BBC NEWS | UK | TV presenter Tony Hart dies at 83.
Obituary: Sir John Mortimer
When I read that John Mortimer had died, I was momentarily saddened, but then remembered that I had never been a Rumpole fan. I did hear him deliver an after-dinner speech on one occasion. I then discovered that he had translated Brideshead Revisisted into its TV version, which must count as one of the monumental achievements of TV, and he also wrote the screenplay for Tea with Mussolini, which, again, is noteworthy. It seemed slightly spooky that BBC4 had already planned a John Mortimer night last night.
I am saddened by the demise of Tony Hart. A major part of my childhood. I loved Morph (in fact, I think that - Grange Hill apart - the very best children's programmes of the 70s and 80s were those short animations shown at 5.35) and I thought Take Hart was excellent programming. I think I got most into it when I was a bit older than the target audience (having a brother 7 years younger). I don't see any modern-day equivalent, and to me, that is a sad sign of a sort of dumbing down that is insulting to today's children, depriving them of the inspiration that we had back then.
