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Home , Alan Bleasdale, Alex Horne, Broadchurch, Broadchurch (series 1), Cold Feet, Curtis Brown (agency)

January 2019

Keep dancing Apply for the 2019 Shiers Trust Award The Trust can make a grant of up to £4,000 towards publishing work on any aspect of TV history

Grants will be given to assist in the ­completion of new or unfinished projects, work or literature specific to the objectives of the Trust. ‘Literature’ is defined as including audio-visual media such as DVDs and websites. It is essential that applicants read all the conditions and criteria, which can be found online at the address below.

George Shiers, a distinguished US historian, was a Do you need long-­standing member of the RTS. The Shiers Trust grant is now in its 19th year. Application procedure £4,000 Applications are now invited and should be submitted to the Trus- tees by Friday 29 March 2019 on for a history of the officialapplication ­ form. www.rts.org.uk/ ­television project? shiers-trust-award

8 Journal of The January 2019 l Volume 56/1

From the CEO As 2019 begins, ’d like decision to locate its new out- A massive thanks to them and to our to thank everyone of- headquarters there. peerless host, Damian Collins MP, who has helped make I was thrilled that chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and the past year such could be a panel member at our Sport Committee. Full reports of both a stand-out one for December early-evening event, “A TV evenings are in this issue. the RTS. The Society Christmas Carol”. Michael’s revealing January’s cover story by Pippa could not do all the anecdotes came thick and fast. He Shawley is a timely piece on the rise great things it does without our tre- recounted how he’d helped shape and rise of the dance genre on TV. mendous, hard-working staff in Lon- and schedule some of the classic Saturday evenings won’t be quite the don, or the fantastic goodwill of moments from festive TV. The two same minus Strictly. every­one who does so much for us in Kates (BBC Entertainment’s Kate The good news is that another the nations and regions. Phillips and Click’s Kate Russell) were glamorous dance series, The Greatest It’s been an incredible 2018. I can’t fantastic, too. Dancer, is coming soon. Judged by the thank everyone enough for making it On an evening of high drama at trailers, we’re in for another glossy, all happen. Westminster – in the Commons, the prime-time treat. I, for one, can’t wait. Our January issue contains some Government suffered three consecu- Finally, a very Happy New Year to New Year treats for you to enjoy. Peter tive defeats in the debate – the all our members and readers. Bazalgette’s look back at some of the RTS hosted its latest APPG event, “The main events of last year from a televi- future of TV journalism in an age of sion perspective is a joy to read. fake news and disinformation”, at Also, do read Helen Scott’s warm Portcullis House. reflections on how her home city, A stellar panel got to grips with a , is set to benefit from ’s subject that is close to all our hearts. Theresa Wise Contents ’s TV Diary March of the ten-per-centers Alex Horne, creator of comedy hit Taskmaster, receives On both sides of the Atlantic, talent agencies are 7 an unusual delivery and consults his children for advice 20 increasing their role in content production. Simon Shaps investigates TV and dance: perfect partners Can BBC One’s new show The Greatest Dancer sparkle Fighting fake news 8 like Strictly? Pippa Shawley takes to the floor Steve Clarke is persuaded by an RTS panel that 22 transparency will be central to content platforms A storyteller for our times maintaining trust hears how James Graham aims to make 10 sense of our divided nation in Brexit: The Uncivil War RTS Masterclasses 2018 Steve Clarke and Matthew Bell distil two days of expert Royals, reboots and revelations 26 advice from leading television practitioners In a Brexit-free zone, looks back 13 on the past 12 months Carving up Christmas viewing Matthew Bell is haunted by the ghosts of Gently does it 30 and Wise at a Yuletide RTS event Andrew Billen talks to producer 16 Sally Woodward Gentle about the obstacles RTS Craft & Design Awards 2018 to a work-life balance The nominees and winners of the awards, hosted by 33 Tom Allen at the London Hilton, over eight pages Our Friend in Leeds Helen Scott celebrates Channel 4’s impending move 19 to her home city Cover: BBC

Editor Production, design, advertising Royal Television Society Subscription rates Printing Legal notice Steve Clarke Gordon Jamieson 3 Rise UK £115 ISSN 0308-454X © Royal Television Society 2019. [email protected] [email protected] London EC4Y 8EN Overseas (surface) £146.11 Printer: FE Burman The views expressed in Television News editor and writer Sub-editor T: 020 7822 2810 Overseas (airmail) £172.22 20 Crimscott Street are not necessarily those of the RTS. Matthew Bell Sarah Bancroft E: [email protected] Enquiries: [email protected] London SE1 5TP Registered Charity 313 728 [email protected] [email protected] W: www.rts.org.uk

Television www.rts.org.uk January 2019 3 CrewStartTM

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www.sargent-disc.com www.digitalproductionoffice.com @SargentDisc @DigiProdOffice 8 /SargentDisc /digitalproductionoffice Your guide to upcoming events. Book online at RTS NEWS www.rts.org.uk

RTS AWARDS National events Tuesday 19 March RTS Programme Awards 2019 RTS EARLY EVENING EVENT In partnership with Audio Network Wednesday 23 January Venue: Grosvenor House Hotel, RTS screening of 4 Blocks 86-90 Park Lane, London W1K 7TN Joint event with TNT Serie/Turner and the RTS. Screening of the RTS AWARDS season 2 opener plus a Q&A Friday 28 June Screening with executive producers Hannes RTS Student Television Heyelmann and Anke Greifeneder Awards 2019 and Q&A from TNT Serie, Quirin Berg from Sponsored by Motion Content Wiedemann & Berg and director Group Özgür Yildirim. 5:30pm for Venue: BFI Southbank, Belvedere 4 Blocks 6:30pm screening Road, London SE1 8XT Venue: Curzon Soho, 99 Shaftes­ 23 January bury Avenue, London W1D 5DY RTS CONFERENCE Curzon Soho Cinema, London

