Lord Patten, maybe the next chair of The BBC Trust, and his thoughts on The Beeb

Chris Patten appears to have been very open about his thoughts on the BBC and his media consumption habits when he came before a Commons select committee.

On TV...

"he hardly watched television" "When I last watched the programme (Eastenders), it was even longer ago than when I last had McDonald's." "I watch the programmes that you'd expect somebody of my background to. That's who I am: I'm 66, white and well educated" – which means he binges on news and current affairs. But already he is trying hard to improve. The night before the hearing, Patten sat down in front of the box to watch Mud Sweat and Tractors: the Story of Agriculture on BBC4.

On Radio...

He begins the day, as all politicians no doubt do, listening to Today on Radio 4. Somebody rashly asked if he listened to the recently reprieved 6 Music – no – or even Radio 1, which he only caught, he said, when turning the dial between Radios 3 and 4.

On regulation....

“I think in the last few years – and this perhaps an issue which the Trust and the executive need to address – is that in the attempt to ensure the BBC reaches the highest standards, it has led to the creation of something of a ‘compliance culture’ in the BBC, which I think a lot of the best programme-makers and journalists have found to be an inhibition.”

Well I am glad he enjoys radio, he might champion it a little more than the 'candidates' we had at The Nations & Regions Media Conference back in January where I had to prompt them about radio or new media