The Queen of Clean | Interview | 4
British Scandal
Audible
4.4 • 7.2K Ratings
🗓️ 18 October 2022
⏱️ 38 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Matt and Alice speak to David Dimbleby, one of the BBC's most illustrious broadcasters. David reflects on his early years at the BBC, when Mary Whitehouse was beginning her battle against the corporation, and recalls a day he spent interviewing Mary in the 1970s.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, Prime Members. You can listen to British Scandal at free on Amazon Music. Download the app today. |
| 0:18.0 | From Wondery, I'm Alice Levine. |
| 0:20.0 | And I'm Matt Ford. |
| 0:21.0 | And this is British Scandal. |
| 0:31.0 | So that's it, Matt, for our series on The Queen of Clean, Mrs. Mary Whitehouse. |
| 0:37.0 | She's obviously got a tricky legacy to try and unpick. |
| 0:41.0 | Yes, obviously on one hand, it's a David and Goliath story of her taking on the liberal elite, |
| 0:46.0 | the establishment of the BBC, but then it's also about nasty attacks on the gay community. |
| 0:52.0 | Yeah, you can't deny her influence, though, no matter where you fall on her ideology. |
| 0:58.0 | Thatcher letters from the Pope a say in who was at the top of the BBC. |
| 1:02.0 | Yes, and of course the fateful five-breasted painting that the director general had commissioned. |
| 1:08.0 | Wobridide anyone who tries to make a mockery of Mary Whitehouse. |
| 1:12.0 | I'm still trying to find a print of that. |
| 1:14.0 | We've explored what the campaigns were like from Mary's point of view. |
| 1:18.0 | But what was it like in the eye of the storm within the BBC? |
| 1:22.0 | We've got a really exciting interview for you today. |
| 1:24.0 | David Dimblebee is a journalist and presenter who's worked the BBC for over 50 years, |
| 1:29.0 | presenting question time and commentating on the country's most significant cultural events. |
| 1:34.0 | In fact, he's not just part of the BBC. |
| 1:36.0 | For many people, he is the BBC. |
| 1:39.0 | He also interviewed Mary in 1979. |
| 1:42.0 | He joins us next. |
... |
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