18-20 September RTS FUTURES RTS Cambridge Wednesday 30 January Convention 2019 NORTH WEST Tuesday 16 April RTS Futures Television Venue: King’s College, ■ Rachel Pinkney 07966 230639 RTS Student Careers Fair 2019 Cambridge CB2 1ST ■ [email protected] Television Awards 2019 Tips, tricks and practical The awards are supported by advice to help you land that NORTHERN STV, which will film the awards all-important first job in TV. Local events Tuesday 26 March ceremony and show the event Take part in our interview RTS Student and the winning films on its masterclasses, get your CV AND CORNWALL Television Awards 2019 digital platform. 6:00pm tweaked by professionals, learn ■ Jane Hudson Venue: TBC Venue: Argyle Street Arches, about the different jobs and ■ RTSDevonandCornwall@rts. ■ John Mitchell 253 Argyle Street, G2 8DL schemes out there and network org.uk ■ mitch.mvbroadcast@ with the most influential btinternet.com Wednesday 12 June creatives in the business! EAST RTS Scotland Television Exhibiting companies include: Thursday 14 March Awards 2019 BBC, BECTU, Call Time, Channel 4, RTS East Awards 2019 ■ Charles Byrne (353) 87251 3092 Venue: The Old Fruitmarket, Connect2TVCoaching, Edinburgh Venue: TBC ■ [email protected] Candleriggs, Glasgow G1 1NQ Festival, Endemol Shine UK, ■ Nikki O’Donnell ■ Jane Muirhead Finecast, FremantleMedia UK, ■ nikki.odonnell@.co.uk SCOTLAND ■ [email protected] IBM, IMG, ITN, ITV, ITV Studios, Wednesday 16 January Mama Youth Project, Media LONDON RTS Scotland AGM SOUTHERN Trust, Milk VFX, Molinare, NBC, ■ Daniel Cherowbrier 6:30pm. Refreshments after ■ Stephanie Farmer NFTS, Presenter Promotions, ■ [email protected] Venue: STV, Pacific Quay, ■ [email protected] RDF, RTS Membership/ Glasgow G51 1PQ Bursaries, Sara Putt Associates, MIDLANDS THAMES VALLEY Searchlight, ScreenSkills, ■ Jayne Greene 07792 776585 Thursday 7 February ■ Tony Orme Shooting Partners, Sky Content ■ [email protected] Campbell Swinton Lecture ■ [email protected] Services, Sky QC&A, Sony, with BBC Scotland director Studio Lambert, Think Bigger, NORTH EAST AND THE BORDER Donalda MacKinnon UKTV and WBITVP Saturday 23 February You are advised to book early, ■ Hywel Wiliam 07980 007841 Venue: Business Design Centre, RTS North East & the Border as this event is expected to sell ■ [email protected] 52 Upper Street, London N1 0QH Awards 2019 out. Refreshments available. 6:00pm onwards 6:00pm for 6:30pm WEST OF RTS AWARDS Venue: Hilton Newcastle Venue: BBC Scotland, 40 Pacific ■ Belinda Biggam Wednesday 27 February Gateshead Hotel, Bottle Bank, Quay, Glasgow G51 1DA ■ [email protected] RTS Television Journalism Gateshead NE8 2AR Awards 2019 ■ Jill Graham YORKSHIRE Sponsored by Guestbooker.com ■ [email protected] ■ Lisa Holdsworth 07790 145280 Venue: London Hilton on Park ■ lisa@allonewordproductions. Lane, London W1K 1BE co.uk

Television www.rts.org.uk January 2019 5 RTS TELEVISION JOURNALISM AWARDS 20192018

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Alex Horne, creator of comedy hit Taskmaster, receives an unusual delivery and consults his children for advice

y working Taskmaster book, which involves as ■ I seldom do stand-up alone any life was much work for me as the reader. more, so this is my only chance to turned on its Many of the tasks are interactive. do what used to be my job. head nine Throughout the week, I receive Doing it with (I went to years ago, the amazing and alarming correspon- primary school with two of the band summer after dence. Yesterday, I came home to a and know the others more intimately I became a message from my neighbour, who’d than is healthy) is immeasurably father. Presumably out of panic, I had to take delivery of a pallet of more pleasurable than the solo world Mbegan two projects that were meant peanut butter for me (in response to a of endless journeys, silent dressing to run alongside my normal stand-up “Send me something unusual” task). rooms and soulless service stations. comedy, but these now dominate the There are many perks to what I do. Although, to be fair, I still love these working week. islands. My three children seem not to ■ Even more recklessly, I vowed to If I ever need to write something, I mind both ventures – for now, at dish out a task on every day head to Teddington or Beaconsfield least – and actually help on occasion. throughout Advent, unaware that a and plant myself in the middle of the daunting number of people were lying very worst café to get inspired. ■ We are currently filming the bulk in wait for just such an opportunity. of the eighth and ninth series of I can’t back out now, so any spare ■ This week, we recorded with Tim Taskmaster. What started as a one- time is spent answering questions Key, Rufus Hound and Sir Chris Hoy. night stand at the Edinburgh Fringe from the confused and trying to I didn’t expect I’d be saying that took on a life of its own – and took decide who’s won every day. It’s a job when we booked 10 nights at the over mine. that was born for but Pleasance back in 2010. I spend more time at the Taskmas- which makes me sweat. We never had a plan – and still ter house, by the Thames, when we This, though, is the of the don’t – but, again, better are in full swing than I do at home, show. Nine years ago, I sent my first and friends such as Tim have always but it’s only fun. We think up tasks tasks to 20 of my friends over the been there to muck around with us. for my comedy heroes to tackle. One internet. Now, thousands are taking And it’s a happy surprise that the by one, they come and do whatever part. I can see how cult leaders get likes of Hoy and Hound are so willing is asked of them. carried away with themselves. to join in. Sure, they bicker and berate me. Many force me into situations that I’d ■ Thankfully, my other children – ■ At home, the kids suggest their never wish on others. But I am con- the members of my band, The Horne own tasks and solutions. I try to get stantly surprised by the unending Section – are consistently excellent them to practise their saxophones, inventiveness of their brains. It turns and always diligent at putting me in because I still wish I was a real out that comedians are funny people. my place. musician. We meet at least once a week for a My wife is a saint for putting up ■ If I’m not adjudicating at the Task- chaotic live show, ideally somewhere with it all. master house, I’m adjudicating from within two hours’ travel from home, mine. I foolishly invited the public or for a rambling podcast in the saxo- Alex Horne is a , musician and to take part themselves through a phonist’s basement. writer.

Television www.rts.org.uk January 2019 7 TV and dance Perfect partners

Can BBC One’s new show The Greatest Dancer sparkle like Strictly? Pippa Shawley takes to the floor

hen the BBC spiced up one of TV’s oldest for- mats to create Strictly Come Danc- ing, few thought it would create the holy grail of TV – a genuineW pop-culture phenomenon that glued all ages to the box. That was almost 15 years ago. Come Dancing, the show that inspired Strictly, first appeared in 1950, surviving in all its flouncy glory until 1998. It remains to be seen if even Strictly can last that long. Remarkably, despite the departure of key dance master and catchphrase king , who hung up his shiny shoes in 2014, Strictly chalked up its most successful season ever last year. “In a way, it’s owned by the public,” says Kate Phillips, the BBC’s entertain- ment controller. Viewers have become armchair experts in the paso doble and Viennese waltz. The Strictly team work hard to cast celebrities who will appeal to all ages. Despite the annual grumbles about some members of the cast being more obscure than others, by the end of the competition the show has made household names of its contestants. “We cast a mixed bag,” Phillips explains. “We want to cast [some] people who are complete novices, some who have a bit of dance knowl- edge and some who will surprise us.” The show has hit a winning formula with its mix of fabulous costumes, fiery judges and outstanding professional dancers. It’s not something that’s The Greatest Dancer messed with. “People just love what presenter Jordan Banjo they know,” Phillips believes. Instead of

