Like all sane people, I have come to the conclusion that the secret of a calm and happy life lies in not watching Question Time.
There was a far-sighted man who anticipated its horrors and refused to have any part in them.
That man was the late Cliff Michelmore.
Before I posted his report from Aberfan, I read the obituaries. They all contained the same anecdote, retailed here by Libby Purves:
After Tonight, he and his colleague Kenneth Allsop started the 24 Hours programme. Editor Derrick Amoore, later the creator of the current affairs show Nationwide, asked him to do a debate with a studio audience that Michelmore considered a bad idea.
He reportedly snapped ‘I will not be associated with a third-rate Palladium show,’ and nearly left.There is a good tribute to Michelmore by John Humphrys, who also reported on Aberfan.
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