BBC White Paper 2016: Noel Edmonds Describes Corporation As 'Terminally Ill Corpse'

If only the House Party star would tell us what he really thinks.

Noel Edmonds has launched a fiery attack on the BBC, accusing the "terminally ill" broadcaster of causing its own downfall and speculating it would not survive past 2021.

The Noel’s House Party star launched a stinging tirade against the corporation while talking on BBC 5 Live.

He said: "I do not want Auntie to fail and this messing about round a terminally ill corpse is going to guarantee that she does not get the Telegram from the Queen in 2022.

"It’s not going to happen at the moment."

Edmonds also slammed those who suggested that the BBC shouldn’t have to compete.

He said: “We get these left-wingers saying ‘the BBC shouldn’t compete’.

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Noel Edmonds described the BBC as a 'terminally ill corpse'
Tim Ireland/PA Archive

"These are the people who destroyed children’s lives by saying sports day was about taking part simply because a fat kid didn’t make it over the finish line.”

He also claimed that the corporation had been financially mismanaged, saying: "We have seen absolutely shocking financial government, straight out of the Sir Phillip Green school of running a business and it’s made it possible for the politicians to sharpen their knives.”

Edmonds has previously said that the BBC should be "pared down and fit for people" - and even said he intended to try to buy it.

In a raft of changes announced in Thursday’s White Paper, the government announced that BBC stars earning over £450,000 will be forced to reveal their salaries but the corporation won’t be required to adjust its schedules or ‘top slice’ the licence fee to other broadcasters.

There are also plans to increase the licence fee and charge people to watch programmes on iPlayer.

Governing body the BBC Trust will be abolished and replaced by a new committee to run day-to-day matters, while Ofcom will become its external regulator.

Recipes were also rumoured to face the axe from the BBC’s website, after Chancellor George Osborne said the size of the online cooking section was a reflection of the broadcaster overreaching.

1
Keep a huge vault of online recipes
BBC
According to The Telegraph, the BBC could be made to axe nearly all of the more than 11,000 recipes on its website as part of a drive to clamp down on services provided elsewhere.
Only recipes linked to recently broadcast shows will remain, the paper said.
2
Do lighter news stories
BBC News
BBC News' domestic online coverage has been criticised for competing unfairly with under-pressure local newspapers. Lord Hall is expected to pledge to cut the lighter news items and commit the corporation to focussing more on video and a "core news service", according to The Telegraph.
The paper quoted a speech by BBC Trust member Richard Ayre, who said the BBC should ditch "the magazine content, the celebrity gossip, the skateboarding ducks, the games and the puzzles to other providers, who frankly can do it just as well, or better”.
3
Make entertainment programmes deemed not 'value for money'
Katja Ogrin/EMPICS Entertainment
Flagship entertainment shows like Strictly Come Dancing (live tour pictured) and dramas like The Night Manager could be subject to 'value for money' audits, The Guardian reported.
4
Give people travel information
BBC
You can still go to the Highways Agency website or, er, Google Maps, to find out what the traffic is like.
5
Schedule flagship entertainment at the time flagship entertainment is normally shown
Anthony Devlin/PA Wire
The White Paper will suggest the BBC should stop showing popular programmes at peak times, The Sunday Times has reported. This followed a ratings war with ITV when the BBC put Strictly Come Dancing on at the same time as The X Factor. John Whittingdale has also suggested the News At Ten could be shown at a different time to avoid a clash with the commercial rival.
6
Not tell you exactly how much its top talent earns
Matt Crossick/PA Wire
Household names like chat show host Graham Norton (pictured) could have their salaries published, as the plans include releasing details of everyone paid more than £150,000 a year. This would include people in news and current affairs, as well as those in light entertainment.
7
Keep the licence fee to itself
Jonathan Brady/PA Wire
The £3.7 billion the BBC collects in licence fee payments could be shared with other broadcasters in some areas, such as children's television. This so-called 'top slicing' has triggered "a panicked and furious" lobbying effort from the BBC, The Telegraph reported.
8
Regulate itself
Adrian Dennis/PA Wire
The BBC Trust (chair Rona Fairhead pictured) looks set to be abolished and replaced with a BBC Board and regulation would be handed to media watchdog Ofcom. The board's chair and vice-chair would be government appointees. In a speech in April, journalist and broadcaster Phil Harding said this would put the BBC on "the slippery slope towards becoming a state broadcaster".
He said: "The people who are supposed to safeguard the editorial independence of the BBC – to safeguard it from, among other things, government interference – are going to be appointed by the same government that they are supposed to be protecting the BBC from."

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