BBC ‘tried too hard to appear informal’

The BBC “tried too hard” to make its coverage of the Diamond Jubilee River Pageant “informal” and “inclusive”, according to a former executive at the corporation.

By The Newsroom

Published 7th Jun 2012, 07:00 BST

It drew stinging criticism during the event on the Thames, with viewers attacking its “inane” commentary, camera angles and sound quality.

The corporation also came under fire for its coverage of yesterday’s events, with one section where Fearne Cotton and Paloma Faith discussed a Jubilee-themed sickbag being singled out for criticism.

Former Radio 4 controller Mark Damazer told the Today programme the BBC was “worried and nervous” about appearing too formal. But the BBC said it was “very proud of the quality and breadth of the BBC’s coverage of this extraordinary event”.

And millions of viewers tuned in over the weekend, with the pageant getting an average audience of 10.3 million and an average audience of 14.7 million tuning in to Monday’s concert.

BBC Radio 4