BBC Week 14 Week Commencing 5 / 4 / 2014

Programme Information Television & Radio

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THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS TELEVISION & RADIO / BBC WEEK 14

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SUNDAY 6 APRIL Five Fables: The Preaching of the Swallow BBC Radio Ulster

MONDAY 7 APRIL Scup  NEW BBC Two NI

THURSDAY 10 APRIL Five Fables: The Fox, the Wolf and the Farmer BBC Two NI

EDITORIAL 2014 / BBC WEEK 14

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SUNDAY 6 APRIL TELEVISION & RADIO HIGHLIGHTS / BBC WEEK 14 ______

Five Fables: The Preaching of the Swallow 4/5 Sunday 6 April BBC Radio Ulster, 2.04pm bbc.co.uk/radioulster

Five medieval Scots fables, translated by Seamus Heaney, have been brought into the 21st century as enchanting tales for BBC Radio Ulster to complement the full animation series for BBC Northern Ireland television.

Narrated by acclaimed comedian/actor Billy Connolly and with a specially-composed score by internationally renowned pianist Barry Douglas, Five Fables, made by local animation studio Flickerpix, is an ambitious re-telling of stories written 500 years ago by the medieval Scots poet, Robert Henryson.

Continuing on BBC Radio Ulster, in the fourth episode on Sunday 6 April at 2.04pm a swallow watches a farmer sow flax seed and pleads with her fellow birds to gobble the seed up while they have the chance. Three times she warns them, but they pay no heed. The flax grows and is harvested by the farmer and turned into linen thread to make a net… but be warned….It doesn’t end well.

Five Fables is a Flickerpix Production for BBC Northern Ireland with support from the Northern Ireland Screen Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund.

CC

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MONDAY 7 APRIL TELEVISION & RADIO HIGHLIGHTS / BBC WEEK 14 ______

Scup Monday 07 April BBC Two NI, 10pm

Scúp, Colin Bateman’s drama series set in a struggling Irish language newspaper office, returns to BBC NI and TG4 for a second series.

In the new series we rejoin the newspaper team as they welcome two new members of staff – Gerry (Conor MacNeill) and Patrick (Shane Fallon).

‘Temporary’ editor of An Nuacht, Rob Cullan (Don Wycherley) is back at his desk, with his wife and children in tow. His life is complicated by his professional and personal relationship with ambitious reporter Alix (Kelly Gough), who has found herself a new love interest.

The tables are turned when Diarmuid (Denis Conway) finds his family in the headlines and old flames are rekindled for better or worse. Cormac’s (Donncha Crowley) nephew Gerry (Conor Mac Neill) joins as the new cub reporter, along with new photographer Patrick (Shane Fallon) from Dublin, who is a bit wet behind the ears. ‘Uncle Cormac’s’ loyalty to the paper is challenged as stories from the outside impact on individuals within the newsroom.

Once again Scúp tells small local news stories which illuminate bigger issues for the staff at the paper and the wider community that they serve. The series tackles themes such as drink driving, policing, legal highs, teacher pupil relationships and mental illness whilst still incorporating Bateman’s trademark wit and irreverence.

Around these storylines, Bateman weaves the troubled relationships of favourite characters – Rob and Alix and Diarmuid and Janine (Caitríona Ní Mhurchú) – whilst Cormac continues to be torn by loyalties past and present.

Scúp was Colin Bateman’s first drama series to be broadcast in the Irish Language. He said: “It's fantastic to be back for a second series of Scúp. I love being able to make a drama series in Belfast and having it set in a newspaper office gives a wide range of stories and topics I can tackle. The series deals with some quite serious issues, but there's always a strong sense of humour there as well, which I think has helped make it so popular.

“For me as a writer the great thing is that I'm given such free reign to write about what I want to write about - within reason! But I'm largely left alone to make it all up, which is the way I like to work. Over the years I've written a lot of television scripts, but very few of them have actually been set locally, so being able to write two complete series set here, using local actors and crew, has been fantastic!”

It airs on BBC Two NI from Monday 7 April at 10pm and on TG4 from Tuesday 1 April at 9.55pm.

Scúp is a Stirling Film and Television Production directed by Declan Recks (Pure Mule) and produced by Marie-Thérèse Mackle (6 Degrees). It is a co-production for TG4 and BBC NI, supported by funding from Northern Ireland Screen’s Irish Language Broadcast Fund.

MD

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THURSDAY 10 APRIL TELEVISION & RADIO HIGHLIGHTS / BBC WEEK 14 ______

Five Fables: The Fox, the Wolf and the Farmer 5/5 Thursday 10 April BBC Two Northern Ireland, 7pm

Five medieval Scots fables, translated by Seamus Heaney, have been brought into the 21st century as enchanting animated tales for BBC Two Northern Ireland.

Narrated by acclaimed comedian/actor Billy Connolly and with a specially-composed score by internationally renowned pianist Barry Douglas, Five Fables, made by local animation studio Flickerpix, is an ambitious re-telling of stories written 500 years ago by the medieval Scots poet, Robert Henryson.

In the fifth and final episode of the series, Five Fables: The Fox, the Wolf and the Farmer on BBC Two Northern Ireland, Thursday 10 April at 7pm, in a fit of bad temper a farmer shouts at his misfiring oxen: “the wolf shall have the lot of you!” The fox, overhearing nearby, decides to take the farmer at his word, and a courtroom–style battle ensues, bringing to the fore the bribery and corruption that evidently was a feature of medieval Scotland. The wolf is paid off, but the cunning fox hatches a plan to put an end to the wolf that involves a giant cheese…

This fable is accompanied by a documentary about Robert Henryson. Little is known about the 15th century Dunfermline schoolteacher, but a distinguished number of academics give plenty of insights into Henryson’s lifestyle and much neglected poetic works.

Five Fables is a Flickerpix Production for BBC Northern Ireland with support from the Northern Ireland Screen Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund.

CC

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