Grierson Awards/BFI

This awards ceremony was a welcome reminder of just how many outstanding documentaries are still being produced for British TV. It's not easy of course; docs depend on mavericks to make them, at least that's the impression I got at the BFI yesterday. But mavericks don't always do what TV bosses want - they eschew the safety of formats and often go over budget. But God, do we need them if TV is still going to mean something. On the evidence of last night, it's not TV that's dumbing down but the scheduling.