Will Self and George Orwell

In his talk on the BBC entitled "Why Orwell was a literary mediocrity", (www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28971276) Will Self is obviously looking for trouble! My own intense admiration of Orwell doesn't entirely blind me to what (I think) Self is driving at. It is true that Orwell, like another but inferior master of English prose, Somerset Maugham, found it difficult to "change gear", to move away from his trademark style, at once conversational and supremely lucid, to something more emotional or poetic. But Self misses the point entirely when he describes Orwell as a literary mediocrity. I'm sure that Orwell had no illusions about his talents as a novelist; indeed, I think he only adopted the form of the novel as a means of conveying his ideas. One does not read Orwell for the originality of the world he creates. He is not a Conan Doyle, a Wodehouse, a Waugh, a le Carré, a Stephen King or even a Will Self! One reads him for the clarity of his thought - with which one may not always agree.

To end on a sour note, Will Self writes: "Now, don't get me wrong. I like Orwell's writing as much as the next talented mediocrity." To whom is he referring?