TV veteran David Dimbleby has criticised the BBC and other broadcasters for demeaning older women.

The BBC and other major broadcasters are accused today of making women aged over 50 "invisible" and should be "named and shamed" for not putting older female presenters on screen.

In 1967, the residents of Monterey, a quiet fishing village on the coast of California, were worried about hosting a rock festival as they feared that thousands of  pot-smoking, free-loving hippies would come from San Francisco and ruin the area.

Miriam O'Reilly has said she faced "seething resentment" when she returned to work at the BBC after winning an age discrimination case against the corporation.

In Midnight Tango, Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace make traditional big entrances.

Is former Countryfile presenter Miriam O'Reilly brave or bonkers? Try as I may, I can't see her ageism victory over the BBC as another great leap forward for womankind, or pensioners. Of course, it's terrific that Miriam will receive a full apology from director-general Mark Thompson, as well as a large sum of money. But, as she basks in the limelight following her successful court appearance, will she be asked to present a prime-time programme on BBC1 as a result of her victory over the corporation?

Most employers are savvy enough to grasp that overt age discrimination is now unacceptable. But that is not to say the practice has ended. Cases abound of employees being pushed aside or overlooked for promotion by management. Though it was made illegal in 2006, surveys still find ageism to be the most frequently cited form of discrimination in British workplaces.

In our live webTV show Arlene Phillips and Ian Scott from charity WRVS offer advice for helping your elderly relatives and neighbours through the winter months.

When it comes to older women in the public eye, it seems only two types are successful: those who do a passable imitation of youth and therefore don't count as old, like Madonna, and those who are honourable exceptions to the rule, like Maggie Smith; the rule being No Wrinkly Ladies on Screen, Please and the exceptions being very rare.