The Times - UK (2020-08-07)

the times | Friday August 7 2020 2GM 21

News

A 78-year-old children’s entertainer is
not the typical social media influencer
but Tim Rowett is one of a growing
number of over-50s who are winning
millions of fans on YouTube.
He has attracted 1.45 million sub-
scribers with his ten-minute videos
about his collection of 20,000 toys.
In Britain and the US, older heads in
the world of fashion, beauty, gaming,
toys and food are establishing YouTube
channels to rival young peers.
Viewership among people over 45
has risen 55 per cent since June last
year, moving from 11 per cent of the
platform’s total to 17 per cent, according
to Pixability, a YouTube insights firm.
Sara McCorquodale, 37, chief execu-

published more than 1,700 videos on

her channel, Sixty and Me, which

together have had 17 million views.

Experts say that such large viewing

figures are causing brands to wake up to

older stars on the platform.

“A few years back brands and

agencies rarely came to us for YouTube

YouTube’s older stars keep it real to win fans

tive and founder of Corq, which pro-

vides insight to brands about influen-

cers, said that older YouTube stars

brought a different dynamic.

“They really cut through because I

think there is a real confidence in their

delivery and they tend to be a lot more

frank and relaxed,” she said. “They

don’t seem to put on a persona — what

you see is what you get.”

That feeling is evident on Rowett’s

channel, called Grand Illusions, which

is partly run by Hendrik Ball, 65, a

former BBC producer. “You can’t give

him a script, he tells it in his own way,”

Mr Ball said. “We don’t do any audience

analysis to work out what they want, we

just give them Tim.”

Many viewers also appreciate the

expertise that older YouTube creators

can bring, especially when it comes to

beauty and fashion tips. Caroline

Hirons, 50, from Liverpool, has accu-

mulated a huge fanbase for her frank

opinions on products.

Her YouTube channel has had more

than 20 million views. Products

recommended on the channel can sell

out worldwide within hours. “With

someone like Caroline Hirons, part of

her appeal is you are going to get her

unvarnished opinion on what is worth

your money,” Ms McCorquodale said.

Hirons told The Times this year: “I’m

a good 25 years older than most of the

people who do what I do. It’s my

industry and I know it well, so I feel I

can shout at it when I need to.”

Tricia Cusden, 72, offers make-up

advice and tutorials for older women on

her channel, which has seven million

views, and Margaret Manning has

campaigns targeting older demo-

graphics because there was an assump-

tion YouTube didn’t reach older folks,”

Matt Duffy, chief marketing officer at

Pixability, told The Wall Street Journal.

That has now changed, although the

really big money is still showered on

younger stars. The top earner on

YouTube last year was Ryan Kaji, eight,

from Texas, who reviews toys. He made

$26 million between June 2018 and

June 2019.

Part of the charm of channels such as

Rowett’s is that they allows viewers to

escape fast-paced content elsewhere,

according to Mr Ball. Grand Illusions is

most popular with people aged 25 to 34,

who make up 36 per cent of their

audience. “A lot of people say it is a

haven of tranquillity, and people like

that,” he said.

Tom Knowles
Technology Correspondent

Tricia Cusden offers make-up tutorials

Car thief is

caught by

woman he

dragged 65ft

Neil Johnston Midlands Correspondent

A woman helped to catch a car thief
after she was dragged more than 60ft
along a road during the robbery. She al-
so identified him.
Footage showed the unnamed victim
in her thirties being dragged along a
road in West Bromwich, West Mid-
lands, clinging to her Ford C-Max as
Paul Harvey, 49, sped away.
Harvey had jumped into the driver’s
seat when the woman returned to her
car after visiting a church.
She had just started the car using her
remote key fob. Harvey drove off with
the woman clinging to the driver’s door
for 65ft before she fell to the ground.
The woman suffered cuts, bruises
and scarring but was able to give
police a detailed description of Harvey
after the robbery on October 6 last
year.
Harvey dumped the car nine miles
away in Walsall and an officer recog-
nised the prolific offender from the
woman’s statement and arrested him
later that day.
The victim picked Harvey, of Wed-
nesbury, out from an ID parade and he
was charged with robbery and jailed
last week for six years after pleading
guilty at Wolverhampton crown court.
PC Craig Elliott, of West Midlands
police, said: “This was absolutely
terrifying for the victim and it’s just
sheer fortune she was not more
seriously hurt.
“Harvey saw an opportunity and did
not care who he hurt along the way.
“It was through local knowledge that
an officer was able to identify Harvey as
the prime suspect through just the
description. It shows the value of know-
ing our communities and Harvey has
now lost his freedom for a long time.”

