RICHARD EDEN: Fans shocked as Lord Bragg is 'ambushed' by former Channel 4 News star Samira Ahmed over 'alleged on-screen exploitation of women' at event celebrating his 60 years of broadcasting By Eden Confidential By Richard Eden Published: 17:21 EDT, 17 June 2024 | Updated: 17:29 EDT, 17 June 2024 e-mail View comments The British Film Institute was keen to celebrate the 'incredible 60-year broadcasting career' of Melvyn Bragg, so invited him to be interviewed by former Channel 4 News star Samira Ahmed on stage at London's BFI Southbank on Sunday. But Lord Bragg's fans were shocked when Ahmed 'ambushed' him over alleged 'on-screen exploitation of women'. Referring to A Time To Dance, the 1992 BBC One adaptation of his novel, Ahmed declared: 'A lot of women were horrified by this portrayal of a middle-aged man in a relationship with a teenage woman.
' A clip was shown in which a bank manager, played by the late Ronald Pickup, 51 at the time, was seen falling for the charms of an 18-year-old (Dervla Kirwan, then 19). Bragg, 84, explained: 'I do believe in the liberty of expression. If you look at literature over many years, the idea of an older man and a younger woman is commonplace.
Melvyn Bragg (pictured at the Sunset Festival in 2022) invited him to be interviewed by former Channel 4 News star Samira Ahmed on stage at London's BFI Southbank on Sunday Referring to A Time To Dance, the 1992 BBC One adaptation of his novel, Samira Ahmed (pictured) 'ambushed' him over alleged '.
