Looks, not years, is the real issue behind ageism row
By By Tim Crump
I’ve watched Susan Osman on Points West many times, and always thought we were lucky to have a Bristol-based newscaster who did the West of England justice rather than a second-rater deemed fit only for the provinces.
She always comes across as prime BBC material and a credit to Auntie, as did Moira Stewart, Selina Scott and Anna Ford on British TV. However, these and other presenters have accused the BBC of ageism.
Presenters of this calibre are made of what the British establishment would no doubt describe as The Right Stuff: unflappable, educated and authoritative while remaining friendly.
However, being made of such redoubtable material means the luxury of complaining afforded to most of the rest of us has to be denied to them if their reputations are to stay fully intact. These women, by fronting national news broadcasts, symbolise British stoicism and the Stiff Upper Lip.
Osman, Stewart, Scott and co could seemingly cope with anything without ever breaking sweat. Unfortunately for them, this kind of reputation is inextricably linked with the ‘never explain, never complain’ philosophy.
Many will, of course, see this as an outdated view, holding back the right for middle-aged presenters — particularly women — to argue their right to be treated on equal terms with their younger counterparts.
But ask yourself how many hugely talented young people are refused on-screen presenting jobs every year simply because they don’t have the right look, or are simply not attractive enough.
Despite being on the right side of this particular glass ceiling at the beginning of their careers these presenters are now telling us that it’s wrong to promote youth and beauty ahead of talent, intellect and experience.
Times do change: sixty years ago you had to be beautiful to stand a chance in the acting profession. That’s no longer the case, yet a brief look at the young, blonde females presenting mainstream TV every Saturday night makes it clear that looks still play an important part, and it is looks, not age that I believe is really the issue here.
Complaints of a similar nature are not flooding in from doctors, judges or senior executives of either sex, because this is about image. And that means that Ms Osman and her counterparts need to go the whole hog with their argument to maintain any real credibility.
If they believe they have the right to remain on screen in favour of younger presenters, then they also need to simultaneously champion the right for young people to have the same opportunities as they themselves once had with one important difference: that those opportunities are provided regardless of appearance.
Unfortunately this is where it gets difficult, as you can’t legislate for discrimination against ordinary-looking or conventionally unattractive people – physical appearance will play a massive part in this industry, whether we like it or not.
It must be galling enough for an ordinary-looking youngster watching the Vernon Kays and Tess Dalys of this world being handed the world on a plate without also knowing that once safely ensconced in a presenting career courtesy of the most superficial of springboards, they then get to benefit from legislation guaranteeing them the privileges that accompanied easy fame and fortune for the rest of their professional lives.
Most people, if averagely lucky, get their phase of the Moon just once. Susan Osman however, is lucky enough to get another bite of the cherry in Beijing, and I’m sure she’ll excel. But I hope she remembers that a job like that is way beyond the reach of most of us, who’d never scrub up as well for the cameras at any age and consequently never got the chance of a lengthy broadcasting career.
I hope this doesn’t look like a rant against the good-looking. What right do I have to say that their later years should be spent looking nostalgically through their photo albums. We don’t get to choose our looks, after all.
However, a move to Beijing to host a high-profile radio show isn’t so terrible. Ms Osman will probably be fawned over by the Chinese as a prime example of all that the BBC stands for.
Meanwhile, Holly Willoughby, Fearne Cotton et al will continue to be feted by the popular press here in the UK – I wonder if they’ll still be on TV in twenty-five years’ time, though?
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