Impressed with James Russell tonight

I think I am eating my words here, but he seems to have changed for the better since coming back from his Maternity Leave. He looks quite dapper in his light brown suit and his hair is giving him a younger, fresher look.

He was selling an "Amulet Figurine" tonight, and was struck by how respectful and mindful he seemed towards spiritual viewers that his selling was not giving the impression that his religious icon/image was being "flogged off" for every inch of it's life! This is in stark contrast to the way Peter Simon insidiously evokes his own religiosity in his far-fetched manner with those Worry Angels, or Mike Mason, who hypes up those Buddha statues without any respect or sensitivity towards the people of the religion that the icon belongs to.

Good on you, James! :happy:

Indeed Greg, thankfully James has a very different presenting style to the atrocious Simon and Mason. They are not in the same league as him.

The pair of them are quite appalling, you would think there would be no place for their type on TV in 2013.

Yes indeed. He has gone from the most irritating prat on a shopping channel to a very good salesman. Credit where it's due. If a few more took the trouble to improve, the channel might well pick up.

He was without doubt the biggest bullshitter on the channel bar none just 6 months ago, maybe the lorry load of ASA complaints against him and becoming a parent made him change. He always had the charm and the talent. He probably is the most talented sales presenter on the channels, he can do it without the hard sell that you get from Sally Jacks, Mike Mason etc which is a really unique quality he possesses.

bidtvbs said:

He was without doubt the biggest bullshitter on the channel bar none just 6 months ago, maybe the lorry load of ASA complaints against him and becoming a parent made him change. He always had the charm and the talent. He probably is the most talented sales presenter on the channels, he can do it without the hard sell that you get from Sally Jacks, Mike Mason etc which is a really unique quality he possesses.

Click to expand...

Totally agree. I just hope he doesn't revert to being a bullshitter, he really is too good for that.

Absolutely agree - credit where it's due, he really has changed for the better. Really decent these days.

Yes I absolutely agree and this thread just shows that we do give credit where it's due, so M&M, we aren't out for character assassination, a lot of us genuinely find Mike Mason a disrespectful, pushy and arrogant hard nosed sales person. If he were to change and improve his attitude and hard selling technique as James has then we would comment on it and give him credit for it. We're not nasty people just out to get at MM, all we want is less bulls**t, openness and honesty. If James can do it then so could Mike (if he wanted to)

Just watching him tonight, is it me or is he siding back to his pre baby sales techniques? Referring to the prices making out it shouldn't be so low etc.

PJ. said:

Just watching him tonight, is it me or is he siding back to his pre baby sales techniques? Referring to the prices making out it shouldn't be so low etc.

Click to expand...

nothing like as bad as he was infact very good still


referring to a price being lower than it should be is a pre requisite of at least 95% of all shopping tv presenters no scrap that salesman in any industry

James russell said some gemstones are lab created.At least he is honest unlike Peter Simon who just talks rubbish.
He is too old for bidtv our peter he needs to go into radio or just get a proper job.Please please let peter simon go.James russell or Steve MacDonald needs to takeover from him.

Adam82 said:

James russell said some gemstones are lab created.At least he is honest unlike Peter Simon who just talks rubbish.
He is too old for bidtv our peter he needs to go into radio or just get a proper job.Please please let peter simon go.James russell or Steve MacDonald needs to takeover from him.

Click to expand...

Good to hear, I kind of though he might be slipping back to old habits but fair play to him for being so frank about those gemstones.

he mentioned they were lab created about 16 times in the hour i watched

not quite sure how compliant some people want him to be!

Adam82 said:

James russell said some gemstones are lab created.At least he is honest unlike Peter Simon who just talks rubbish.
He is too old for bidtv our peter he needs to go into radio or just get a proper job.Please please let peter simon go.James russell or Steve MacDonald needs to takeover from him.

Click to expand...

Glad someone's mentioned Steve MacDonald. He's made me laugh so much while he's been running Dirty Peter's shift that I had to comment- though still not sure I'd buy anything off him!

Timepiece said:

Glad someone's mentioned Steve MacDonald. He's made me laugh so much while he's been running Dirty Peter's shift that I had to comment- though still not sure I'd buy anything off him!

Click to expand...

hes the funniest presenter they have in my opinion. a great entertainer. a touch of the old BS now and again. but in the most part top quality stuff and always a laugh. at least its not hard sell anyway

bingowings said:

hes the funniest presenter they have in my opinion. a great entertainer. a touch of the old BS now and again. but in the most part top quality stuff and always a laugh. at least its not hard sell anyway

Click to expand...

not a massive fan of his but he has really stepped up his game whilst covering peter

Yes, vastly improved.

Steve makes me laugh. I do enjoy watching him and Yolisa, like last night.

I flicked on during a convo he was having about 'one'll be enough'......Yolisa was saying 'no, you can't just have one'. Steve then went on to say something like he didn't want to be like Evers 'didn't he have triplets?'

So I gather he's going to be a Daddy :clapping: