London - When it comes to withering putdowns, the BBC faithful usually rely on Jeremy Paxman to come up with the goods, Rachel Donnelly reports. But then Terry Wogan steps into the fray. Yes, the Limerick-born BBC television and radio presenter who has been admired over the years for his laid-back approach to broadcasting has taken to describing the BBC as "dumb" for paying millions of pounds in fees to the veteran presenter, Michael Parkinson.
In an interview with the TV Times magazine, Wogan admitted he might sound like "an old fart" but he insisted television just wasn't as good as it used to be. "You look at the BBC sometimes and you wonder how dumb do we have to get? Paying millions to presenters is always a mistake. Take Parky, people don't watch his show just for him, and it's the same for Des Lynam who signed up for ITV. It's not Des they're watching, it's the football. They're wasting money on presenters."
Yesterday an ITV spokesman said: "Terry Wogan is obviously entitled to his opinion, as everyone is. Des Lynam is the finest sports broadcaster of the last 30 years and whether that is something Terry Wogan agrees with is entirely his decision. It's probably Limerick-Cork rivalry."