On the record

Published on 17/10/2012 00:00

Gordon Williams is mistaken in his memory of being interviewed by STV’s Bill Tennant on the subject of Straw Dogs and his long-standing feud with the film’s director, Sam Peckinpah (Features, 15 October).

The programme was Watch This Space, the 1973 summer replacement for STV’s regular evening news programme Scotland Today, and Bill Tennant 
did not conduct the interview; I did.

Gordon Williams is also incorrect in saying the programme was pulled because he referred to Peckinpah as “a male lesbian whore”. What he did call him was a “fascist rapist”.

Fortunately, and unusually at that time, the interview had been recorded. which meant it could be edited and shown the next day.

In my view the truncated piece did not suffer, while a painful and expensive legal 
action was avoided.

Bob Cuddihy

Constitution Street

Edinburgh