BMW causes laughter & offence

An exchange between presenters on the usually inoffensive Gardeners' Question Time prompted a flurry of complaints from listeners. The topic? How to care for the Rhodochiton Volubile plant, otherwise known as Black Man's Willy.

Ten listeners contacted Radio 4 to complain after presenters giggled their way through an innuendo-packed discussion on October 7 about the plant, which included panellist Anne Swithinbank talking about the plants "hardening off" and "shrivelling up".

The audience at Chilcompton Gardening Club near Radstock in Somerset were in fits of laughter after someone asked how to grow the specimen.

Peter Gibbs, the presenter, answered: "Bob, you're the expert on this sort of thing."
Stifling a laugh, panellist Bob Flowerdew said: "I would like to point out I'm not! I've only ever seen one close up and not that colour."

To which Anne Swithinbank replied: "I've never seen one in my life." Despite the audience's laughter, she battled on, saying: "They don't really like the cold, as you can imagine. They shrivel up and look very unhappy."

She also suggested giving the plant a "good, long growing season" and "potting them up and potting them on and eventually hardening them up".

Although the live audience saw the funny side of the segment, the station's Feedback show reported numerous complaints.

One squarelistener, Kate Jenkins of Cardiff, said: "One thing I found quite offensive was when the BMW was mentioned, and they spelt out what it stood for. The panel did pick up on the intended joke. It was that very unconscious racial stereotyping, accepted by everybody that really disturbed me."

But producer Trevor Taylor defended the use of the plant's full name and said the discussion was "entertaining". Mr Taylor said the humour came from Swithinbank's brave attempt to answer the question "without laughing or backing into a corner". He denied there was racial stereotyping, adding: "The name is descriptive. The bluebell is known as such because it is blue and shaped like a bell."

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