Read this: 26/08/2022 Radio 4 Feedback

BBC sounds music Radio podcasts about not easily try hopefully in the near future the cavalry or I'll be asking the BBC China correspondent Stephen mcdonell, if it is to know what is really going on in such a vast country when you're under continual surveillance and feedback we have exclusive interviews with Boris Johnson and Donald Trump courtesy dead ringers Lewis MacLeod the Dead ringers team have been on cracking for this series was especially enjoyable this week socks to hear Roger will no longer be presenting feedback.

I'm sorry about that but before I go.

I'll be answering listeners questions about those managerial.

No shows on feedback and what the last time.

Been really like the China has recently been flexing its military muscles in response to the visit of US politician Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan and looking down on journalists trying to find out what is really going on in the country with the world's largest population 1.4 billion people BBC journalist and John said we had to leave the country at short notice after 9 years reporting from inside China and it concerns please safety and that of his family.

So how difficult is it to find out what is really happening? What people really think as opposed to what the Communist government says is the case earlier? I was joined by the BBC China correspondent Stephen mcdonell.

Who is spent 18 years living in the car.

I Began by asking whether over that time.

It has become more difficult to report from there is so many changes of time place of you.

Just have to look at the economy developed.

Speed trains but for reporters sadly it's deteriorated especially since the Olympics it felt like I before the 2009 Olympics getting better and better for us all the time but in recent years it feels like it's getting worse and worse what Jack from London has this to ask many in the west perceive China in a negative light in relation to their human rights record on the uyghurs.

You are also experiencing living in instructive and democratic Society completely at odds with you up for meeting with all these influences.

How do you sure that your coverage remains impossible you be seen as a representative Western liberal values and therefore someone who is at odds if you like with the values of the country and which European interesting.

I think you can be fair in your approach to reporting anywhere.

I'm in the question of impartiality for jealous is one this hotly debated to tell the truth.

You can never actually ultimately achieving but it doesn't stop you trying to sew the impacts yard in your coverage.

I think really comes from how you are you subject and you genuinely try to understand the other side to give them right of reply.

No matter what the issue is over the multiplicity of sides he mentioned question of The Wiggles and human rights abuses I mean I think there's no doubt there's so much evidence that there has been the widespread abuse of human rights in the xinjiang comes to Wigan but that said it doesn't mean that they can't be debate about the specifics of what's been reported.

I mean debates around words of genocide for example one thing that some people and another thing to others for that reason.

I don't use it actually when I'm reporting on there because I sounds to me like you know Nazi Germany where people being.

Put into gas chambers now does might say that a narrow definition but either way we have to struggle to have a fear approach if we're going to go to sinjeon to cover the wig issue with also asked for the government for the inside with tried to speak to as many people as possible and I mean for me in China one.

Good thing is I can speak Chinese so it does mean I can get a sense of what people think if you wanted to go today to report on the wages and find out what was happening.

How easy would it be for you to get there to find out it from first-hand? What is going on getting there and finding out first two different things so we can get there we can get into singe on the one place in place where we can't enter is the Tibetan autonomous region that applies for all foreigners.

You can't get there without a special permission for sinjar, but I'm assuming that if you get in anywhere.

You have mind as following you when you get off the plane in st.

John get up people on your straight away khaled's of people falling.

Everywhere you went and it gets to the ridiculous Remembrance Day once again the story and we are the colours on The Culture in the place to this traditional village and there was a guy and making naan bread and we just wanted to talk about putting on the side of the ovens who taught you to do this was a grandmother and cetera et cetera and is he goes to answer that are like 15 government officials plain clothes hanging off his every word so I like this when I was a kid, so yeah, this is the problem everywhere you go whoever dates are we going to be bringing this massive Entourage officials and security and cops and you name it says imagine.

How hard it is for anyone to speak freely there in those circumstances.

It's my dad's not liking in the UK going to a vox pop waiting line get what they want people really feel you and lighter to get that in China but you still have the obligation to find out how they feel so how do you go about it getting behind the what they feel they must say in order to stay but not too much alive, but at least in their job.

Keep trying I mean again if I talk about sin jungle was once I went with which cities are my god of a plane and we would just a little bit ahead of all these people following US was like a job, but lot of mostly young men was standing around looking for labouring jobs and so giving it a couple of mind is there and a huge crowd of local wingers right with this quickly start asking some questions and they're very forthcoming in stuff like you know we don't feel like we're living at home in her own Homeland were encouraged not to speaker and language but you don't get many of those chances and when you get them you really have to take.

