Jeff Ford says it is fashionable to give Richard Desmond channel a 'kicking', but he is improving it with new shows
The Channel 5 director of programmes, Jeff Ford, has hit back at Ricky Gervais for not wanting to work for the Richard Desmond-owned broadcaster.
Speaking at the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival Ford said: "Why doesn't he want to give us a chance? We're trying to improve our channel and get it to a better place. We've been unfairly treated for a time."
Gervais indicated in an earlier Edinburgh TV festival interview he would not work for Channel 5.
Ford said it has been fashionable to give his channel "a kicking" but that he is working on changing that.
Ford added: "It's a fun channel and quite reflective of Britain as it is, it's a blue-collar approach to Britain but that's not to say it's downmarket."
Ford said he was very pleased with the performance of Celebrity Big Brother, which averaged around 2.8 million viewers on Friday night for Sally Bercow's eviction.
He said it was drawing around the same number of viewers as when Channel 4 aired it and given Channel 5 a springboard to pull in new viewers.
But he said "history has taught us" that the ratings will be lower when the non-celebrity version airs.
Ford said forthcoming shows include army documentary The Brigade and a new series of Extreme Fishing with Robson Green, in which the actor will challenge anglers around the world to a fishing competition.
He is also ordering programming involving wildlife and engineering.
Ford said there has been some in-house development of shows at Channel 5, including the forthcoming Celebrity Wish List. "We're not quite Shine yet, but we'll get there."
When asked if there was an "image problem" with his channel's proprietor Desmond, Ford said: "The one thing about Richard is that I've not known a man so passionate about the channel. He's interested in it. RTL was a different set of circumstances but Richard's 100% behind it.
Ford said he was no worried if Channel 5 was "not liked by a few people, if we're not liked by the chattering classes". "Our approach is fun, fun, fun and his approach is fun, fun, fun. This marriage might work for the both of us."
He also drew laughter from the Edinburgh audience when he revealed: "We kept playing the same episodes of Trisha for two years and nobody noticed."
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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/aug/27/channel-5-ricky-gervais
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