Withering

DG George Entwistle on the Radio 4 Today programme succession: "I hope that when the moment comes for the next presenter to be chosen [that] it's a woman", as reported by Ian Burrell in The Independent.

One presumes George has squared this with Today Editor Ceri Thomas; up until recently, the next-presenter-in-waiting has been BBC Political Editor Nick Robinson, deemed to have been a good pairing with Evan Davis in a couple of summer canters-round-the-course.

And who will leave first ? John Humphrys is 69, James Naughtie is 61, Justin Webb is 51, Evan Davis is 50, and Sarah Montague is 46.  (One notes that yesterday Robin Lusting announced his retirement from The World Tonight at the age of 64).

John, Jim and Evan have other BBC incomes. John has rebuilt his interests in the Peloponnese in recent years; Jim is now a Willie (Work In London, Live In Edinburgh).

• I wonder if anyone else felt uncomfortable with John's pressuring of the new DG as to when we would see a grey haired woman presenting the tv news ? Isn't grey hair a rather-cliched symbol of age ? Would twin-set and pearls or perhaps a house-coat do ?  Does John himself groom away any of the signs of male age ?  Does the Humphrys household boast a Nose and Ear hair trimmer ?