Corporation bean-counters discovered Fiona's Antiques Roadshow actually delivers the best value for money for licence-fee payers, former BBC1 controller Peter Fincham reveals.
CHRISTOPHER STEVENS: How ripping. When civilisation ends, it will happen without a single swearword... and the death of innocence will be all the more shocking for it.
In fact, I can reveal Claudia's successful stint on BBC1's The Graham Norton Show in February was something of a practice run, or even a pilot, for a much larger project.
Ambulance returned to BBC1 on Tuesday night for its latest series - and it was a tearjerker within minutes. The programme follows the ups and downs of workers in the NHS Ambulance Service.
The primetime BBC1 show has taken a turn, with previous star Billie Piper making a comeback while Ncuti Gatwa departs after just two series in the lead Time Lord role.
The PM was overheard inviting the rumbustious broadcaster to No 10 to share a few tips on 'dealing with the Donald', after the pair were both on Laura Kuenssberg's BBC1 Sunday show.
The British immigrants who arrived in Australia in the 1940s famously enjoyed a good moan, but were they also so unworldly as the expats in Ten Pound Poms (BBC1)?