I used to find Jeremy Clarkson's boorishness an amusing antedote to most of the box-ticking rubbish on the BBC. Even Richard Hammond's increasingly desperate attempt to become Clarkson's mini-me was just about tolerable, but Top Gear just isn't funny anymore.
I take no joy in this - in fact it makes my Sundays more miserable. But it provides some evidence that the BBC is also suffering from the programming budget cuts that are affecting its rivals, as shown by Channel 4's decision to strip its schedule with the execrable Come Dine With Me and ITV's well-publicised cancellation of expensive drama commissions. (I can't think of Five ever having any big ticket shows in the first place so it is excluded).
This theory was borne out when I met one of the stars from Ashes to Ashes lamenting that this show's budget had been cut too. Which leaves me wondering, if a broadcaster with a guaranteed income stream is feeling the pinch no wonder everyone else is.
So with Top Gear on the wane, Ashes to Ashes underfunded and Adam & Joe off 6Music for the summer I might have to cancel my licence fee direct debit as I'm not clear where the money is going other than buying pensions for its top executives.
