Presenter changes from April 2025

[Serial_Apologist]

Salford Quays, which is where the BBC is now based, is now anything but run-down and grimy, it is by some distance one of the more affluent parts of Greater Manchester. Yes, it may take forty minutes to go by tram to Manchester Piccadilly, but it can take a similar amount of time to go across London by tube. The Quays is now full of chic appartments, bars and restaurants and the Lowry Theatre is a part of the complex. We should also not lose sight of the fact that the whole Quays was intended to be a part of the re-generation of that part of the world, and why not indeed? In all of the talk of people being obliged to 'move north' it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that local people may actually possess the necessary skills. Yes, there is a bit of a Salford/Manchester running joke but that's mostly to do with football as Manchester Utd is ironically in Salford, and also within easy walking distance of Salford Quays. Bridgewater Hall, the Royal Northern College of Music, and Chethams/Stoller Hall are all also a tram ride away. Obviously it's pretty disconcerting if you're told that your primary place of work is relocating, but that kind of thing happens all the time and I have no doubt that senior BBC staff are pretty well compensated.

QED.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

ironically in Salford, and also within easy walking distance of Salford Quays. Bridgewater Hall, the Royal Northern College of Music, and Chethams/Stoller Hall are all also a tram ride away. Obviously it's pretty disconcerting if you're told that your primary place of work is relocating, but that kind of thing happens all the time and I have no doubt that senior BBC staff are pretty well compensated.

Manchester United is situated in neither Manchester nor Salford. It’s in the metropolitan borough of Trafford. Before that it was in the old county of Lancashire.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Salford Quays, which is where the BBC is now based, is now anything but run-down and grimy, it is by some distance one of the more affluent parts of Greater Manchester. Yes, it may take forty minutes to go by tram to Manchester Piccadilly, but it can take a similar amount of time to go across London by tube. The Quays is now full of chic appartments, bars and restaurants and the Lowry Theatre is a part of the complex. We should also not lose sight of the fact that the whole Quays was intended to be a part of the re-generation of that part of the world, and why not indeed? In all of the talk of people being obliged to 'move north' it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that local people may actually possess the necessary skills. Yes, there is a bit of a Salford/Manchester running joke but that's mostly to do with football as Manchester Utd is ironically in Salford, and also within easy walking distance of Salford Quays. Bridgewater Hall, the Royal Northern College of Music, and Chethams/Stoller Hall are all also a tram ride away. Obviously it's pretty disconcerting if you're told that your primary place of work is relocating, but that kind of thing happens all the time and I have no doubt that senior BBC staff are pretty well compensated.

Fair enough . My experience is many years ago when the media bit had just opened - there wasn't much else there. All for regeneration as I spent most of my career working in regions very far from London; and yes there is plenty of talent - I spent decades as a manager developing it . Most of the best people went to London or Bristol and a few to MR .The relocation packages aren’t very good - you end up out of pocket . I don’t blame any Londoner for not wanting to leave but that’s precisely what I did because even in the 80’s I could only have afforded a two up two down in Ealing (sorry Ealing ) .
BBC pay is in fact pretty poor - when I first got a senior management job it was about the same level as entry level for a University professor- by the time I left it was barely senior lecturer level . All the mates I went to Uni with are multi millionaires - mainly
through working abroad - as indeed are all my friends who made it in the TV Indie sector. But who cares ? I had a lot of fun.

[alywin]

So reading between the lines Petroc didn’t fancy moving to Salford probably because the trip from Cornwall isn’t too enticing and In Tune is a nice gig - you d8nt have to get up at 5.00 in the morn8ng for a start and with a 7.00 finish you’re nicely set up for an evening concert .

I have to admit that I've been concerned at these late nights he's been presenting live relays from the Royal Opera House if he's got to get up at 5 am the next morning ...

[LMcD]

I have to admit that I've been concerned at these late nights he's been presenting live relays from the Royal Opera House if he's got to get up at 5 am the next morning ...

Are these relays really 'live'?

[Ein Heldenleben]

Are these relays really 'live'?

Even if they are recordings unless they are matinees it will mean a 10.00 ish finish at Covent Garden and a 4.45 alarm call ( if that’s what he said last week. I think he’s also done Breakfast and a Prom in a day . It’s not completely unusual for freelances to work those sorts of days especially in News and sport - apart from anything else that’s two fees.

[Ian Thumwood]

Manchester is indeed a fascinating city - walk short distances, and the local accents and dialects change more noticeably than those between Lancashire and Yorkshire on the wider scale (or any of the neighbouring counties), or between those in London.

