News from Andalucia & Costa del Sol
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El Inglés returns to Benalmádena
Frank Evans who hails from Salford, has just published his autobiography
By David Eade
ON THE BBC Radio Four flagship news programme Today they have interviewed presidents, prime ministers, industrial barons right down to the humble bee keeper. However two weeks ago a rather bemused team held their first interview with a matador - and a British matador at that.
Frank Evans, known to bullfighting aficionados as "El Inglés", is now aged 67 and has just published his autobiography - The Last British Bullfighter, hence his appearance on Today. At an age when most men are happier eating a steak rather than going into the ring to face the bull he will don his suite of lights for another dice with death in the Benalmádena Plaza de Toros.
In his autobiography Evans, who hails from Salford, tells how he first fell in love with the bullfight when he attended a wedding in Granada and joined the guests at the Plaza de Toros. He was a butcher by trade so naturally felt a bond between those who killed with the cape and sword rather than the slaughter of the abattoir.
El Inglés last appeared at Benalmádena's Plaza de Toros in 2005 and at that festival taurino was gored in the knee. So you might question why he is risking his body one more time, unless of course it is to help promote his book.
Incredibly he fought his first bullfight not in Spain but in Montpellier in France back in 1966. He did not take his alternativa, when he was confirmed a full member of the matador community, until 1991 aged 50 and confided to the Today team that he took part in the majority of his bullfights in the last decade.
Evans' home in Spain is in Marbella. He has had surgery on a number of occasions, had his knee rebuilt and undergone a quadruple heart bypass operation. On August 30 he will enter the Benalmádena arena one more time - not an occasion for the faint hearted.
'No official rebroadcasts of BBC in Spain' says corporation
The statement comes after 60 people - including a number of Britons - were arrested
By Dave Jones
A SPOKESMAN for the BBC said last week that the corporation takes the illegal broadcasting of its programmes in Spain 'extremely seriously'.
The statement comes after 60 people - including a number of Britons - were arrested across Spain as part of a National Police crackdown on the redistribution of pirated television transmissions.
The BBC spokesman told CBNews: "I can confirm that there are no official rebroadcasts of BBC public service channels in Spain.
"I'm afraid I can't comment further on prosecutions other than to say that the BBC takes these matters extremely seriously."
The corporation launched BBC Prime for viewers outside the UK back in 1995, with the channel broadcasting drama, comedy and lifestyle programmes via satellite and cable.
The BBC Prime website states: "Live coverage or highlights of sporting events is not something that BBC Prime includes in its schedules.
"We don't have international transmission rights to the action.
"International rights to the pictures have to be bought on the open market and payment made for European or global transmission.
"Often the international rights are held by a number of different channels with exclusivity clauses for their territory, and so are unavailable to us."