary with you.
And your Eagles album.

there hasn't been more sympathy for Lesley Douglas around here. In many ways Word readers could have averted the whole Brand/Ross saga. If instead of reacting to all the complaints about the Ray Davies saga by defending at all costs her boy Lamb and admitting he'd got it wrong, then this might never have happened.

If all those that had written in about Ray Davies had got a reply from Douglas along the lines of "you know what, you're right. It's not acceptable for presenters under my control to be rude and flippant about people the public respect and I've sent a memo to that effect to all of them....." Instead she had to be pig-headed and defensive about it.

If only she'd listened.........

...this actually happened.

Couple of years ago, sunny Wiltshire afternoon, the radio's on and the DJ takes a call.

"Hello, who's this?"
Hi, it's Dennis.
"What are you up to Dennis?"
In the car, driving to London, going to see The Eagles tonight.
"The Eagles, eh? Fantastic."
Yeah really looking forward to it.
"Who else is in the car with you? Come on gang I can't hear you."
Er, nobody. I'm on my own.
"Oh."
Yeah, I asked all of my mates, but nobody fancied it, so I just got the one ticket, you see. Going on my own. To see The Eagles.
"Tell you what Dennis, we'll play the next one just for you."
OK, cheers.

What's the next thing we heard?

Desperado, why don't you come to your senses...

...if anyone's heard this anyway, but here's a transcript on an interview Paul Gambaccini did on 5Live this morning.

http://blogs.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ianwylie/2008/10/russell_brand_...

"This tragedy, which is Greek in its dimensions has claimed a victim who was, in radio terms, of the scale of Achillees – Achillees, a great warrior, a great hero, brought low by his heel"

Gambaccini, I'm sorry but that is ridiculous.

Given that this has been the almost-inevitable conclusion of the Radio 2 policy of driving younger, by being lost in showbiz, surely the opposite is likely to happen now.
A return to easy listening could well be on the cards.
Front runner for Lesley's job must be Bob Shennan, who now is available following the debacle of C4 Digital Radio.

Loved by all her staff apparently. That's:

Jonathan Ross - gawd knows how much for 3 hours/week.
Chris Evans - gawd knows how much for 10 hours/week.
Mark Radcliffe - wasn't it £198k for his old 90 minute, 4 days a week slot?

etc etc

Of our money.

She was 100% culpable and I heard today that she even listened to the Sachstape before approving it. She shouldn't have been allowed to resign, she should have been summarily dismissed without notice for gross misconduct. In any other organisation that would have happened when one person's (in)action upset so many customers.

it was going the wrong way. My worry ?

it might get worse.

which confirms everything I ever suspected about these idiots who go to great lengths and expense to convince us that they are normal, undemanding modest individuals. The truth is, they are, almost all, meglomaniacal, spoilt, egotistical morons who have no problem having people fired on a whim, if it suits them.

My wife is a former casting director and has worked with some of the most famous names in the film industry. She tells me that these people, who present themselves on chatshows as humble, self effacing, self depricating individuals when the cameras are rolling, are, almost without exception, the vilest, cruelest, most psychologically damaged, intimidating, unreasonable monsters behind the scenes.