My sister lives in Cheadle Hulme so I drive up there a bit. I think that Manchester is a poor copy of what London has to offer culturally. It seems like a different country to me. I love North Yorkshire yet find the NW bleak and uninspired. The culture is very different and dining out habitually ends in disappointment.

It is not surprising Bbc staff resented a move from London to Manchester and I am staggetered that it offers any culture . Audiences are spoiled in London and even placed like Poole can give Manchester a run for ir's money . The music college and Halle Orchestra probably ensures Manchester has a higher profile than it deserves. There is more of a culture of staying at home, it seems. Even the imperial War museum in Salford is a massive disappointment. Not been to the national football museum yet.

I find that Manchester is a massive culture shock in comparison with Hampshire. There is probably more civic pride with Manchester but is misplaced. It is horrible.Towns like Blackburn , Bolton and Burnley are equally grim. It feels like a foreign country. .... regardless of the charmless climate in Lancashire. Probably the least appealing part of uk. Even Portsmouth is better !

Hope the Petroc likes it up there. I find him unlistenable. I have to turn him and Rafferty off whenever they are on the radio.

[oddoneout]

My sister lives in Cheadle Hulme so I drive up there a bit. I think that Manchester is a poor copy of what London has to offer culturally. It seems like a different country to me. I love North Yorkshire yet find the NW bleak and uninspired. The culture is very different and dining out habitually ends in disappointment.

It is not surprising Bbc staff resented a move from London to Manchester and I am staggetered that it offers any culture . Audiences are spoiled in London and even placed like Poole can give Manchester a run for ir's money . The music college and Halle Orchestra probably ensures Manchester has a higher profile than it deserves. There is more of a culture of staying at home, it seems. Even the imperial War museum in Salford is a massive disappointment. Not been to the national football museum yet.

I find that Manchester is a massive culture shock in comparison with Hampshire. There is probably more civic pride with Manchester but is misplaced. It is horrible.Towns like Blackburn , Bolton and Burnley are equally grim. It feels like a foreign country. .... regardless of the charmless climate in Lancashire. Probably the least appealing part of uk. Even Portsmouth is better !

Hope the Petroc likes it up there. I find him unlistenable. I have to turn him and Rafferty off whenever they are on the radio.

So, just to be clear, you're not that keen on Manchester?

[Pulcinella]

So, just to be clear, you're not that keen on Manchester?

But nor am I: I'm from Liverpool.

[Old Grumpy]

So, just to be clear, you're not that keen on Manchester?

Whatever gave you that idea?...



...that having been said the broader NE of England is far better than the NW (IMVVHO).*


*The fact that I've lived there for >40 years and am married to a Yorkshirewoman may have a lot to do with that!

[LMcD]

So, just to be clear, you're not that keen on Manchester?

Hadn't you heard? It's grim up north!

[french frank]

....There is probably more civic pride with Manchester but is misplaced. It is horrible.Towns like Blackburn , Bolton and Burnley are equally grim. It feels like a foreign country. .... regardless of the charmless climate in Lancashire. Probably the least appealing part of uk. Even Portsmouth is better !

Hope the Petroc likes it up there. I find him unlistenable. I have to turn him and Rafferty off whenever they are on the radio.

You've got to ac-cent-tchu-ate the positive
E-lim-i-nate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mr. In-Between

[Ein Heldenleben]

Welli I lived in Manchester for a few months and I have to disagree . I liked how compact the city centre was. The tram system now makes it even easier to get around . In addition to the Halle there’s the BBC Phil so the orchestral provision eclipses any city another than London. I liked the grand Victorian civic and concert commercial architecture. I wasn’t so keen about the new builds in the main shopping square and I gather there’s been a lot of hotel and flat building recently . Plenty of decent restaurants and I also saw Viv Richards take the English attack apart at Old Trafford . Very friendly people and what were (once ) affordable houses in leafy suburbs . Easy access to the lakes . Oh yes and in the months I was there it barely rained. I was there when the city was pretty much on its uppers . I gather it’s a boom town now like Leeds - probably been ruined and made unaffordable. My last visit I stayed in the Malmaison - an excellent hotel near the station . They gave me a free upgrade to a suite so maybe I’ve got rose coloured specs on. I didn’t warm to Salford Quays though - after a tram ride that seemed to stop every hundred yards.

[Ian Thumwood]

I think the main problem with that part of the world is that you never appreciate when you have left one city and arrived in another.

I am not sure it is so friendly. I have experienced issues at grounds like Turf Moor and 8 get annoyed with being called. 'Pet' all the time.

[Old Grumpy]

I get annoyed with being called. 'Pet' all the time.

Ah'm reet sorry to hear that hinny.