YP Letters: Shows are not about sport, dancing or cuisine

MY guess is that nobody finds BBC Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY) more embarrassing than Andy Murray but he is much too humble to snub the accolade (The Yorkshire Post, December 19).

At least he had a good excuse not to show up this time. I no longer watch it for the same reason that I don’t watch Strictly Come Dancing or Bake Off: they are not really about sport, dancing or cuisine.

The show bears no resemblance to its modest precursor, dear old Sportsview Personality of the Year.

I accidentally caught the announcement of the winner of Strictly but found the reaction so toe-curling that I couldn’t switch channels quickly enough.

I have caught bits of SPOTY over the years and the cameras seem more interested in celebrities in the audience than sporting action.

Of course, it was imperative that the winners of Strictly and Bake-Off were invited this time around.

I wonder what Lord Reith would have made of what the BBC has been putting out. Okay, the Corporation originally aspired to entertain as well as educate but it has provided excellent comedy and drama in the past without resorting to phoney popular “culture”.