Time to retire age-old clichs

'I DON'T belie-e-eve it!" is what Victor Meldrew would probably have said if he'd known he stood accused of being a grumpy TV stereotype. Older viewers, it seems, are fed up with the way they are portrayed on television. Not all over-65s, they say, are bad-tempered Meldrews or sweet but slightly eccentric little old ladies in the Ethel-off-Eastenders mould. And it's about time the TV companies recognised that.

New research, by TV regulator the Independent Television Commission and charity Age Concern, reveals that while older viewers don't necessarily want programmes aimed specifically at them and enjoy watching the same programmes as anyone else, they do think they get a raw deal when it comes to the way they are portrayed on screen.

They want to see more over-65s on television who better represent their age group - especially more older women - and they would like to see a move away from the common stereotypes of old age.

There was nothing wrong with Meldrew as a character, of course. He was a glorious comic creation - and our TV sets will be the poorer without him. He clearly strikes a chord immediately with many viewers, young and old alike - a sign that he was actually far more than a mere stereotype.

"My friends say that I'm the female Victor Meldrew," admits Valerie Saye proudly. "If something goes wrong, I complain. I won't take second best."

Mrs Saye, a 65-year-old from Osbaldwick Lane with a 'young outlook on life', admits she enjoyed the character of Meldrew. Another of her favourites is Heartbeat's loveable rogue Claude Jeremiah Greengrass. "He is a rogue, but you can't help liking him," she says.

Meldrew and Greengrass, though, are the exceptions rather than the rule, she says. "I do think it's the case that they stereotype older people. I often find myself watching TV and thinking: they're doing it again! It's always the little old lady going to the shops, or baking the cakes. But we're not all like that!

"There seems to be this view that when you're 65, you're past it. But we've got the experience, the know-how, and even if you're not physically well, your brain is still active." Katie Hillaby says apart from being a 'sucker' for quiz shows she probably watches less TV than most people. She hankers after the days when families sat together in a room called the parlour because people actually talked to each other.

"Now it is called the lounge and people sit there with their feet up and watch the telly," she says wistfully.

Nevertheless Mrs Hillaby, who lives in south west York, agrees it would be helpful if TV programmes gave a more positive portrayal of older people instead of just 'talking down' to them.

"People's brains do still go on working," she says indignantly. "I feel it is very insulting to be treated as a silly, soppy older woman. For me particularly, I resent being treated as gaga because I'm 75."

While admitting there are successful older TV presenters such as Michael Parkinson, she says too many shows are clearly aimed at younger people.

"Fashion programmes are generally young and 30s and about going out in the evening," she says. "But a lot of older people still want to look smart when they're doing whatever they're doing. And those programmes about making over your house: you never see on one of those anything about adjusting houses for older people to live in when they are less active than they were."

When it comes to stereotyping, of course, elderly people aren't the only ones who feel they are misrepresented on the TV. Lawyers, teachers, doctors and even journalists have all at one time or another complained at the way they have been portrayed.

"Most groups will object to the way they're portrayed on TV," admits Patrick Murphy, who lectures on film and television at the College of Ripon and York St John. "Just look at teachers, for example. You think, get it right! But it holds true for most things, and all you can do is think never mind, it's only TV."

SO should older people just grin and bear it when feel they're misrepresented? Perhaps - except it's not only the stereotyping older viewers object to: it's also the fact that there simply are not enough people of their age group appearing on our TV screens.

Age Concern's national director general Gordon Lishman says it is time TV companies sat up and took notice. "Within 25 years, most of the adult population will be over 50," he says.

"Programme makers and advertisers must recognise demographic and social change, listen to their audiences and provide programmes which reflect the age range and diversity of the viewers of the 21st century.

"Most people feel that the 25-40 age group is the best served by television - is it just a coincidence that this is the age group most programme-makers fall into?"

TV companies, insists Patrick Murphy, are generally very much aware of their audiences, and what they want. Soaps such as Emmerdale and Coronation Street have always been careful to have characters of all generations featured.

Nevertheless, he agrees, there has been a gradual but definite attempt by the mainstream soaps to attract more younger viewers by bringing in younger characters - perhaps because while older people may watch more TV, it is younger people who spend more. They are the people advertisers want to reach out to.

"It is complicated," he admits. "But I'm sure it is true that we live in a society that does not value age as much as it used to - and that is reflected in TV, which reflects society."

So perhaps it's society as a whole that needs to sit up and take note of what older people have to offer - and not just the TV companies.

James Player of Age Concern York would certainly agree with that. He says it is crucial that older people's role in society is recognised.

But to help in that process, he says, it would be helpful to have more older people on TV who are not stereotyped simply as being old, but who are shown as being valuable and active members of the community. "We should portray people as people rather than stereotyping them, so that the age factor is not a factor," he says. "That's absolutely essential."

TV producers please note.