8 playing around with the format, each for more than one,” she insists. Dancing moment, and the next morning in year the show pushes for bigger, more on Ice returned in 2018 after a four-year school and in the office.” impressive dances that continue to hiatus. It was felt that the show had With this in mind, former Love Island thrill and inspire the nation. come to the end of the road, and winner Kem Cetinay has been Now Phillips is launching what she coaches Jayne Torvill and Christopher recruited as the new social reporter for hopes will become another entertain- Dean wanted a break. , producing content for ment behemoth. Inspired by the music “People genuinely missed it,” says social-media platforms. As a previous video for Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop Rawcliffe. “We did a lot of research Dancing on Ice competitor, Cetinay the Feeling, which showed amateur [and] they missed that sort of glitz knows what it takes to participate in dancers busting their moves in car and glam in cold January on a Sunday the competition, but he is also popular parks, diners and supermarket aisles, night.” That nothing else had performed among younger viewers. Phillips wanted a show that featured as well in that slot helped, too. An aver- The 2019 series will feature more “real people”. age audience of 7.8 million tuned in for themed nights, following the success The result is The Greatest Dancer, an the rebooted series. of last year’s fairytale episode, which eight-part talent show in which ama- Like Strictly, switches on appealed to both the show’s younger teur dancers of all ages show off their to see skidding celebrities transform viewers and its nostalgic older audience. passion for dance, from ballet to into majestic figure skaters – but the The accessibility of dance is the key Bollywood. jeopardy of being on the ice also helps. to the success of shiny floor shows Singer and former X Factor judge such as Strictly and Dancing on Ice, but Cheryl (no surname these days), Glee for Emma Cahusac, the BBC’s dance star and Strictly IT’S EVENT TELLY commissioner, dance also plays an professional serve as important role in tapping into the “dance captains”. They will mentor .… YOU NEED zeitgeist: “Dance is a very useful way the contestants. of looking at us at that moment, at our The series is produced by Syco TO BE THERE culture, at our history.” Entertainment, ’s pro- WATCHING IT She is keen to work with dance duction company, best known for ITV companies that are not only innovative hits Britain’s and . AS IT PLAYS OUT in their performances, but also mark It is the first show the BBC has ordered a “moment”. BBC Four’s 2018 Dance from the company. Season included Choreographing History, “I didn’t realise it was such a big deal,” Notable accidents include Jennifer which looked at the artistic process laughs Phillips, who put the idea for an Ellison drawing blood when she hit behind Shobana Jeyasingh’s Contagion, amateur dance show out to tender. herself on the head with her skate inspired by the 1918 flu epidemic. Prej- “The from Syco was just glorious blade, and professional skater Mark udice and Passion, also part of the sea- and full of energy,” she recalls. She Hanretty dislocating his shoulder live son, followed choreographer Carlos hasn’t met Cowell, but Syco’s track on air. Pons Guerra as he prepared a chil- record of delivering Saturday-­night “We found quite quickly that people dren’s production that told the true ratings winners for ITV for the past loved to watch the celebrities pull off story of a baby penguin raised by two 14 years won’t have hurt. the dances and the routines and learn male penguins. Consisting of four pre-recorded their skills,” shares Rawcliffe, “but Cahusac is currently working on a episodes, followed by a further four equally, if there was a slip, a slide, a fall, show that uses the prism of dance to live shows, The Greatest Dancer won’t a trip, they loved that as well.” explore the social history of the 1970s compete with Strictly, but will nod to its For modern audiences, being able and 1980s. older sister, with the winner receiving to tweet about those trips and falls (or Watching beautifully produced, £50,000 in cash and a slot performing impressive scorpion kicks) is part of well-rehearsed routines provides some on the next series of Strictly. the fun. When the return of Dancing much-needed escapism, too, believes “Obviously, everyone wants the on Ice was mooted, the team debated Kate Phillips. Last year, Strictly received cash, but [performing on Strictly] is a whether it could be pre-recorded. its highest ratings ever. “I’m not going really big deal for them,” says Phillips. “We’ve always felt that, with this to get political, but there is a sense that “A lot of the younger performers, the show and shows that are similar, it’s formats often reflect the climate, and 16- and 17-year-olds, have watched event telly.… You need to be there, I think we’re in unstable times at the Strictly almost their entire lives, and watching it as it plays out,” reckons moment.… People just love what they grown up with it.” Rawcliffe. “When someone does slip know, and they will keep coming to it The New Year will be a good time for or trip, it makes it much more of a as long as it’s still at the top of its game.” shareholders in sequin-manufacturers. ‘moment.’.” Launching a new prime-time enter- ITV’s winter extravaganza Dancing on Phillips agrees: “Amazon and tainment show is no mean feat, but Ice returns with its own celebrity are coming, and they’re strong compe- Phillips hopes that the dance-loving line-up, including Towie star Gemma tition… but I think that’s where the public will warm to the amateur com- Collins and Richard Blackwood. linear channels endure – we have petitors on The Greatest Dancer in the The show’s creative director, Katie those live appointments on TV. same way they have to Britain’s Got Rawcliffe, isn’t worried about the new “Even with Love Island on a digital Talent contestants and Strictly’s super- competition. “The whole of the TV platform, people were coming to watch stars – and that the new format will industry is looking for the next big it live every night, because they want provide another dollop of glamorous

BBC entertainment show, and there’s room to be part of the conversation at that escapism for viewers. n

Television www.rts.org.uk January 2019 9 A storyteller for our times

y interview with negotiations, in 2010, between Bertie Drama dramatist James Carvel’s Nick Clegg and Mark Dexter’s Graham regarding . his Channel 4 As Cameron is now thought by some Mark Lawson hears drama Brexit: The only to have promised the EU referen- how James Graham Uncivil War takes dum in the belief that it would never placeM slightly later than planned for an happen (because he expected to lose aims to make sense of appropriate reason. We have both been the 2015 election or enter another transfixed by coverage on the BBC coalition with Clegg, who would have our divided nation in Parliament channel of blocked a plebiscite on ), there is Brexit: The Uncivil War suffering three Commons defeats in a link between Coalition and Brexit: The close succession at the start of the Uncivil War, which seems certain to be debate on her EU withdrawal deal. one of the first TV hits of 2019. One mark of a distinctive playwright And, as Graham also dramatised the is that life starts to feel like their scripts. 2015 election in The Vote (a Donmar And the events in Westminster resem- Warehouse stage play screened live on ble a scene from Graham’s 2012 hit on polling night), I suggest to stage play, This House, concerning the him that he now has an accidental fall of the Labour minority government trilogy, dramatising all the major polit- ‘I THINK THERE’S of 1976-79. ical events of this decade. A DIFFERENCE That success made Graham the “Yes,” agrees the 36-year-old who go-to fictional chronicler of British comes from Mansfield. “Although my BETWEEN politics. It led to further stage plays, feeling is that it won’t stop at a trilogy. PEOPLE BEING including Labour of Love (2017), the story It will be an anthology that will never of a centrist Labour MP who falls in stop. Without sounding too worthy or DISILLUSIONED love with a Corbynista assistant. It also romantic about the role of culture in BY POLITICS AND set up Channel 4’s 2015 drama Coalition. these unprecedented, chaotic times, I This RTS Single Drama award winner think, alongside journalism and politi- UNINTERESTED’ foregrounded the power-sharing cal debate online, drama needs to