So we have to be quick but it's a problem because we also have to be a way of not getting people into trouble in a drawing the attention of officials and if I say the wrong thing could get them in The Strand in that is a journalist have to take that on board in terms of Europe responsibilities and the course you have such a vast country.

I think most of us get a shock when we look at the Globe and realise it is bigger than never mentioned and you gotta try and cover it all having some possible isn't it? I mean how big is your stuff having a report has to have a look what is huge and we don't have nearly enough the camera with the Justice it deserves and unfortunately also because of tensions between the Chinese government and the West and more generally and also tensions between the BBC and the China we've been waiting for visas and so at some point you know those people come on board and we'll have more scope to do more stories the problem is it's just me at the moment.

It is just

Covering the whole of China and it means you are inevitable going to be doing the big stories of the day and what have you which inevitably the kind of negative cos that's the nature of news and it doesn't accurately reflect the breadth of lived experience hear him and her from Tokyo Japan has this to ask about for encourage? How is Europe and the UK reported on in China and is it different to how the US is covered do Chinese on the make a distinction between the United States and the UK or are we all part of the West there's an interesting question because for some people sure they just need your reaction us is the worst for some people.

There is a blurring of course the US get special coverage here because it is the the other superpower but also because for relations between the US and china of sunflower than any other western country in the

It really collapsed and so now as a result of the policy visit for example there all these areas where Washington and Beijing will cooperating like cross-border crime and alarmingly Climate Change where they stopped at we talked about all the problems trying to face the new face and report again yet.

You love it.

Don't you? Why do you love change your look? It's so many reasons is a brilliant interesting place for the fantastic history the people are great.

It's constantly changing and for reporter.

Just stop like everything that happens here Messi's we could probably fall 10 times as many stories and that will get a run but like it just had a little fashion trend here 4 billion people are all putting mushrooms in their hair or wearing orange t-shirts all measured the impact on the global consumption of mushrooms and orange t-shirts with enormous.

It is a

Brilliant place to be if I ever leave here to be a sad day.

I mean who never lose our thanks to Steve McDonald the BBC China correspondent and you let me know your thoughts about that interview or of course anything else to do with BBC Radio and podcast.

This is how you can get in touch the details are read by Boris from check Roger you can send an email to feedback at bbc.co.uk alright letter amazing who don't have any more the address is feedback PO Box 672 London se1p 4ax you can follow activity on Twitter by using at BBC R4 feedback or you can call us a message you won't get please hold the line on 0345 cost more on some.

Mobile network for those details are on our website.

Thank you very much Mr Johnson I can see I can't understand what it's like to lose your job and standing next to his cloud who is standing for you when you doing rather more important things welcome MacLeod hello cross you weather for came from come from well.

Yeah, well the Boris from memory started.

It is a park.

That was a case of phh when I saw that and we read the I thought that was funny some iPods.

Just didn't seem to qualify it, but it also in until I've had living around that odd word there became a source of caricature of Boris and so

Waste is it could be as long as short is allowed really or is as long as the right isn't produces suffer it now.

I know you have no but you must have been sad when Boris was defeated until the stand down just as you must have been broken hearted when Donald Trump was defeated broken now.

I've had these comments from listeners Rory from Twitter the Dead ringers team have been on cracking fallen.

Series was doing his fabulous.

Jon Culshaw be Michael Owen Lewis MacLeod especially enjoyable this week Stephen from Twitter Friday's dead ringers was one of the best in the series those of us to do impersonations nose.

Which Lewis MacLeod showed more thing seamlessly back and forth from Borris to trump it sounds easy, but it really isn't had to you sir have been criticised for claiming that the deep state was looking to reverse brexit which coupled with my reluctance to Andover power has there many to suggest I've gone full this is complete and utter people and anyone who says otherwise really is a loser very very sad really sad Skies be a great Prime Minister by the best to Bingley best friend of mine Lynn Ferguson said that speech is music and one she sort of embedded that in my thinking it made mimicry much easier for me.

So there was a certain position ship to.

Boris and trump, it's musicality so really I would sort of III that's a note for boys that I just basically I would have body types of talking like this and there was two slightly close the throne a little bit and get there for our voice.

I could sort of just the two of them, but it's it was a little bit of practise making crazy science since I was a kid I used to impersonate a toy called the speaking spell that taught you English that then friends will sell your Stephen Hawking's is great so the voice for became Roger has been able to make sounds wasn't that difficult but it first of all finding the musicality of the note which would be far but it's and then you know you get you find out of harmonic melodic live with the voice and then so they're trying to use the two of them together now when it came to the 2010 election but of course got defeated in came the car.

