\n \u201cHim from the panto?\u201d asked the physio when I told her the news earlier. \u201cI won\u2019t bother then. Why did they get rid of Michelle McManus?\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n Good question. After audience protests over the sacking of big names including Billy Sloan and Iain Anderson, the ousting of three women for one man (plus Arlene Stuart on Friday afternoon) is the latest move to raise eyebrows inside and outside the BBC\u2019s Pacific Quay HQ.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n Critics say it is part of a shift towards commercialisation of the state-funded broadcaster by new boss Victoria Easton Riley, herself an import from radio giant Bauer after spells at the BBC.\n<\/p>\n
\n The brief for the new Radio Scotland Afternoons (named after the similarly rebooted and rebranded Radio Scotland Breakfast) is to bring audiences \u201ca lively mix of music, chat, and big interviews, with a focus on the vibrant arts, culture and entertainment scene in Scotland and beyond\u201d.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n If it sounds a lot like the old afternoon show, that\u2019s probably because it is. McManus had big interviews – chief among them Robbie Williams. She was becoming well-known as a presenter, making a documentary about going to Rome to sing for the Pope. And as a young, working-class Glaswegian woman, she was that rarity on Radio Scotland – a presenter who sounded like the city she called home.\n<\/p>\n
\n Read more\n<\/p>\n
\n Despite the chat about first-day nerves when he opened Monday\u2019s show, Stott has done afternoons before. I was a film and television reviewer on the programme, mostly working with the peerless Janice Forsyth but sometimes with Stott. With a 36-year career in broadcasting, he\u2019s as safe a pair of hands as it gets.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n But the question remains: why oust McManus, Pennie and Meighan, one of Scotland\u2019s most well-regarded arts journalists, to make way for someone who has done a similar show before?\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n Only one way to find out.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n Michelle McManus attracted big names to her show, among them Robbie Williams (Image: BBC)\n<\/p>\n
\n After some banter with Lunchtime Live\u2019s Laura Maxwell about first-day nerves, came the all-important choice of an opening track. Aztec Camera\u2019s Somewhere in My Heart, followed by Robbie Williams\u2019 Let Me Entertain You, positioned Stott as unashamedly crowd-pleasing with a nod to local likes. That will have gone down well with the Bauer crowd.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n The first impression was one of relentless noise. Stott talked over the start and end of tracks. When a song finished he started gabbing again, this time with some generic track pumping in the background. All fine if you\u2019re after an afternoon wake-up, deeply irritating if you dislike DJs talking over the music. Frankly, it left me with a bit of a headache.\n<\/p>\n
\n The only time the music stopped was for the chat, first with Stott\u2019s fellow River City actor Jenny Hulse, then with Kiefer Sutherland. Both were down-the-line interviews rather than in-person.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n Sutherland was given a lot of time to talk about his latest album, Grey, but he played the game and also spoke about his acting, including his stint on 24.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n The big draw was yet to come – Outlander\u2019s Sam Heughan no less, as Stott had promised at the top of the show.\n<\/p>\n