Once considered to be liberal, Nichols was described by Damian Thompson of "The Daily Telegraph" as having moved to more conservative positions. Elena Curti of "The Tablet" suggested this was the result of advice early in his career from Archbishop Worlock to make himself more "Vatican-friendly" if he was to get ahead in the Church hierarchy. Before his enthronement as Archbishop of Westminster, he was vocal in defending the public reputation of the Catholic Church, notably criticising the BBC for what he called "biased and hostile" programming, which contributed to the decision by the BBC not to show the animated sitcom "Popetown".