Often called the single dullest thing on British television, this short BBC show consists of a presenter introducing letters (read in voiceover), phone calls and more recently emails and forum posts, from the sort of people who would sit down to write to Points of View. A less witty and cryptic way of saying that would be that it is the BBC's complaints and praise letterbox, mostly full of letters from people who probably also fill the opinion columns of newspapers. A Guilty Pleasure for some and a matter of ridicule for many others.
It was originally meant to be a five-minute show to plug holes in the schedule when launched in 1961, but it has grown to be a 15-minute show on most Sundays.
Often parodied by British comedians; Monty Python's Flying Circus, Not the Nine O'Clock News and A Bit of Fry and Laurie among many others have send-ups of the programme.
Tropes of View:
- Guest Host: A couple of years had nothing but guest hosts.
- Long Runner: Celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2011, although it went on Series Hiatus between 1972 and 1978.
- Strongly Worded Letter: One might say this is Strongly Worded Letter: The Series.