10 insert itself into these events – to con- writer afterwards. “It was a slightly sider them on a narrative, dramatic, surreal moment,” Graham recalls. “It’s character level. a bit of a blur because I couldn’t really “There are clearly such divisions believe he was there in front of me. He – and it’s so toxic – that storytelling was very engaging and asked lots of needs to come into this space to try to questions about who I spoke to. He give some sense of what’s going on.” was very keen on a sequence that At the start of Graham’s career, it showed the old ‘hot metal’ method of was common for producers in theatre printing newspapers. He spoke about and TV to say that politics was boring. his memories of the romance of that.” “Yeah. I sort of miss ‘boring’ politics. I For Brexit, Graham spoke at length to really do. But I don’t think it was ever Oliver and Cummings: “For whatever true. When TV commissioning editors reason, people seem happy to meet said there was no audience for politics, playwrights and talk to them in a dif- I never believed them. I think there’s a ferent way than they would to journal- difference between people being disil- ists. I’m not going to lie: Dominic lusioned by politics and uninterested. I Cummings had a lot of questions about don’t think that most people are unin- engaging at first, realising that some- terested. The great surprise of my – thing like this had the potential to be and my colleagues’ – creative life was a stitch-up. So he met me a couple of that This House found not just an audi- times and spent time with Benedict.” ence at the National Theatre, but that After the research process, Graham James Graham it went on to find one in the West End Brown Curtis begins by reducing the story to its and on tour over the past five years. essentials: “I’m a great believer in “So there is an appetite for stories ‘THE MAIN applying to the random sprawling about the political condition – to be mess of history quite a rigid, traditional entertained by it, horrified by it, and CHARACTERS structure. I often ask myself, if this informed by it.” WERE UNKNOWN were a movie, what would the While Graham will doubtless, even- Pixar version be? tually, write – for stage or TV or both TO ME BEFORE I “Or, in the musical version, what – That House, about the parliamentary STARTED WORK would the second song be? And, once debate over Brexit, he has no worries you apply those principles to it, you about Brexit: The Uncivil War now seem- ON IT’ start to tame the mass of information ing dated, in focusing on the fight and make sense of it. But, once you’ve between the Leave and Remain teams done that, you can be inventive and in 2016. Cummings, the eccentric and conten- playful with the form or whatever. But “The reason we go back to the very tious visionary who ran the main you have to get the story straight first.” recent past is to make sense of where Leave campaign. Theatres have no statutory obligation we are now and where we are going,” “The main characters were of impartiality, and biographical dra- he says. Watching the “chaos and car- unknown to me before I started work mas for that medium also benefit, nage” of the parliamentary debates on on it,” admits Graham. “It’s a great Graham thinks, from the fact that May’s deal was, for Graham, a privilege as a writer to be able to pull “stage plays have an abstraction and “reminder of the validity of exploring back the curtain and see all these sense of illusion that encourage view- the origins of some of the actions that invisible people pulling levers. We’re ers not to think they are seeing reality”. are now having consequences”. very familiar with the public-facing But, he acknowledges, “TV is a much With calls for a second referendum politicians, the Michael Goves and more literal medium, and that comes growing louder at the time we speak, Boris Johnsons. with responsibilities. Especially with he also feels that “if we’re going to do “But Johnson didn’t come up with something as recent and controversial it again, then, Jesus Christ, we need to the £350m a week for the NHS claim as Brexit. So, yes, I do think that you learn the lessons of the last one”. that was on the side of the bus. have to apply different standards to the Brexit: The Uncivil War is based on two didn’t design the tar- representation of real people on televi- books on the referendum: All Out War, geted advertising that appeared on sion than you would on stage.” by Sunday Times political editor Tim people’s feeds. This drama is Because of internal and external Shipman, and Unleashing Demons by about the people who did.” codes of conduct, TV editorial and legal Craig Oliver, who was Cameron’s Graham’s policy with his biographi- departments carefully scrutinise bias, director of communications. cal dramas is to seek to speak to the accuracy, libel, and privacy. Whereas, in Coalition, the main char- living participants in the events. For “I found it really hard to tread that acters were well-known public figures the stage play Ink (2017) – about Rupert line of impartiality,” Graham says. (Paddy Ashdown reportedly com- Murdoch’s 1969 recreation of as “I sought advice constantly from col- plained that he was played by an actor a Tory, breast-baring tabloid – he even leagues. But I really enjoy the part of who looked too old), in Brexit, they are requested an interview with the elu- writing that is to play devil’s advocate largely the unknown puppet-masters. sive tycoon. He refused but eventually with your own possible prejudices.” Rory Kinnear plays Oliver, with Bene- came to see one of the final West End Across his work for stage and screen, dict Cumberbatch as Dominic performances, meeting the cast and Graham’s reputation is for being �

Television www.rts.org.uk January 2019 11 Benedict Cumberbatch as Dominic Cummings in Brexit: The Uncivil War Channel 4

� even-handed. Is that a result of Brexit begins with the standard A striking aspect of recent TV drama temperament or policy? “It was a disclaimer that some scenes and has been the recruitment of theatre very conscious decision. I’m not dog- dialogue have been created for dra- writers: Mike Bartlett (Doctor Foster, matic about it. I think that there matic purposes. “My general rule,” Press), (This is England, should be different approaches: TV Graham says, “is that, if someone is National Treasure) and Phoebe Waller- can sustain work that is polemical or standing in front of a microphone or Bridge (, Killing Eve) were all to didactic. a dispatch box, they have to say as be found alongside Graham in the “But, for me, I just find it dramati- near as dammit what they really said. theatre listings at the time he started cally inert to come down explicitly on But, once they’re behind closed doors, writing. one side. Especially with Brexit – they’re mine. “We’re in a very exciting time,” says which is pretty much 50-50 in the “And I think audiences are familiar Graham. “I remember a view among country, whatever people in the with that convention: the joy of playwrights – which, in my view, was media industries might have thought shows such as The Crown is that the unfair and unfounded – that televi- – you want people to access the work audience enjoys being taken into the sion was a lesser art form than thea- without feeling pre-judged. private world while being aware that tre. And broadcasters were sometimes “But I think that, while doing that, they are watching a fictionalisation. reluctant to employ theatre writers. you can still pursue an argument, “We know that, at the end of each “But those two perceptions have which isn’t tribal or Leave/Remain. episode of The Crown, people jump on now gone. If you look at Phoebe And, in this case, the question for me to Wikipedia and ask: ‘Is that true?’ I’d Waller-Bridge’s Killing Eve, it’s so is how healthy this referendum was: like that to happen with Brexit. It extraordinary and authored. I don’t did we rise to the occasion and pres- should be a primer.” know how they write the hours they ent the best version of ourselves? For me, , screenwriter do. I’m in awe of the amount that “I don’t think anyone believes that of The Crown, takes more liberties with Mike Bartlett and Jack Thorne write we did. I think it was an awful cam- history than Graham does, but the for TV. I write a single film and then paign – on all sides – politics at its younger dramatist’s response to this have to lie down.” lowest.” suggestion allows Morgan the excuse He loves television, though, having Because those behaving (allegedly) of dealing with duller material: “Well, grown up watching “that ITV/Granada lowly do not always see it that way with Brexit, why make anything up, tradition of muscular northern drama themselves, Graham also admits that because the reality is so – Cracker, Band of Gold. Also, anything he has “spoken to so many lawyers. I extraordinary?” by , Alan Bleasdale, don’t want to sound accidentally cava- The liberties Graham took in Brexit Paul Abbott – dramas that put the lier or boastful about it. But I genuinely extended to telescoping four meetings human at the heart of the story but think that, if I wrote something like into one, or putting in the room some- were set against very real, urgent this, and I wasn’t immediately phoned one who was, in reality, on the phone socio-political background. I loved by a cabal of worried lawyers, then I from a train. He also created a framing that contest of the political and the wouldn’t have done my job. device in which Cummings is inter- personal.” “The scripts came back marked: viewed by a Hutton- or Leveson-like He hopes to continue the screen ‘What’s your source for this?’, ‘Can we inquiry into the conduct and funding story that begins with Brexit: The say this?’ And that’s great. And excit- of the referendum campaigns; there Uncivil War. “I already have the next ing. Because a piece like this should has never been such an inquiry, three or four films in my head, and feel dangerous.” although some have called for one. would love to do them.” n

