The Voice UK: BBC boss says sorry to Sir Tom Jones

Sir Tom Jones has received an apology from the BBC nearly two weeks after he was axed from The Voice with “no consultation or conversation”. I think the British public yearns for good stories, stimulating argument, and original ideas.

And, he said: “Whatever my view is, I don’t determine what programmes the BBC should show”.

His comments come as the Culture, Media and Sport Committee prepares to scrutinise the BBC’s charter review, which sets the parameters within which the corporation operates.

However, Mr Whittingdale – who has previously described the licence fee as “worse than the poll tax” – said there would “come a time” when it would have to be phased out.

“I believe that we should keep fighting for entertainment on Saturday nights on the BBC that reaches a wide range of people up and down the country, from all different sorts of backgrounds”, said Cohen.

Cohen admitted Saturday night programming was one of the “hardest things” to get right, adding, “we are in a continual process of looking for the next big Saturday night thing”.

“People in TV should make those choices and the public vote with their remote controls whether they like it or not”. “If we don’t…allow the voice of the creative and production community to be heard loud and clear, the politicians will become our masters rather than partners and supporters”, he said.

The fate of the show on the BBC has been much discussed as the contract with The Voice creators ends after its next run.

Mr Cohen said that the public would not want “UK-unifying” events such as the Olympics, Wimbledon, the football World Cup and the FA Cup final to be taken off free-to-air.

He added: “Being informed, as a matter of duty and respect, is an important part of creative relationships”.

As RadioTimes.com reported in July, the body comprises eight broadcasting grandees including former Channel 5 chief executive Dawn Airey who has called in the past for the BBC licence fee to be cut and for the Corporation to charge for its online content.

“Who is talking about dismantling the BBC?”

He said politicians “talk of cutting it (the BBC) down to size, of reining in imperialist ambitions, of hiving off, of limiting the scope, with all the manic glee of a doctor urging his patient to consider the benefits of assisted suicide”.

He said the BBC should “monetise the bezeesus Mary and Joseph out of our programmes overseas so that money can come back, take some pressure off the licence fee at home and be invested in even more ambitious quality shows”. Every time I make a show, I’m a small businessman, responsible for hundreds of employees, in charge of a budget of millions of pounds.

Previous MacTaggart Lecture speakers have included Kevin Spacey, James Murdoch, Jeremy Paxman, Greg Dyke, Dennis Potter and Eric Schmidt.