Blackburn people were recently invited to take part in a house renovation TV programme hosted by a Loose Woman called Stacey.
This programme’s production team contacted people in various locations around the UK. But it seemed they were out of luck in Blackburn. They were met with derision and negativity about today’s current crop of similar TV programmes.
Our town’s respondents also complained that there seemed to be nothing original being made these days. There was a preponderance of cooking, cleaning and DIY programmes which had been going on since those early days of Fanny Craddock. The message from Blackburn was: Let’s have something different!
One of the sarcastic comments from here asked when were they making the Ironing Show, or the Potato Peeling Programme?
This may have struck a chord with someone in the production company. They might have thought it sounded like a pretty good idea. Something brand new!
All sorts of ideas started being thrown around in a lively brainstorming session in a local pub near their TV studio. Ironically, as regards potato peeling, this pub is fittingly named the King Edward and known for being a very down to earth grassroots kind of boozer.
There was a heated debate over what amounts of skill there were in using a potato peeler. Some participants compared it to being like using a short snooker cue. After all, everything was in the elbow and wrist action. There is a lot more inclusivity in potato peeling these days though. Left-handed and ambidextrous spud peelers are now far more widespread.
It is believed these left-handed peelers originated in a former Soviet factory. A place known for making bad mistakes, but always having a knack of getting away with it. They once manufactured sunglasses you couldn’t see through, only to win a contract supplying Soviet blind citizens. It sounds like something similar happened with left-handed people being able to use their potato peelers, after this factory got their lathe settings mixed up again.
Now the question is, how do you put together a programme about potato peeling? Producers state this show is not aimed at couch potatoes. It could lead to lots of twists and turns. Though critics say it is scraping the barrel, the only turns they can see happening are funny ones.
At least there seems to be a lot more scope with a programme about peeling potatoes than making one about ironing. It wouldn’t be long before this one folded.