12 Review of the year In a Brexit-free zone, Peter Bazalgette looks back on the past 12 months

Love Island ITV Royals, reboots and revelations tabs have their story. Later, the party imagine the call: “White House JANUARY meets the impressive young talent switchboard... I’m sorry, the President ITV’s much-anticipated new Chief coming through the RTS’s important does not take unsolicited calls… and Executive, Carolyn McCall, finally bursary programmes. Harvey who?” arrives on the South Bank. The press Fantastic drama on Channel 4 this chitter-chatter mentions her previous month: Kiri, with the incomparable MARCH media experience at . Sarah . Always good to see ITV, in common with other employ- True, but few write about why we alumni prosper. ers, publishes its gender pay gap. Of really wanted her: her brilliant cura- the bewildering array of statistics, our tion of the customer relationship at FEBRUARY top-line 11.9% compares well with a EasyJet. All broadcasters now have Speculation mounts that the Weinstein national average of 18%. But it shows to perfect their direct-to-consumer Company will file for bankruptcy, that we have work to do. skills – from one-to-one online rela- following a shocking catalogue of As I’ve pointed out in these pages tionships to data-rich advertising. revelations. Extraordinary to think that before, the gender pay gap is consis- Within days, we host television Harvey was trying to flog his TV arm as tently misunderstood. It reveals a lack industry royalty in the tower. The RTS recently as 2016. A problem for anyone of senior women in an organisation. wants them to meet some Windsor taking his proposition seriously was It does not denote that men and royalty. First the Society’s Patron, his difficulty in presenting a set of women are paid differently for doing HRH Prince Charles, with the Duch- discrete accounts for that division. the same job – equal pay has been ess of Cornwall in support, tours This A bigger problem was the legendary mandatory since the 1970s. Through- Morning for a taste of mutton stew and charm of Harvey. When he realised out the year, I hear senior journalists an encounter with apprentice guide this was an issue, I’m told that he said in all media completely confuse the dogs. Digby distinguishes himself by he really was a lovely guy to work two. Read my lips…. biting a fluffy sound boom and wres- with and, if you didn’t believe him, Boards have to set an example and, tling it to the ground. It’s bravely to call at the White as we approach spring, ITV’s is heading rescued by Prince Charles and the House for a reference. We can just for a 50/50 gender balance. I have �

Television www.rts.org.uk January 2019 13 � to say that we’ve had no problem become the philosopher’s stone of schedule – AVoD, SVoD, live events finding women of talent in finance, broadcast TV: a massive young audi- and so on. But also to the social strategy and governance. ence, lots of live viewers for the glue of PSB (witness 10 million watch- The Government announces a sector schedule, just as many catching up on ing the Lost Voice Guy win BGT in deal for the creative industries as part ITV Hub and Hub+, 360° brand exploi- June). “More than TV” also works for of its industrial strategy. It includes an tation and sales around the world. brand advertisers who can expect investment in creative clusters, which I For those of you of a certain age who programmatic buying, targeting and strongly recommended in my indepen­ have resisted it thus far, feeling lin- ambitious creative solutions going dent review in 2017. More of this later. guistically challenged, here’s a handy forward. glossary: got a text = the producer is Just about my favourite drama at the APRIL communicating with me; pied = moment, Unforgotten, commences a Coinciding with Her Majesty’s 92nd dumped; peng sort = fit guy; mugged successful third series. But the extraor- birthday, we transmit The Queen’s Green off = being deceived or disrespected; dinary ratings for England’s unlikely Planet, in which two national treasures co-ord = apparel; 100% = I agree with run in the World Cup, on both BBC take a leisurely turn around Buck you; crack on = indulge in romantic and ITV, rather drowns out the rest of House’s garden. Yes, it’s Sir David pursuits. It reminds us that language the schedule. Attenborough and Her Majesty in a remains wonderfully dynamic. Ah, Would we have said, at the turn of brilliant confection, masterminded Shakespeare, thou shouldst still be the century, that the PSBs would still by Chris Shaw for ITN Productions. living at this hour… be getting audiences of more than My guess is that they only had 20 million a couple of decades later? 90 minutes’ access, but their pica- JULY resque progress around some The dating show that is the content AUGUST oaks and ashes provides the spine for industries these days rolls on: 21st The holiday month kicks off with a worldwide arboreal dissertation. Century Fox shareholders yield to a powerful piece in the Guardian by What do the royals do wherever they Disney’s blandishments. And, in the Damian Collins MP, the Chair of the go? Plant a tree, that’s what. So, no wooing of Sky, Fox is also cleared for a Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Com- shortage of relevant archive! takeover of Sky. But, is that the hand- mittee. Damian is taking an admirable Gratifyingly, it gets 6.4 million view- some Comcast hoving into view? We lead on the way that Silicon Valley, for ers. And, at a Palace launch a few days could do with Cilla to sort all this out. all its benefits, is hollowing out civil earlier, the Woodland Trust gives us This is the context for Carolyn to society. each a tiny hazel sapling. I plant mine unveil her strategy to the markets. It’s We could talk about abuse of pri- in our Italian garden. How’s it doing? entitled “More than TV”, a consumer-­ vacy or IP, dodgy commercial impacts, Well, I might get it its own webcam so aimed offer failure to pay proper tax or extreme you can track its progress to maturity. referring to porn. But, on this occasion, Damian is Slow TV is now the zeitgeist. all the concerned with fake news and services democracy. MAY beyond He proposes fining the likes of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? success- the Facebook when they’re guilty of fully returns to the schedules. This promoting campaigns of disinforma- confirms a trend I’ve noted: that the tion. It pulls the values of pub- channels are currently reviving recog- lic-service news into sharp focus, nised entertainment brands with some arguably more important today success – Dancing on Ice, The Crystal than in the pre-internet era. Maze, The Gen Game (possibly). It con- Preserving a funding model trasts with the period between 1995 for trusted and reliable news and 2005, when non-fiction telly was must be a political priority, revolutionised with new genres and as well as guaranteeing its formats. But a bit quiet since then. prominence. The making, distribution and con- sumption of drama is where all the SEPTEMBER innovation is now. Soaring production BBC One enjoys an extraordi- quality, via CGI and drone cameras, nary breakout hit with Body- box-set availability and the drug of guard. Its finale consolidates with seamless online binge viewing.… Net­ 17.1 million (the sort of TV flix and Amazon pioneered this, but audience which only because the competition author- That’s ity bone-headedly prevented a British service nine years ago. A plague of kangaroos on whoever took that foolish decision. JUNE HRH Prince Charles and Yes, my friends, that cultural icon the Duchess of Cornwall

