Elderly women are treated as 'figures of fun' and 'token' members of panel shows The Serving All Ages report was carried out in the wake of a growing belief that the corporation was too biased towards youth despite a growing elderly population. It came a year after former Countryfile presenter Miriam O'Reilly won her landmark ageism case against the BBC after she was axed from the Countryfile rural affairs show. Overall many viewers felt that the over 50s were stereotyped as "moaners" who refused to move with the times. They also felt that there were not enough middle-aged and elderly women on our screens compared with their male counterparts. When they did appear on shows such as Strictly Come Dancing they were "exploited" as figures of fun and as the subject of jokes. "Whilst Strictly Come Dancing was commended as a programme that included contestants from a range of ages it was also felt to sometimes mock and at worst be exploitative of certain older contestants," said the report. Viewers highlighted Miss Widdecombe who they said had been on the talent show "just for a laugh." "We didn't like older people making a fool of themselves on telly, producers and directors are taking advantage and are using it for entertainment," said a 72-year-old viewer, one of the 180 interviewed. An example of this would be Strictly Come Dancing. It's just embarrassing. I don't like seeing older folk being exploited. Broadcasters were also criticised for dropping women newsreaders and entertainment presenters who lost their jobs allegedly due to their age. The report said viewers felt these presenters had been treated unfairly, "particularly when they had been replaced with what people felt were less qualified but younger, more attractive women." Viewers said older women were treated differently to older men, such as Sir David Attenborough, Sir Bruce Forsyth and a "host of newsreaders" for whom their age "appeared to be seen as advantageous." One viewer said: "Getting rid of all these older newsreaders, and bringing in young, glamorous kind of females. You're kind of forgetting the older person which they shouldn't because it's nice to grow up to older faces, and more mature faces, rather than just having women in their young 20s that haven't really got the experience. The BBC Radio One presenter Annie Nightingale was referenced as an example of someone who was perceived to have been "ousted" from TV, even though this was not in fact the case. They were often said to be moaning such as in One Foot in the Grave and Grumpy Old Men/Women and behaving eccentrically. But there were some positive portrayals of the elderly on television. They were often seen as specialists on programmes like the Antiques Roadshow or contestants on quiz shows such as Eggheads showing that older people are bright and intelligent. Characters in soaps and dramas that were felt to reflect this positive portrayal, included the Dowager Countess from Downton Abbey, Patrick Trueman in EastEnders and Betty Turpin in Coronation Street. These were perceived as strong characters that did not seem to deteriorate as they aged. Younger people also felt these characters represented a positive portrayal as they "stand up for themselves."