John Humphrys isn’t woke or politically correct – and that’s exactly why people like me will miss him

In a democracy, we need all shades of opinion, people who are a bit edgy, people whose humour and values were formed half a century ago, not just at Glastonbury or during the poll tax riots or as a result of the #MeToo movement

The veteran journalist is soon to leave the ‘Today’ programme after 32 years (Rex)

He’s not the kind of guy who is going to write me a thank you note but I want to stick up for John Humphrys. What a brilliant broadcaster this irritating old bugger is – mind you, that sentence alone is enough to wind up the modern thought police who can find fault in any statement which refers to age or gender in less than the politically correct terminology. The same people who complained about the joke which won the prize for best gag at the Edinburgh Festival because it contained the word “florets”, implying the comic was suffering from Tourette’s syndrome. The sensitive souls who complained about Gary Lineker’s feeble mockery of the follically challenged pundits on Match of the Day – which (by the way) the bald blokes in question found extremely funny.

This week, Humphrys attracted ire for making a throwaway remark about “not punching” David Davis, when the latter ended their conversation by remarking it might be the last time they would “tango” together. This referred to the dancer in the World Tango championships who was disqualified after witnesses saw him punching his wife. Cue outrage from charities who said the men were condoning domestic abuse. Really?

Mr Humphrys is 76 (a bit older than me) and announced earlier this year that he would soon be leaving the Today programme after 32 years. Some people rejoiced. Others – like me – were a bit downcast, but were cautious about declaring affection for a broadcaster who (like Jeremy Clarkson) is anathema in the current wishy washy climate. In some quarters, Humphrys departure can’t come soon enough – several Guardian columnists celebrated in print, and political man of the moment Dominic Cummings remarked that the Today programme was “obsolete” anyway. This week, Channel Four’s head of news, Dorothy Byrne, told delegates to the Edinburgh Television Festival that listening to the flagship show was “like accidentally walking into a knitting shop in Brighton”.

Precisely. The Today programme is not designed to appeal to people who find Zoe Ball captivating or Steve Wright a great companion. It’s not aimed at clean eaters, fashion influencers in Birkenstocks or the cast of Love Island. Today is the reliable companion of the silent people in Britain, the elderly, the people who live alone and can’t walk to a newspaper shop. People who are intelligent and want to know what’s going on in other countries. People who eat their toast and still slather on butter. Who don’t grind up flax seed on their morning fruit. People who wear elasticated trousers indoors. People who don’t use the term LGBT+ in conversation in case they get the initials in the wrong order and cause offence.

The other week, John Humphrys attracted ire from feminists for openly sneering at Jess Tye, a po-faced spokesperson from the Advertising Standards Association, who attempted to justify the banning of a couple of advertisements for cream cheese and a new VW car, on grounds of gender stereotyping. Humphrys dared to suggest that women might like caring for babies. I don’t always think he is right – but his point of view (in that instance) would chime with a large section of the older audience, the exact demographic the BBC is so desperate to get rid of, to ditch in favour of trendy 16-24 year olds with their irritating plugs for the BBC Sounds app.

As a former BBC executive, the notion that the organisation can attract millions of teenagers is risible. Their core audience will always be older, better educated, predominately middle class. It’s not as if the younger audience actually pay for licence fees – they listen for free on their phones, and watch telly online for nought. Or sit at their parent’s house and watch the main channels, where older people have coughed up the dough to make it legal.

Sneering at John Humphrys and the Today programme is part of a strategy to diminish and emasculate the Corporation. Sure, it’s irritating, bloated and all the rest. But if the BBC needs to reflect the state of the nation, then it needs to keep Mr Humphrys in the studio until he snuffs it. Our state broadcaster can’t not have white old men on air because they are a bit embarrassing and not on-trend. In a democracy, we need all shades of opinion, people who are a bit edgy, people whose humour and values were formed half a century ago, not at Glastonbury or during the poll tax riots or as a result of signing up to #MeToo.

John Humphrys left school at 15, he was the first reporter at the Aberfan disaster in 1966. He has had a distinguished journalistic career and is a fearfully good interviewer. In 2012 Humphrys was brave enough to crucify his boss, BBC director general George Entwistle, over his handling of the Jimmy Savile scandal. That conversation won him a Sony Award and ended Entwistle’s career. To complain, as some have done, that Humphrys “was” a brilliant broadcaster “but times have changed” is hogwash. John Humphrys is still alive and so is his generation, with all their “outmoded” thinking, minor prejudices and politically incorrect thought processes.

There’s not much difference between the UK and China if the thought police continue to cleanse the airwaves of anything they find offensive.