"English folk can't stand what you call English folk music"
I don't want another "what is folk?" argument any more that you do, but I'm not entirely sure that, even in an ideal world, the folk music of a country has be universally popular in that country, and for every definition of "folk" that I've ever heard or read, I can think of lots of people of don't like THAT sort of "folk" music.

"What struck me about the programme was, that although Nic was a superb instrumentalist, he was - and still is - more concerned about getting the song across, rather than show-offy arrangements, etc."

Yes, he said he had to get the guitar part "automatic" so he didn't have to think about that and could concentrate on the song. His playing wasn't meant to sound flashy: as described several times in the program, it was only when another guitarist tried to copy what he did that they discovered it wasn't as easy Nic made it sound.

I heard somewhere that Nic pointed out to another guitarist asking him for advice, that he kept it simple during the verses of a song; it was only between verses that the really tricky stuff came out. Not only because it's easier to concentrate on it when you're not singing at the same time, but more importantly because you don't want to distract from the words.