Love Island returns to ITV2. This has Hampartsoumian Paul

14 Bodyguard BBC

Life! was winning back in 1978, when I is the Central Line. But, in this hottest worked as a researcher for the blessed ‘THE BBC AND of hot summers, it became an even Esther). I admit this smothers our rival ITV, MUST NOW more sadistic sauna than ever. I have in the schedule, Vanity Fair, which to ask myself: your career started at meets its Waterloo, so to speak. BECOME THE BBC News as an act of aspiration; you But it gradually gets appreciated in BEST OF FRIENDS were later lucky enough to have a bit the public prints that there’s a silver of inspiration (well, a couple of hits, lining for ITV. Of course, ’s IN ORDER TO anyway); but must it all end with you creation is made by World Productions, PROSPER IN OUR drowning in perspiration? part of the ITV Studios family. It under­ lines for me how those old rivals, the BRAVE NEW DECEMBER BBC and ITV, must now become the WORLD’ I’m writing in early December and I’m best of friends in order to prosper in not into making predictions… so a brief our brave new world. reflection that last month saw the last In other news, the BBC’s highly origi- makes the Channel 4 decision even edition of on Channel 5. As a nal Killing Eve is the cult hit of the month. more valuable. result, I’m invited on to (it seems) And Comcast gets Sky for a lorra, lorra The creative industries are now everything from Today to Shet- money, as Cilla would have observed. worth £100bn a year to our economy lands Radio. I decline, since I prefer to and are growing much faster than look forward not back (and I’ve got OCTOBER most other sectors. They’ll also create time off for good behaviour, having not The last day of the month brings the jobs while AI destroys entire occupa- seen the show since 2007). announcement of Channel 4’s reloca- tions elsewhere. The point of the clus- Back in 2000, it was innovative in tions (and plaudits to Alex Mahon for ters is to drive forward innovation in many ways. But most intriguing was defusing a row with the Government, the likes of immersive tech and 5G. how it enfranchised and educated the where the politicians seemed to have And it does, indeed, require a coherent audience by streaming, and thus a point). and determined industrial strategy. broadcasting, its rushes. Everyone had The second HQ will be Leeds, an a view on how “fair” or “unfair” the excellent choice, where ITV already NOVEMBER nightly edits were. Thus demonstrating has a substantial news and production Crossrail’s opening is postponed for that the hallowed documentary-maker’s centre, not to mention the Woolpack a year… curses! It was going to be my art was always entirely the subjective watering hole for ’s thirsty new mode of transport from west view of the director. residents. and Glasgow will also London into work. This year, ITV has Can’t a channel (Channel 4 perhaps?) get a boosted Channel 4 presence. moved to new offices in Holborn after ask two directors to edit the same This follows hard on the heels of five decades on the South Bank. The material and broadcast both shows? I news of nine creative clusters to tower became a bit of a sick building bet you that the narratives would be receive investment via the Arts & (when the lifts broke, we had to buy entertainingly different. Humanities Research Council. the spares on eBay) and the site will There, I didn’t mention the B-word Two of them, led by local universi- now be redeveloped. once… a happy new year to all our ties, are in Leeds and Bristol/Bath. This This means my obvious route to ITV readers. n

Television www.rts.org.uk January 2019 15 Gently does it

The Billen profile

Andrew Billen talks to Killing Eve producer Sally Woodward Gentle about the obstacles to a work-life balance

hrough the glass of Sally pretty well. The pair lunch together. Waller-Bridge but based on Luke Jen- Woodward Gentle’s They also run marathons side by side. nings’s stories, it was truly office in Fitzrovia, the The second arrival, minutes later, is original and has begat a second season. founder of Sid Gentle Colin Wratten, the producer of Sid “We thought of ourselves as quite Films looks out on to a Gentle’s clever Saturday-night hit, subversive and a bit risqué and a bit large space filled with Killing Eve. He has brought with him funny,” says Woodward Gentle, “but, hard-workingT media types. Only a the two gongs that the series won at actually, it has found a very main- modest nine of them work for her, the previous night’s C21 International stream audience as well as a really cool however. The rest are social-­media Drama Awards: Best English-Language audience. On BBC America, I think it people and TV-commercial producers. Drama Series and, for , was the first show for 10 years whose Sid Gentle may be one of television’s Best Female Performance in a Drama viewing figures grew every week. I most creative young indies, but it is Series. There is a small round of think that was word of mouth, people not, at a time of rising drama costs, applause. liking to discover something and feel wasting its money on an F-off HQ. Killing Eve last year gave the lie to ownership of it.” During our 70-minute conversation, those who warn against overestimating In the US, where it was shown in the Woodward Gentle’s team gets two television audiences. A funny, gory spring, the series could be sampled on visitors, each, in their way, illustrating thriller about a psychopathic female lifestyle and women-­orientated plat- the twin challenges of their boss’s assassin, it was both cynical and warm, forms, an improbable demographic career: excellence, and the trade-off its performances minutely nuanced but gamble that paid off. In the UK, when between excellence and family life. larger than life. it landed in the early autumn, the The first visitor is her daughter, Ella, It was heightened drama, yet rooted whole box set was available online on who has popped in from the graphics in the reality of the story’s exotic loca- BBC Three. “I think it was great fore- company around the corner where she tions – which really were shot, with sight,” she says of the BBC, “to get into works. Despite what her mother says the exception of Moscow, where the box sets and for BBC Three only to be later about her parenting skills, it looks over-loud captions said they were. available online.” As well as skewing to me as if things have turned out Written by Fleabag’s Phoebe young, I say, Killing Eve’s audience

16 plays Mrs Durrell was no longer “on an option” for series 4 but, apparently, could not resist rejoining the family one last time. “They do adore each other,” Wood- ward Gentle says of the cast. “They have little fights and little spats but they genuinely adore each other. Given that none of them had met each other before, it’s a miracle.” If there is a cloud hovering above the Ionian’s azure skies, it is the familiar one: money. Since the referendum, British producers have taken a hit from dollar-­pound fluctuations and the euro exchange rate. In addition, the drama Getty boom has meant creatives are in demand and more expensive to hire. Ninja Turtles “There’s so much drama going on, it naturally becomes inflationary. There to Killing Eve is massive demand for directors, writ- ers and producers. And now there is Sally Woodward Gentle, CEO and this tax credit where you have got to founder of Sid Gentle Films have a budget of at least £1m per hour to qualify. That immediately had an Born: 6 February 1964 in Chatham. inflationary effect. A lot of crew rates Brought up in Teddington. had been flat for a very, very long time, Parents: Woodward, produc- and then rates jumped.” tion designer, and Lorna Wood- We marvel at the production values ward, fashion designer of ’s The Romanoffs on Married: Henry Gentle, picture Amazon but also of the British-made restorer; two sons, one daughter, all The Crown on Netflix. in their twenties “The Crown money is in just a differ- Education: Girls’ ent stratosphere in comparison with School; Goldsmiths College, Lon- what most human beings have got to don University (BA Hons English cope on. It’s great, though. It’s not like and drama)