BNPS

T

he squat

serviceman

pictured

searching the

tallest soldier in

the German army came

to symbolise the pluck of

the Allies throwing

themselves on to the

D-Day beaches (David

Brown writes). Tributes

to Bob Roberts, who has

died in Bournemouth

aged 97, highlighted his

courage as the second

man on Juno Beach

during the landings on

June 6, 1944.

Mr Roberts, who was

5ft 3in, is best known for

coming face to chest

three months later with

Jakob Nacken, a 7ft 6in

circus performer who had

toured the world before

the Second World War

and was taken prisoner

in Calais. Mr Roberts

recalled: “I didn’t take

a lot of notice of this

guy. But my mates

was a corporal in the

Canadian Army and later

survived a sniper’s bullet

which grazed his head

and a surrendering

German who tried to

shoot him. He was

awarded the Légion

d’honneur by France in

2014. He died in his sleep
      at Bournemouth
      Hospital on August 1
      after a short illness.
      He and his wife Vera
      married in the
      town. She died in
      2011. They leave
      four children, ten
      grandchildren and
      19 great-grandchildren.

Hero made

short work

of D-Day

Bob Roberts with

the tallest man in

the German army

— a picture that

was featured in

newsreels — and

with his Légion

d’honneur medal

Codeine may

be taken off

shelf to avoid

opioid crisis

Katie Gibbons

Over-the-counter painkillers contain-

ing codeine could become prescrip-

tion-only in England amid concerns

about opioid addiction.

Draft guidance published this week

has already recommended that GPs do

not prescribe paracetamol, ibuprofen

and stronger opioids for chronic pain

because they are harmful and can cause

addiction.

The Medicines and Healthcare

products Regulatory Agency is con-

tinuing to monitor the safety of com-

mon strong painkillers such as Nurofen

Plus, co-codamol and co-codaprin.

These can be bought over the counter

for about £3.50 a pack but the agency is

examining whether a doctor’s prescrip-

tion should be needed.

The organisation said that the safety

of over-the-counter (OTC) codeine

products was under constant review

and that a reclassification would be

considered if deemed necessary. The

regulator made it clear that such

products were not intended for chronic

pain and should not be used for more

than three days.

Experts advising the National

Institute for Health and Care

Excellence on the treatment of chronic

pain raised concerns about over-the-

counter codeine in February. Others

warned that making such drugs

prescription-only would increase GPs’

workload.

A spokesman for Nice told the GPs’

magazine Pulse: “The guideline doesn’t

specifically address OTC medications

but the draft recommendation is not to

offer opioids to people aged 16 and over

to manage chronic primary pain.”

Last September Public Health

England published the first review into

prescription drug addiction. It said that

one in four adults in England, about

11 million people, had been prescribed

antidepressants, opioids, gabapen-

tinoids, benzodiazepines or similar

z-drugs in the previous year.

Martin Marshall, chairman of the

Royal College of GPs, said: “It is impor-

tant that OTC medicines are reviewed

but we would urge caution over the tim-

ing of any major reclassification when

the NHS is still grappling with the first

phase of the pandemic and also gearing

up for a potential second wave and win-

ter pressures.”

who were watching saw

this giant of a guy

approach me and I was

aware they and the

Germans were having a

good laugh.” Mr Roberts

Harvey jumped into the woman’s car
after she started it with a remote key