When women of a more ravaged complexion and double chin start appearing on our TV screens then equality may finally have arrived. Liz Boulter calls for an 'equal ugliness' campaign


Can you imagine Brian Taylor of BBC Scotland as a woman? ( )

I think of it as the Brian Taylor benchmark. The BBC Scotland political editor is an accomplished journalist, and very engaging when reporting to camera, but he’d probably be the first to admit he’s not exactly god’s gift. Now try to imagine him as a woman. Or rather try to imagine an overweight grey-haired woman in her late 50s – and with an impressive double chin – as a BBC reporter or newsreader. Impossible isn’t it?

I’m sorry to get personal about Brian. Hell, no I’m not. Women on TV and in public life have had to put up with comments about their appearance ever since they have been in public life and on telly. I’m sure Brian’s big enough to take it on the, er, chin.

Arguments and court cases have concentrated on age discrimination in television – but that is the more objectively measurable factor. Men of all ages can still be on the BBC when they’re fat or less than gorgeous in some other way. Nick Robinson’s glasses and bald head didn’t stop him winning the political editor job, but if you’re female you seem to need the looks of an Emily Maitlis or Fiona Bruce – as well as talent – to be successful.

In Jane Eyre, the unpleasant Blanche Ingram declares that an ugly woman is a blot on the fair face of creation, while men need possess only strength and valour. How disappointed would early feminist Charlotte Bronte be that, getting on for 200 years and many improvements in women’s lot later, creation – or rather broadcasting – has not learned to see beyond a woman’s looks?

So, on behalf of those of us with ravaged faces (thanks Janis Joplin), I’m calling for an equal ugliness campaign – in the hope that one day a female foreign correspondent with all the physical allure of (BBC North America editor) Mark Mardell will be seen handing over to an anchor who could be (BBC Art's Editor) Will Gompertz’s twin sister. We’ll be a lot further down the road to equality when that can happen – without anyone thinking it worth commenting on.

How about getting more attractive men on TV instead of uglier women?
TV is a visual media, surely appearance is important. * tongue in cheek*.

People trust older men newsreaders, because they have 'experience', on the other hand female newsreaders seem to be chosen for looks and often don't last as long - just look at the number of Hollywood film made addressing this issue!

On the other hand, here in Germany there are several more mature women who run news magazines and gossip shows, though they are still 'good looking'.

But with a chancellor like Angela, there are a number of more robust women appearing on TV now, which I find good.