ITV they’ve wasted it.” It is a very different television world 1986 Assistant administrator, seems to include more than its fair from the one Sally Woodward was Chelsea Arts Club share of enthusiastic LGBT viewers. born into 54 years ago. She was 1988 Limelight Films, rising to head “I think so. Even though there’s very brought up in Teddington, where, for of television little sex in the show, I think it feels years, had studios. 1995 , Kudos quite sexy and it feels quite charged.” Her father, Stan Woodward, was a Productions Sid Gentle happens to be behind one production designer at the company 1996 Managing Director, Kudos of my other current favourite dramas, (he retuned the family TV so that, Productions The Durrells. While definitely pre-­ when switched on, it showed ITV not 2000 Joins BBC, becomes creative stuff, it has a nose-thumb- BBC One). director of in-house drama ing, anti-genre quality that distinguishes Her mother, Lorna, was a fashion 2007 Creative director, Carnival it from the usual heart-warming, early-­ designer – whose influence can surely Films Sunday-night ITV shows. be seen in her extremely stylish 2013 Founds Sid Gentle Films “I love doing something that the daughter. The old studios are now whole family enjoys but Simon [Nye, riverside apartments, but Teddington Hits: Tipping the Velvet, Waking the the writer] is such a , he has also was, she says, a creative hub in the Dead, Whitechapel, The Durrells, made it slightly subversive and a bit 1970s, filled with TV folk. George and Killing Eve naughty. It doesn’t feel too saccha- Mildred’s house was there, and Love Thy Near miss: SS-GB riney. It’s not soppy, and any kind of Neighbour’s. Benny Hill was chased Watching: This Country, Succession, soppy moments that come along are around the bushes of Normansfield Transparent, undercut.” psychiatric hospital. What’s on her bedside table? ‘A The series, and not just its fourth She became an ITV rent-a-child. load of unfinished books. I can only season, is, as we speak in November, “We’d get a phone call: ‘Can you come really relax reading something if I about to wrap, which will mean fewer down to Magpie and taste Easter eggs?’ know the rights have gone.’ visits to Corfu for Woodward Gentle, My dad worked on Rainbow, so we Hobbies: Barefoot running and although I suspect that she will holiday were always the children on it picking marathons with her daughter there for ever. , who the apples or playing with puppies.” �

Television www.rts.org.uk January 2019 17 � She watched television a lot, too, to be able to say, ‘I want to do a little thought heroic for putting their family and loved it (it always surprises me bit of this and a little bit of that. I don’t first, and women get penalised for it.” that so many of my profile subjects mind this one being a loss leader.’” In fact, she says, her early bosses in harbour few strong feelings about the Here, she has made ’s sector were sympa- programmes of their childhoods). Likely Stories for (the loss thetic to her domestic obligations. As Her ambition was to direct, how- leader), SS-GB and, of course, The Dur- a name, Sid Gentle (christened after ever, rather than act. Directing was rells and Killing Eve. her dog) may not sound as feminist as quickly superseded by the fun of Her hit rate over the years has been Jane Featherstone’s company, Sister bringing talents together as a producer. extraordinary, from Tipping the Velvet Pictures, but women narrowly out- After studying English and drama through Any Human Heart (she knew number men on its staff and she at Goldsmiths’ College, she took her the book’s author, William Boyd, from ensures equal opportunity for the first job on the periphery of show Chelsea) to Whitechapel, but she vol- mothers among them. Her head of business, as an assistant administrator unteers that it has been at a cost to development, Henrietta Colvin, who at the Chelsea Arts Club. Her duties her children. “I had three under the has twins, works two days in the included cashing up, chucking out, age of four at one point.” office and one at home. and cleaning the vomit from the And she was working throughout? “When I worked at the BBC with urinals. “Yeah. I was a bad mother. It was Jane Tranter, I did a four-day week. On the plus side, it was there, hell on earth. Well, I didn’t take any She was amazing. She said, ‘Listen, alongside Quentin Crisp, Laurie Lee jobs that took me abroad, so I stayed don’t even think about it for a minute and Francis Bacon, that she met a here, but I worked very long hours. I because I know the hours that you clumsy barman, supplementing his think that women overcompensate put in and I know that on the fifth earnings as an apprentice picture when they become mothers. They day you’re thinking about it, on the restorer, called Henry Gentle. They make themselves more available sixth day you’re thinking about it, and have been together ever since, mar- because they don’t want on the seventh day.’” rying after the second of their three to be seen as not being On her mind now are future children was born. available. And that is Sid Gentle projects. She sees no From there, she finally got a foot- so bad.” reason why Killing Eve, about to hold in television, working as a floor So it’s back to reach post-production on its assistant and in the costumes depart- women having to second series, should not run ment at Thames, before joining Lime- be better than for as long as the writers light Films, where she started as Steve men doing the want it to. The company is Barron’s assistant (he now directs The same job? “I adapting Nicole J Georges’s Durrells), following him to North Caro- think it is. I graphic novel Fetch!, which lina to make Teenage Mutant Ninja Tur- think men will be filmed in the US. tles. “People would go, ‘What’s that?’ are There may even be, she And I’d go, ‘I promise you: you will reveals, a new series from hear of it.’” to fill the hole She rose to head of TV at Lime- that will be left by light and then moved to The Durrells. Kudos, where she brought Can she tell me about in Jane Featherstone. it? “Might be Durrellsy, For seven years, but not necessarily. from 2000, she There’s been no commit- worked high up in ment from ITV, yet.” the BBC drama Durrellsy? From a book department under by another Durrell? Jane Tranter, just as “Maybe what the Dur- reality television began to rells did later on. We’re challenge the orthodoxies just going to start that about what made prime-time pretty soon, actually.” television. “I remember having First, however, the those conversations about the experi- long goodbye to The ence those shows gave people that Durrells itself continues. drama was not currently giving them.” She is off to Twicken- In 2007, she left to become creative ham, where the dra- director of Carnival Films, shortly ma’s interiors are before came along. filmed, to see Josh In 2013, she founded Sid Gentle, O’Connor, who plays “because I thought it was time to Larry, do his final try and do it by myself and be scene. We shall see self-determining”. him next as Prince Was she fed up with bosses saying Charles in The Crown. no? “A little bit of that. Actually, I was Like Sid Gentle, he is

given enormous free rein but I wanted Killing Eve going places. n BBC

18 OUR FRIEND IN LEEDS

Helen Scott he announcement without trampling on the smaller pro- that Channel 4 will celebrates duction companies? How do we roll be coming to Leeds out the benefits to other cities east of literally lit up the Channel 4’s the Pennines, such as Sheffield, Not- city. Social media impending tingham and Newcastle, so that they went mad. Leeds can rival Glasgow, Salford and Bristol City Region’s move to her in the cultural industries sector? #4Sparks campaign had prevailed, home city How best do we represent the won- Tand Leeds University floodlit its iconic derfully diverse communities around Parkinson Building in celebration. us and give them a voice? It will Friends and with no require vision and partnerships, connection to the media were talking involving Leeds City Region, Chan- about it as a good thing. A new wave nel 4 and the production sector, but of prosperity, jobs and creative pride already there’s a palpable sense of was on the way. excitement and a feeling that the tide Moreover, we had been the under- is turning. dog and beaten off the challenge from Last year, one of the RTS bursary the two Andies (mayors Andy Street, students I’m associated with was heading the bid, and offered a few weeks’ internship at Andy Burnham, in ). The Garden in More than a decade ago, I was here London. He turned it down because when the tide went out. As controller he couldn’t afford to live in the of factual programmes at Yorkshire while working for free. Now The Television, I presided over a depart- Garden is rumoured to be consider-

