A few weeks ago in the sport section of The Daily Telegraph Jonathan Liew expostulated a formidable attack on BBC presenter Colin Murray. Part of me at the time felt ‘here we go again, another right-wing attack on the BBC’, but I must admit my opinion was lowered on Colin Murray, who is Adrian Chiles replacement on Match of the Day 2. Maybe my standards are low; though it was not a falling of the scales, my respect for Murray suffered a diminution.
Yesterday, in the afternoon on Radio 5 (Live), an interview with a star name was trailed by Murray. The name left me baffled as Murray proudly trumpeted the imminent arrival of ‘Brian Murs’. Was this a relative of X-Factor runner-up Olly Murs? Soon the pieces of evidence started to fall into place. It was ex-rugby union international Brian Moore, was Murray’s Northern Ireland burr had slurred the surname. I’m all for regional accents, but they have to be understandable – Alan Green doesn’t have this problem. Is Murray’s favourite Bond actor Roger Mur(s)? Then on Match of the Day 2 later, Murray had the gall to take the mickey out of Mark Bright for one particular pronunciation. Maybe Liew was harsh, but he probably had a point.