Here's my opinion.

MH's show was far from perfect, but it'd be unfair to blame MH or it as a show for the lack of time traditional music has on the BBC. If the show had been twice the length, for example, I'm sure MH would have covered more bases.

I cannot stand Mark Radcliffe. His show on BBC6 has become a parody of itself. He presents it in such a selfconciously "wacky" way it makes for unpleasant listening. I used to love his shows on Radio 1, even when he went to the middle of the afternoon, he still sounded Real. Now, he sounds forced, anxious and eager. If he transfers this presenting style to the folk show, it doesn't matter WHAT he plays, his jittery style will make the show an unpleasant listen for me.

Finally, I can't help but see this as a move to the mainstream. I hope I'm wrong, but I strongly suspect that there'll be a whole heap of nickdrakes being played. I think some nickdrakes are very good, but there are plenty of places on the BBC where they receive airplay. I'd rather this "folk" show concentrated on more traditional based music not oft (or ever) played on the BBC.

Prove me wrong Mark, relax your style a bit and play music not on the BBC6 playlist.