'Low-brow TV is not BBC's way forward'

A front-runner to become BBC chairman today attacked the corporation for pumping out low-brow soaps and talent shows.

At a conference on its future, former senior BBC executive Patricia Hodgson singled out two of the programmes which have caused most controversy - the axed Kilroy show and Fame Academy - as examples of where she claimed the corporation was going wrong.

Ms Hodgson, former chief executive of the Independent Television Commission, praised Blue Peter and Match Of The Day, but added: "I would say... it has done less well with Fame Academy, Kilroy, derivative soaps and lifestyle shows which give the impression they are there less to serve audiences than to compete with other channels."

She warned that pouring millions into poorquality output to boost ratings could undermine the BBC's ability to produce top news and arts broadcasts. "There is a value question - do we want the best-resourced news machine in the world? Do we want to try and enrich and reflect world culture? And do we want an organisation big enough to be a champion for Britain in the world? The only organisation with the scale and scope to achieve that is the BBC."

Her comments were interpreted as a bid for the chairman's post, to replace Gavyn Davies who resigned after the Hutton report savaged the BBC's handling of the David Kelly affair.

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell was due to use the London conference - staged in the run-up to the renewal of the BBC's Charter, due in 2006 - to give a strong signal that the £116 licence fee was safe. She was also set to promise the Government would not try to interfere with the BBC's independence in the wake of the Hutton row.