A BBC Radio presenter branded an irked listener as “thick as mince” and sarcastically labelled them a “b***h” after reading their complaint out live on air.
On Tuesday morning, Graham Liver, who fronts BBC Radio Lancashire’s breakfast show, faced criticism for his coverage of this year’s new The Apprentice line-up.
Liver was keen to hear from listeners about their experiences appearing on mainstream television after Lancashire businessman Paul Bowen was unveiled as one of the 18 faces heading into Lord Alan Sugar’s boardroom.
While the BBC presenter heard from several listeners who phoned in to tell their tales, Liver also received a rather strongly worded complaint from one irked fan.
“Who’s this here? Is this one you want me to read out? Can I read it on air?” Liver asked his producer after seeing the complaint in front of him.
After being assured there was “no bad language” in the letter but that it wasn’t “particularly nice”, Liver went ahead and read the complaint to listeners.
Graham Liver regularly fronts the breakfast show on BBC Radio Lancashire
X/GRAHAM LIVER
Liver read: “‘I listen to your programme most mornings and all I hear is dribble. You got on about the weather – people have eyes, we can see when it’s sunny or raining, we don’t need a presenter to tell us.’
“‘Why do you have a news presenter also? We don’t need to know about an airstrike abroad, it’s a radio station for Lancashire!'”
Diverting from the letter, Liver criticised the listener’s prose as he remarked: “Do you know, punctuation is a big thing, this person. It’s one big sentence, one big rant.”
Continuing to read out the listener’s complaint, he continued: “‘You’re getting boring, your producer can’t think of anything fresh.’
“‘Also, the guy from Chorley isn’t the first person from Lancashire to go on The Apprentice, a guy called Adam went on it in the late ’90s.’
“‘You need to do more research rather than talking about what you’ve been up to at the weekend or what you’re doing in the next few days.’
“‘Rant over. Thanks. Stop being so camp’,” the user’s complaint concluded to which Liver over exuberantly replied: “Ooh… You b***h. I don’t know what you mean.”
Raucous laughter filled the studio before Liver regained composure and said: “Do you know what, I hope you’re okay and I hope you feel better.
The Apprentice’s Paul Bowen hails from Lancashire and was the topic of conversation on Liver’s show
BBC
“Just put some punctuation in because that’s one big sentence, isn’t it? You know, people don’t know they’re thick as mince, do they? Have a lovely day and I hope you’re okay.”
Liver shared the moment himself on his own X, formerly Twitter, page alongside the caption: “Good morning,” followed by a nail-painting and love heart emoji.
And Liver’s fans clearly saw the funny side of the interaction with one person replying: “@GrahamLiver is legendary for this and any other reason!”
A second also defended the BBC Radio Lancs host: “Oh dear this listener just doesn’t get our disfunctional family, do they… And that’s why we love you because it’s not normal boring stuff.” (sic)
GB News has contacted the BBC for comment.
