THE children’s television favourites Dick and Dom are to come under a linguistic microscope as part of a BBC drive to weed out poor grammar in children’s programmes.

The corporation’s governors have cautioned that slang and poor language employed by the corporation’s stars could create a generation of children unable to master English.

Michael Grade, the BBC Chairman, called on the managers of the CBBC channel, which is watched by two million young people and home to the controversial Dick & Dom in Da Bungalow, to respond to a number of concerns over grammatical standards.

Minutes of the BBC Board of Governors’ July meeting, released yesterday, disclose that Alison Sharman, Controller of the CBBC channel, has promised to make “keeping a close watch on the use of bad grammar so as not to undermine standards of English” a priority.

She was responding to a Government-commissioned report by Professor Patrick Barwise, of the London Business School, which criticised the “crass” presentation, “tastelessness and cruelty” of some programmes on the CBBC channel. While praising many programmes, the report criticised the frequent use of bad grammar, citing “ain’t” and “you was” as examples.

The “scantily dressed” presenters were “too frenetic for ordinary day-time conversation” while Dick & Dom in Da Bungalow came close to “humiliating” children by going too far with tasteless scenes.

The Professional Association of Teachers conference this summer was told that Dick & Dom, the favourite programme among 6 to 12- year-olds, undermines attempts to maintain standards of spoken English.

Joyce Watts, a retired teacher, complained of “fast, loud speech” where “all the words run into one and cannot be understood”. Ms Watts said interviewers would ask guests, “What d’ya like best” and, “What’s ya faverit number?” Children’s written work suffered as they began to spell words as they believed they should be pronounced.

She said: “One student once said to me, ‘R dun wanna talk posh, miss’. My response to her was, ‘I’m not asking you to, but I am asking you to speak properly’.”

The Dick & Dom duo of Richard McCourt and Dominic Wood were nominated yesterday for the best Presenter and Entertainment show awards at the Children’s Baftas. They have been reprimanded by Ofcom for wearing T-shirts with a sexual slogan and provoked further complaints from parents after acting out a graphic childbirth scene.

Asked if their anarchic show sets a poor example, Wood said: “In Da Bungalow doesn’t educate children at all. They get educated during the week with programmes like Blue Peter and Newsround. The good thing about our show is that it is complete escapism.”

The CBBC grammar lesson will be taken by presenters including Reggie Yates and Fearne Cotton. Language will be monitored on programmes ranging from The Basil Brush Show to Grange Hill, where the use of “flippin ‘eck” provoked uproar nearly 30 years ago.

But Julia Strong, of the National Literacy Trust, believes that there is no going back to Listen With Mother. She said: “Children won’t watch if television is too stiff and formal. The important thing is that they know when to shift from the casual language of the playground to a more grammatically correct tone.”

The CBBC channel remit is to “help children to understand and embrace the world around them”. Dick & Dom’s All Electric Granny Snog Quiz and Push Plop Protein is part of the mix. The BBC said: “The programme made its audience laugh with jokes that may not be to adult tastes but are not designed to be.”

CBBC is a major plank in the BBC’s call for a licence fee increase because its programming is 91 per cent homegrown, in contrast to the US imports that dominate commercial networks.

Ms Sharman also promised to find “more CBBC presenters with specialist knowledge” after Professor Barwise asked why no one over the age of 21 was apparently allowed on screen. A CBBC spokesman said: “It is important that presenters like Dick & Dom use a vernacular that children understand and can identify with.”

WHAT NOT TO SAY

"He's gotten much better at tennis", instead of "become"

She "learned me" hot to drive, instead of "taught"

“Wassup?” instead of “What are you doing?”

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