In reply to m0unt41n:
> My point was that unless an accent of the narrator served a specific purpose then there was no point in complicating things. I can understand Neil Oliver, although it takes a bit more effort, and as such seems pointless unless his accent adds to the programme.
> I will keep coming back to my analogy that whilst producing a book in Comic Sans is still readable, why on earth do it when Times Roman is much clearer and easier to use by the majority of users.
> As far as the program goes it was about Sir Bernard Lovell who most definitely did not speak with a regional accent. The location of the telescope and whatever the local accent there may be, other than it was in Britain, was an irrelevance as far as the program was concerned.
By chance I saw this programme last night. I can quite see your difficulty. In addition to Maxine Peake, who has a shockingly regional accent for such a well-known Shakespearean, there was Prof Tim O'Brien who is also disturbingly northern, Fred Hoyle who sounded like he was from Bradford or somewhere and Jocelyn Bell Burnell who is still quite clearly Scots despite her education. Why they couldn't have found equivalently expert speakers with acceptably RP delivery I can't imagine. They even spoke to barely literate locals like Alan Garner - you were fortunate to be spared Brian Cox.
As you say, at least Sir Bernard spoke properly, although you have to question his judgement in basing a project of such international significance so far north.