FORMER Eastenders star Daniella Westbrook says she’s so fed up with the BBC she hasn’t bothered renewing her TV licence.
The 48-year-old – who starred as Sam Mitchell on Albert Square – said the current standard of programming puts her off tuning in.
And she said the way they’d handled the Jimmy Savile scandal had also changed her views on an organisation which she once adored working for. .
Speaking to GB News, Daniella said: “To be perfectly honest I don’t pay a TV licence, so I don’t watch the BBC. Long, long gone are the days of Only Fools and Horses and great comedy and great drama that they made. For me, personally, I find their morning breakfast show very stuffy. It just doesn’t appeal to me, I find myself flipping to other channels that have more and different opinions on them. They’re very one-sided.
“It doesn’t really work for the working classes I don’t think. Also, I don’t really tend to associate or agree with a channel that advocates a person like Jimmy Savile over young people and actors and people coming up through the ranks that suffered at the hands of this abuser. I can’t condone it, I’m sorry.”
Speaking about a culture change within the BBC, Daniella said: “If I was still there, this would have been my 32nd year at the Beeb. I’m BBC homegrown and proud of it, to be perfectly honest. I’ve seen a huge change there. A huge, huge change there in the demographics and back in the late 80s, early 90s, it was a very fun and free place to work and it was very good and very fair.
“But I think nowadays it’s a lot more stuffy and it is what it is. But there are a lot more channels on TV now, thank goodness, for people like me to work on. I just don’t think they cater for the working class, even in their dramas and soap operas.
“The storylines and things they run, I think that’s shown. We don’t get things like Only Fools and Horses and things like the great things we used to have. It just doesn’t make TV like that anymore.”
Revealing how she has never watched Eastenders, she added: “I’ve never watched EastEnders, to be honest I’m a Corrie fan.”
Help keep news FREE for our readers
Supporting your local community newspaper/online news outlet is crucial now more than ever. If you believe in independent journalism, then consider making a valuable contribution by making a one-time or monthly donation. We operate in rural areas where providing unbiased news can be challenging. Read More About Supporting The West Wales Chronicle
