Commercial channels have to focus on young people as they are the ones susceptible to advertising. The BBC should have no such worries. We should respect and cherish our older viewers who are loyal to us, and a growing part of the population. The average Newsnight (1980) viewer is 55. How many Newsnight (1980) staff are older than 55? Jeremy Paxman and one or two others. Men are allowed to become old on television, but not women. Where are all the grey-haired women? A very large chunk of the population is now made up of women over 55, but they are certainly not represented on television. I can think of any number of men working in television past retirement age but a woman is still lucky if she can keep working on screen anywhere near to that point.