Did you have any real difficulty with David Cameron and Nick Clegg yes build error producer ask me.

Can you do Cameron's voice who will give it a go and it was tricky Nick Clegg became easier to Dubai virtual impersonating Boy George the singer so I took Boy George's voice.

You know the 80s and if you make the voiceless camp you get Nick Clegg hello.

I'm Nick Clegg sorry about that, but it'll be obviously it's easy to make fun of those in power because they do things and you can satirise them and it's been the Conservatives a rather long time is the pressure to make skits about the left as well as the right does this explain why that's Gordon Brown and Tony Blair keep on starting to reapply yeah, you have to that there has to be a bad as long as the voice is good, then.

We create a caricature remember David Davis brexit bulldog used to get a chair from the audience the criticism I got was that you've made Boris likeable.

Odd things for people to say that I had that obviously this is the sort of Richard detainment to us all but then we have this comment for Christmas style.

How do you manage to keep your sense of humour if it did you can keep it when politics has become so Dyer understanding that Rory Bremner has lost his then? How do you do it understanding Billy Bremner is lost his ways of Parliament one of the Seas my Noel Coward of mimicry fantastic, but has he lost heart has it become depressed by the state of the world that switch Christopher wants to know and you have you become depressed.

No, I think that comedies vital certainly felt that during lockdown.

I felt that we had more value a started to see more and more I do mimicry is something I've been doing since.

I was a child.

I did at school to make the class laugh and then the teachers will come around and go out the impersonate me.

Let me hear an Indian and so funny.

Get the scripts for the next series who are you hoping there's going to be in it.

I just wondered whether you dreamt about the return to the front line of Nigel Farage and let's be honest with you, but it's 82 and that's where I'm sweating and it's terrifying voice is like that.

I made it difficult to read no because I thought that by reading the Script you read it quickly some homemade it funny about it actually mean it difficult to read it on the night, but yeah the great Voice is that pop up Jeremy Vine was won the chairman of the saying that I'm sending more like Louis is r e o Speedwagon sometimes the right as well.

Write something you got that where you get the caricature of that hurts emerging and we're not happens in it it.

Really cool.

It's a lovely experience that you know it to be in the room especially it's been a lovely experience for the audience listening to you and dead ringers and the last series was a cracker.

Thank you very much indeed.

Please keep going thank you Roger thank You Boris from dead ringers said last week that the BBC have decided that after 23 years presenting.

It was time for me to stand down.

I have received some wonderful emails which I'm far too embarrassed to read out a bit which I will reply personally over the next few weeks however many of those emails questions which need to be answered, so that's what we'll try and do I can hardly do myself so with our solicitor to step in magic crystal has appeared on feedback on and off over the past few as a sounding board on the Arches and we thought they couldn't be a better person to talk to me, but unfortunately this morning mate.

You've got a touch of large items haven't you I woke up this morning on my

Disappeared in the night ok.

I'm very nervously waiting for you to start off you go, thank you very much.

Let's start with this question from the other side of the world Richard Southport Australia I was shocked to hear Roger will no longer be presenting feedback will be interviewing whoever made this decision on your last programme.

Sorry joke that after all is the nature of feedback itself.

Would it be that no one was available to answer that question you're faithful listeners.

Do have a right to know how many of us want to know why Roger has been replaced and say the BBC provided this response.

We want to thank Roger for being a brilliant presenter of feedback for 23 years.

She's been a champion of Our Lives asked Incisive questions with program and help the audience understand more about BBC Radio we know feedback listeners have been grateful for all his.

Reflective use other way Radio 4 Maggie that certificate BBC statement it doesn't answer the question.

I couldn't possibly comment on that so probably the key question that everyone wants to know hello Roger my name is Anita from Kidderminster can you tell me how you feel about the BBC this and what you plan to do next we really going to miss you.

Thank you for all you've done it.

Thank you.

Obviously I'd like to continue but I can't complain I mean I'm 23 years on feedback.

I've enjoyed it.

It's been a privilege and the BBC has decided that someone else needs to take it over I don't know who that person is but obviously I hope that will continue to represent you properly so it's maybe it's time that I should go but out of life's little longer.

I'm sure a lot of people would have liked to have had a little longer.

