And he's probably right not to. I blame Phil. Yes, ITV top man Michael Grade has commented on the so called Sachsgate row, on the BBC's response to it, and on his opinions of the use of the f word and similar on mainstream radio and TV shows.
Grade says he thinks the BBC has handled the whole shebang as best as could be expected, saying that the Corporation's management's response to the media and public outrage surrounding the infamous Russell Brand/Jonathon Ross Radio 2 routine, where they left lewd messages on the answer phone of actor Andrew Sachs, was relatively fast.
As previously reported, within a week of the Mail On Sunday reporting on the phone calls Jonathan Ross was put on a twelve week unpaid suspension, while both Brand and Radio 2 controller Lesley Douglas resigned.
While some said the BBC were slow to respond to the story, allowing it to gain momentum in the tabloid press, Grade says that to have acted the way they did within a week is something of a record for the BBC and, indeed, any media company. It was possible, he said, because the body that now regulates the Corporation, the BBC Trust, which he helped establish, is so great.
However, speaking at a Broadcasting Press Guild lunch yesterday, he did say he wondered if this whole incident was a sign that broadcasters should reconsider the broadcasting of excessive swearing even after the watershed. The Brand/Ross routine was quite sweary and explicit of course.
According to the Guardian, Grade said: "I do think the prevalence of bad language such as the F-word is a little bit unrestrained. I am not calling for it to be banned but I don't think we take enough care over the use of the F-word and similar words. It used to be that you had to get very senior sign-off to use that word in any show. I am not sure what the rules are these days. Clearly not enough consideration is given to a very large section of the audience who don't want to hear that word or such words. You have to know where you are using it and give it some extra consideration. It seems to be indiscriminate now".
Grade didn't name names with regards excessive swearing - personally I blame fucking Jamie Oliver and that fucker Gordon Ramsay - but he concluded "we need to show a little bit more thoughtfulness about how we use these words", adding that he would raise the issue with ITV's Director Of Television, Peter Fincham: "I think we probably will have a conversation at some point. Peter is a man of very good sense and immense trust and exercises good judgment".