Ian Rankin waxes lyrical in fight to stop BBC ‘numpties’ axing Janice Forsyth show

ONE of Scotland’s foremost authors has stepped up the row over BBC Radio Scotland’s decision to axe the popular Janice Forsyth Show by writing a poem attacking the corporation.

Crime writer Ian Rankin brands the BBC’s management as “numpties” in the poem, which appeared on the Sabotage Times website.

The work goes on to describe the presenter as “akin to a goddess / while coming across to her listeners as really quite modest”.

Rankin praises her choice of music and ability to “take the celebrity interview and make of it an art”.

The author ends the poem with the line: “So my plea to Radio Scotland is: DON’T DO THIS, YA BUNCH OF F******.”

The Rebus author has been among the most vociferous of the high-profile fans of the show who have joined an online campaign to try to force the BBC to reverse its decision, which would see the programme’s slot filled with extended news and sport.

An online petition set up in protest against the move to axe the show has gathered almost 700 signatures from around the world, including the likes of Dragon’s Den star Duncan Ballantyne and Taggart actress Blythe Duff.

The Scotsman revealed on Saturday that the 18-year-old Saturday morning show was to be axed, prompting a wave of online protests.

BBC Radio Scotland has said that the decision was in line with a move towards a policy of speech programming during the day and music shows at night, and had been backed by the BBC Trust.