The Director of Eurovision TV - Bjorn Erichsen - has criticised (Sir!) Terry Wogan's commentary for Eurovision. Most right thinking people consider Woganisms the highlight of most years and his barbed witicisms are the way many viewers get into Eurovision in the first place. The attack is really akin to going after the goose that lays the golden egg.
Said Erichsen: "Terry Wogan is a problem because he makes it ridiculous. I know he is very popular, and maybe that is the reason why a lot of people watch. But one day he will have to retire and the BBC will have to find someone else. It will be interesting to see if that attitude changes. The BBC gets a very large audience but it chooses to represent the Contest in a certain way. They take it far more seriously in Sweden. They have a genuine love and respect for it."
They also take it very seriously in Denmark - which is where Erichsen hails from. You remember Denmark, the nation which lodged an official complaint about Wogan after he described the 2001 hosts as Doctor Death and the Tooth Fairy as they used rhyming couplets for the entire night.
"The UK has double standards in the contest. It is something you love to hate. It's something to laugh at. It's something continental. It's a scam. It's ridiculous. The British like to distance themselves from it." (The Contest, not Europe). Erichsen's view is that all viewers of the BBC feed should receive only serious commentary which promotes the quality of the competition. No word yet on when the EBU will regulate for quality to be introduced.
Mr Erichsen also reject out of hand any investigation into the claims that Cliff was robbed of the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest victory by General Franco.
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