The BBC is having a good pandemic
But the loss of young audiences poses a mortal threat to its funding
Editor’s note: The Economist is making some of its most important coverage of the covid-19 pandemic freely available to readers of The Economist Today, our daily newsletter. To receive it, register here. For our coronavirus tracker and more coverage, see our hub
“HEY GANG, good morning! Hope you feel real good,” bellows Derrick Evans, marching on the spot in a dayglo spandex leotard. The 67-year-old fitness instructor, better known as Mr Motivator, has been brought out of retirement to help Britons stay trim during their covid confinement. As he pants through a slot on daytime television, he answers viewers’ questions. One couple say their heating has broken down and they are cold. “Get up now, and move the body!” he orders them.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline "The next episode"
Britain April 25th 2020
- The BBC is having a good pandemic
- Covid-19 exposes flaws in Britain’s good-times government
- The impossibility of measuring inflation in a pandemic
- Official data suggest Britons are learning to help each other
- British fast-food chains are slowly restarting business
- The freemasons want to be known for hand wash, not handshakes
- The Virtual Parliament brings a welcome return to scrutiny
From the April 25th 2020 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Britain
Why so many Britons have taken to stand-up paddleboarding
It combines fitness, wellness and smugness
Why Britain’s membership of the ECHR has become a political issue
And why leaving would be a mistake
The ECtHR’s Swiss climate ruling: overreach or appropriate?
A ruling on behalf of pensioners does not mean the court has gone rogue