UK NEWS

VIEWERS APPALLED AS TRANSVETITE DRESSED AS LITTLE BO PEEP APPEARS ON TOP POLITICS SHOW

Perry as Little Bow Peep on the highbrow BBC1 show

Saturday June 28,2008

By Elisa Roche Showbusiness Editor

Comment Speech Bubble Have your say(10)

THE BBC has been accused of “stomach- churning” television after inviting a transvestite dressed like Little Bo Peep on to highbrow politics show Question Time.

Viewers of the BBC1 debate programme flooded its switchboard and website with complaints.

As his alter ego Claire, prize-winning potter Grayson Perry, 48, sat alongside Minister Yvette Cooper and Tory shadow security spokesman Dame Pauline Neville-Jones on the panel of Thursday night’s edition.

But debate quickly turned to farce when the camera focused on Perry in a wig and a pale blue gown with a lace-trimmed collar.

“It was like a seated Rocky Horror show,” wrote one viewer. “Stomach-churning.”

Debate quickly turned to farce when the camera focused on Perry in a wig and a pale blue gown

Another wrote: “Does the BBC really see a place for such farcical behaviour when discussing issues integral to the nation’s moral fabric?” Other viewers were, at least, able to see the funny side.

One wrote: “Most would be hearing the words but thinking, ‘Is this a Monty Python sketch?’”

Another said: “Is it fancy dress night?… Grayson Perry? More like Larry Grayson!”

Perry, whose controversial work features subjects such as child abuse, was warmly welcomed on to Question Time by chairman David Dimbleby and the audience at Bexhill-on-Sea. Perry is the curator of an exhibition there.

But minutes after the programme ended, complaints began that the BBC was dumbing down. Janice Evans from Glossop wrote on the BBC website: “Unbelievable! BBC you are now officially a joke… your credibility has gone down the pan.”

A male viewer stormed: “I refuse to be made a fool of.”

Last night a BBC spokesman said: “The Question Time website openly welcomes and encourages comments from viewers.”

TRANSVESTITE APPEARS ON POLITICAL SHOW

29.06.08, 4:46pm

for years we have had to enduer the gorgeous and vain people who appear on our televisions either in film or tv .its about time people that were different got a look in ,why should we have to put up with presenters that look like they have just got out of modelling school ,get real tv ,people with dissabilities can read the news or act or present shows ,people that are different should have the same rights as the lovelys.

• Posted by: crazyhorse • Report Comment

TRISTRAM. TO A DEGREE I SHARE YOUR VIEWS.....

29.06.08, 9:15am

I'm sure Mr Perry is a very intelligent human being and I'm sure he/she has a lot to contribute to the world. What he/she chooses to wear is his/her own personal business and certainly not mine nor anyone elses.

However, for one, I do not want his/her lifestyle 'choices' flaunted at me. For one thing, and this may sound rather 'bloke-ish', but as a member of the male species, I find it embarrassing to my gender. It's also rather disturbing.

Furthermore, I have to question the BBC's reasoning for electing to show this man/woman off to the wider world. I have to say man or woman, because what gender category does he/she fall into?

By this action, the BBC were obviously doing their usual "pushing the boundaries" thing all in the name of political correctness. The BBC were obviously trying to portray this sort of behaviour as normal. To Mr Perry it is normal, and fair play to him/her but to the vast majority it isn't normal. It's rather freakish. It can only be suggested that for the BBC they got the chance to embarrass the male population- they have become very anti-male over the last decade or so. It's well known they are dominated by feminists.

I'm all for live and let live. I have my own points of view on the state of our nation and the world in general which I air here. Whether people agree with me or not is their personal choice. You disagree with my earlier post, and I respect that.

I'm saying there is a certain place for everything, and the BBC portraying something that is quite clearly going to offend a lot of people on prime time television is not the place.

• Posted by: Veltro205 • Report Comment

BBC YOU ARE NOW OFFICIALLY A JOKE…

28.06.08, 11:14pm

Yes but at least the BBC has distracted you from talking about the Lisbon Treaty and the loss of YOUR promised referendum..
The Irish vote has not gone away ... The Brussells Broadcasting Company had better think on... as they exist in a vacumn that prevents state aided companies competing against private ones...like Sky and Murdock...

The BBC should be privatised as the Post Office functions have...the BBC has been overlooked as they are doing such a good job for the european project..
I would love to see Dimbleby's face when this realisation hits him.Time to lobby the EU and explain how the Auntie Beeb is operating against euro LAW ?!!
SAVE EACH FAMILY £120 PER YEAR ?
Fair play !

• Posted by: JonO • Report Comment

LITTLE BO PEEP

28.06.08, 9:57pm

When I first looked I thought this was the Lib Dem London Mayor candidate. Must be his double.

• Posted by: Peter_Pan • Report Comment

LITTLE BO PEEP

28.06.08, 8:07pm

Par for the course of whom the BBC consider 'experts' to answer genuine concerns from it's licence payers. Why don't they reverse the rolls and let the audience answer questions from the experts, it will increase viewing figures out of all proportion.

• Posted by: Daveyboy • Report Comment

MR PERRY

28.06.08, 7:40pm

Having watched the epsode in question and having seen Mr Perry on other programmes what is more bothering is that unlike the charmless arrogant ,marxist government ministers such as Evette Cooper,Mr Perry is honest and answered the audiences questions in a sensible manner.

Mrs Balls (cooper) on the other hand gave the usual government ministers non commital answers and talked absolute B******s as usual,when answering the question about Harriet Harman (the non equality ministers) plan to bar white males fom jobs to allow women and ethnic minorities to be promoted without merrit forgot to mention that both herself and Harriet Harman are both un-killed,un-qualified to hold their positions in government .

She has no qualifications to be deputy head of the treasury,and that Harriet Harmans sole argument when campaigning to be deputy PM was " lets give a woman a chance for a change" instead of putting the case that she has any qualifications to do the job.

Unlike these slimy politicians with Mr Perry ..what you see is what you get,but also on the subject of the BBC it is about time the public removed its financial backing for the BBC as it is no longer a fair,unbiased media platform .It is now used to mislead the electorate and to inform and promote government propaganda and to push the governments politically ideological agenda.

And by paying the TV licence fee the public is paying for this out of their own pocket and also this money is used to promote the EU's propaganda also....and this is against the BBC's broadcasting remit.

• Posted by: jonG • Report Comment