The Channel 4 newsreader accused BBC of 'utterly ridiculous reaction' after they objected to his robust questioning during interview with controller Charlotte Moore
Krishnan Guru-Murthy, the Channel 4 newsreader, has become embroiled in an
unlikely spat with BBC executives, after he publicly asked a controller
about criticism of the corporation.
Guru-Murthy, who had been interviewing head of BBC One Charlotte Moore on
stage at the Edinburgh International Television Festival, accused the BBC of
an "utterly ridiculous reaction" after they objected to his robust
questioning.
The Channel 4 newsreader, who has previously worked for the corporation, had
pressed Moore on BBC Trust findings about her channel, including feedback
from viewers that it did not take enough risks.
Audience members noted Moore was getting a "proper grilling" from
Guru-Murthy, who was "packing no punches" in the Meet the
Controller session.
After the event, the BBC's head of drama commissioning Ben Stephenson and
director of television Danny Cohen were said to have confronted the
broadcaster with their objections, as Guru-Murthy told them their concerns
were "ridiculous".
He later accused them of "sexist" behaviour, for leaping to the
defence of a female controller who had already handled the interview with "calm
intelligence".
Among the questions posed by Guru-Murthy was an invitation for Moore to respond to John Simpson, who earlier this month criticised a host of "tough women" at the BBC.
Shortly afterwards, a member of BBC Drama team publicly suggested he was only" legitimising" the complaint by putting it to a senior female member of staff.
One member of BBC staff later tweeted to say Guru-Murthy "seemed to think it was 7pm on C4, not a TV channel session at #edtvfest."
BBC One has recently been robustly criticised by the BBC Trust, which found it was not taking enough creative risks.
Moore rejected the accusations during the session, repeatedly reiterating audiences were happy with the channel's output.
Guru-Murthy, who defended his line of questioning as "perfectly reasonable", later took to Twitter to argue the reaction of BBC was "utterly ridiculous".
He added Moore had "asked for a tough time", saying it was "rather sexist that they [Cohen and Stephenson] felt the need to step in when Charlotte had handled it all with calm intelligence".
Among the questions posed by Guru-Murthy was an invitation for Moore to respond to John Simpson, who earlier this month criticised a host of "tough women" at the BBC.
Shortly afterwards, a member of BBC Drama team publicly suggested he was only" legitimising" the complaint by putting it to a senior female member of staff.
One member of BBC staff later tweeted to say Guru-Murthy "seemed to think it was 7pm on C4, not a TV channel session at #edtvfest."
BBC One has recently been robustly criticised by the BBC Trust, which found it was not taking enough creative risks.
Moore rejected the accusations during the session, repeatedly reiterating audiences were happy with the channel's output.
Guru-Murthy, who defended his line of questioning as "perfectly reasonable", later took to Twitter to argue the reaction of BBC was "utterly ridiculous".
He added Moore had "asked for a tough time", saying it was "rather sexist that they [Cohen and Stephenson] felt the need to step in when Charlotte had handled it all with calm intelligence".
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