Meanwhile....

Whilst the press may be focused on BBC severance payments, listeners are increasingly alarmed at what Bob Shennan is doing to Radio 2. There are widespread rumours that BBC Big Band Special, a fixture on the network since 1979, is being axed - and the band's session time at Maida Vale studios is being cut to a fifth of its current level. This has already spooked over 2,500 into a petition to reverse such a decision - if indeed it has been taken; it sits alongside an existing petition to save the Russell Davies show, totting up quite nicely at over 500, including signatories such as Les Reed and Simon May.

The Big Band's heritage can be traced back to 1928, with the formation of the BBC Dance Orchestra, under Jack Payne. In 1994 Controller Frances Line tried to drop it altogether, but the protests were sufficient for it to retain BBC support, albeit moving the band's members from staff to their current freelance status.

The BBC boasts five classical orchestras and the BBC Singers. Tony Hall says he couldn't exist without music - let's see what his range really is.