Not lingering on

Fearless Radio 2 Controller Bob Shennan has dealt a body blow to two big brands.  Melodies for You will be no more from the end of this month.  The show started in 1967, hosted by Eric Robinson - a soft-spoken Yorkshireman who'd worked his way up from violinist to be conductor of the BBC TV Orchestra (brother Stanford was also a conductor). Its mixture of light classics and show tunes was eventually moved to Sunday night, and put in the care of David Jacobs and Richard Baker.  In 2007, then controller Lesley Douglas "merged" the show with Your 100 Best Tunes (which had an even more extensive heritage, and had travelled around the networks) and brought in soft-spoken Yorkshireman Alan Titchmarsh; Alan will host his last edition on August 28th (he may have already recorded it).  

The ending of Melodies for You seems a little sudden - a series of repeats and specials will fill the slot for the time being, with no announcement of a permanent schedule change.  Our Bob says Alan will continue to present on the network - perhaps a series on operetta, maybe some editions of Friday Night Is Music Night.  Can it all be as relaxed as this, when Alan now has a successful daytime ITV chat show - and his new gardening show for the network is beating Monty Don in the ratings ?  Was this a decision made in Western House or Television Centre ?