Next listen and has this to ask John Henderson from Troon I would like to ask Roger if he can recall an interview with a BBC manager in which the person was not defer the criticisms seriously and accepted that there should be changes as a result or at least lessons to be learnt well have to be a long pause here as I rang my brains because it's absolutely true that most managers who come on don't seem to have the confidence to admit mistakes or to acknowledge.

There are different ways of looking at things but I should mention Aled Haydn Jones had already want your payment.

Thank you.

Jesus use Alan Davie the controller of radio 3 is always talk to me, but what I find is that the people are most honest also the people like Tom Sutcliffe Avenue Justin Webb people like that to have the confidence to acknowledge that nobody get it right over time and to apologise when they think it's got it wrong.

I think a lot of Duty Manager

Listen to some of those presenters and copy them yes good point so this listener has this question Hamish Marshall from Exeter so frustrating is it feedback is refused an interview when a legitimate request is made on an important issue in does this happen more than at the start of your 23 years well.

It's very very frustrating does more.

I think the records very patchy over the few years out in the middle maybe of the period when Mark Thompson was drift general he and indeed the channel came on feedback, but on the whole no they refused for more times than they accept and I get very angry at you on behalf of you all this as you were right you own the BBC you pay for it either right have answers to these questions after all if there was a public company that be shareholders still have to be an annual music and you'll be able to ask questions of those around the company the BBC is in this privileged position of having the special funding that you have.

Really but to pay for the licence for you if you want to watch BBC and so they should put themselves up.

I think that's part of the son of Bond and the responsibility they have and I'm very disappointed and angry when they don't yes very interesting not entirely surprising you have that for you and I'm not a listener wants to know this Trevor how is the BBC changed over the 23 years you have been the presenter of feedback.

I'm not very much.

It's still got a cold and there's no sentimentality about it and I think you'll always have to distinguish between the end of the BBC Public Service Broadcasting which was what were 4 and the means which is the BBC and ask oneself is it still the best way of achieving that I think it is but the first fundamental thing that has changed is the broadcasting environment the beaver Scouts much more competition growth massive of the podcast other broadcasters have moved in.

Is massively increased and now for the first time? I think there's a real question about where the BBC will or should continue to exist there's always been a tax on the BBC particularly from parts of the press the easiest way often for political parties particularly the Conservatives together, so cheered Conservative Party Conference is criticise the BBC and I see that the leading Conservative contender for the party list trust me to another drive at the BBC the other night which suggested the GB news get his facts right as opposed to BBC's all that's always gone on but the difference now.

Is you could for the BBC does not exist in the end the BBC will survive if you the licence fee per the listing of wanted to if you care enough about it and if you make enough noise, so the BBC would be well advised to be more open with you to listen to you and make sure and we almost make sure it's not a stitch up between governments and the BBC in which lot of really important services.

Networks get cut as part of a deal without you being concerned.

Yes, let's hope they do listen Roger and let's hope the day remain resolute in preserving fantastic national institution know if you are on a desert island, can I ask you finally which free programs? Would you take with you? That's assuming of course that you have a radio.

Yes, I'll do anything anything to have a radio One's really difficult if I looked at comedy for example.

You know I'm looking I'm sorry my love.

That's a lot in the object is a brilliant replacement for Humphrey lyttelton.

Replaceable by accident.

I love listening to round the Horne on for extra.

That's timeless dead ringers is fab JustFab but I suppose for the comma don't have to choose conversations for a long marriage with Roger Hallam and Joanna Lumley brilliant brilliant microphone and my bed so

In terms of News programmes get stuff, I mean I think p.m.

With Evan Davis is excellent the world tonight extends my my knowledge to significantly all the time the World at War I think it is really good so well.

Ok p.m.

And then whatever style of Matthew Paris great lies.

I left the long viola the Life Scientific I love the living room is David aaronovitch, which I think doesn't get crazy should but I suppose I'd have to go for more or less.

So which just makes me feel as if every journalist in the BBC building or to listen and be a shame listen to punctures a lot of the mistakes.

We make some more or less conversation a long marriage and I feel guilty about rejecting the rest is a lot of competition.

Isn't there well Roger thank you so much for answering the questions from the listeners, so fully and interestingly and I'm sure why not.

In wishing you luck for the future.

Thank you and thank you so much for listening every presenter knows that they're only as good as their producers and sound engineers and I've had the best.

So thank you Kate Allen and Tom and dance salsa to my first feedback producer the late lamented with black who told me the ropes all these years ago.

Do please.

Can you switch it on to feedback and demanding that the BBC listens to you after all the BBC belongs to all who pay for it not those who have paid byard, goodbye.