ment hit by wave after wave of inter- Hampartsoumian Paul ing bringing its juggernaut production nal policy changes in the ITV system. 24 Hours in A&E to Leeds. Externally, broadcasters’ strategies With two new studios on Kirkstall Two new production companies, ended up denuding the eastern side Road, and Daisybeck expanding due Wise Owl Films and Endemol Shine of the country – with the honourable to a slate of returning series from North, rebranded as Workerbee, have exception of Emmerdale – of any Channel 5, critical mass has been on set up in recent weeks. They’re meaningful production. My depart- its way back up. headed by talent who already live in ment was eventually closed down. Add more than a thousand tech – and believe in – the region. UKTV Talent, nurtured by us, left. Gradually, companies in the region, a young and has announced that it is basing a YTV retrenched to local news. Network diverse demographic – and Yorkshire technology arm here. opportunities at the BBC shrank and grit that persuaded Channel 4 to make The universities are gearing up, with the once-vibrant city’s production hub the right decision – and we’re back new industry-standard production was left to reinvent itself. in business. facilities and a mission to make their In truth, though, Leeds never lost Channel 4’s arrival could lead a media students the best in the country. its creative mojo. It just needed to be transformation with benefits far There’s so much to look forward to. different. Without the backing of a big beyond the city limits. When I walk out of the station and broadcaster, the indies became its But there are huge challenges ahead. see one of Leeds’ iconic buildings focus. True North became a significant How do we grow the talent base from with a bloody great figure four out- producer (and employer), Screen York- its current size, around 200, to become side it, I’ll know we’re on our way. n shire attracted big-hitting dramas to a creative community capable of both film in the region and writers such as supporting indigenous production and Helen Scott is a media consultant who Kay Mellor steadfastly stuck to their also making shows that play on the lives in Leeds. She regularly produces made-and-written-in-Yorkshire global stage? events for the RTS and sits on its Educa- mantra. How do we attract the super-indies tion Committee.

Television www.rts.org.uk January 2019 19 March of the ten-per-centers

Entourage

his begins with a true I mentioned that I had come straight story. I have withheld Dealmaking from a meeting at one of the the real names, as I still networks. They asked a bit about the want to do a little busi­ show we were selling, but were much ness, and certainly have On both sides of the more interested in who we had lunch now and again, in Atlantic, talent agencies pitched it to. I gave them the name. LA.T Some years ago, I went to see some The popcorn eater, who was already senior executives at one of the major US are increasing their role scooping up the last dregs, said: “Don’t talent agencies. We chatted amiably for worry. He’s one of our clients. Leave it the first 10 minutes, as you do. The nor­ in content production. to us.” Not content with that, they mal stuff. “How long are you in town?” Simon Shaps investigates ended the meeting by saying that they “I love London… you must know my would call me every week, to persuade friend Jack. He lives in . That’s me that they should represent the kinda near, isn’t it?” “The guy who runs to hoover it up. If the meeting hadn’t company. They did exactly that for a NBC is going to be toast by Christmas.” happened some time before Entourage year and then moved on. In this sort of conversation, any show had aired, I would have said they got There may be nothing remarkable you say you liked somehow leads back their routine straight from the TV about this experience, but it has cer­ to them. It was one of their shows series. It was, of course, the other way tainly stuck with me. Today, as we con­ – their talent, their idea and their round. I was the guy from Granada and template a television landscape in which pitch. And, certainly, their 10% of gross. the agency wanted our business; they seismic change is the norm, the US Another executive arrived late, carry­ wanted to induct us into the mysteries agencies, and their much smaller coun­ ing a giant bowl of popcorn and started of Hollywood. terparts in the UK, are on the march.

20 Like the arrival of the streamers, the figures collected by the Writers Guild arm’s length negotiation between two super-agencies, with their fingers in of America, nearly 90% of all scripted parts of a company – the talent agency every pie, threaten to disrupt the TV series are packaged by talent agen­ and the production company – that sit established order. cies, with WME and CAA accounting under the same roof? One of the most controversial for nearly 80% of shows between them. As UK talent agencies weigh up the figures in the development of the US The combination of access to lots of pros and cons of following Curtis super-agencies, and a founder of CAA, top-tier talent and access to capital Brown into production, it seems that has just published a memoir, Who is goes a very long way. there will soon be another chapter in Michael Ovitz?, which was reviewed in Apple’s first wave of original com­ the talent agency story. At least one of the last issue of Television. missions in the US is said to be almost the UK’s super-indies is currently Ovitz was clearly touched with entirely multimillion-pound packages looking hard at investing in an agency. genius, but the book is a curious read, from the major talent agencies. At its most extreme, this conver­ a mea culpa with barely an apology in Outside of the US, the agencies are gence of talent agencies and produc­ sight. Without great fanfare, he writes less constrained. For a while, it seemed tion businesses poses a clear threat. that, at a certain point – though it is that Endeavour Content was one of the Unchecked, such companies could not entirely clear when that point was favourites to buy Endemol Shine but, have a stranglehold on all the elements – he was “able to put executives in in the end, the interest seemed to fizzle that are needed to create a hit drama: place at the studios and then sell our out. Then, in October, it announced it the strongest material, whether books projects to them, controlling both sup­ was backing a start-up run by Simon or original ideas; the best scriptwriters, ply and demand”. Maxwell, outgoing head of international directors and key on-screen talent; the If there is a holy grail in television, it drama at Channel 4. most seasoned producers. is the dream of vertical integration. This In March, UK talent agencies United At that point, the balance of power is the ability to capture production and Agents and Casarotto teamed up with between buyers and sellers changes. broadcast, the supply of content and the US-based Anonymous Content, pro­ The seller holds all the cards. gatekeepers who control demand – the ducer of True Detective and the Oscar-­ In the US, the power of the entire value chain – within one organi­ winning Spotlight, to launch a production mega-agencies is there for all to see. sation. Ovitz, like the popcorn eater, company called Chapter One. Setting up companies such as Endeav­ had a variant of this idea in mind. our Content and investing in produc­ Unable to own platforms, he wanted tion businesses outside the US only to represent all the talent, from directors strengthens their position. and producers to writers and , ‘NEARLY 90% OF The Writers Guild of America keeps together with a sprinkling of TV net­ ALL SCRIPTED a watchful eye on this activity on work and studio executives. behalf of its members, the thousands With restrictions in the US on agen­ TV SERIES [IN of writers employed across hundreds cies moving into domestic production, THE US] ARE of US TV series. It has been looking to CAA, WME, ICM, UTA – all of those PACKAGED update its long-standing agreement three-letter acronyms, with their tough with the Association of Talent Agents, consonants – have, nonetheless, sought BY TALENT focusing on areas where it believes to grab more of the TV value chain. AGENCIES’ there are conflicts of interest. Two of the most talked-about shows In the meantime, UK agencies,

Sky of recent years, Killing Eve and The Night ­casting an envious glance at the scale Manager, received significant invest­ and influence of their US counterparts, ment from Endeavour Content, But the most conspicuous move into are much less constrained by the described as the content division of production by a UK talent agency was talent unions. WME and IMG. (IMG was acquired by ’s decision to set up Cuba, None of this may matter if the best WME at the end of 2013.) which received investment from BBC ideas win through in the end and the In the case of Killing Eve, the combi­ Worldwide. Cuba’s 2018 series McMafia talent is properly rewarded. But the nation of broadcast on BBC America, certainly raised its profile as an emerg­ UK’s ever-growing number of inde­ tax breaks and investment against ing producer and is returning for a pendent drama producers – perhaps distribution from Endeavour Content second run. we should start calling them “non- were enough to green-light the show. However, privately, some independ­ aligned” producers – should probably BBC One’s money came in later. ent producers question the relation­ not be so blasé about it. When Chris Rice, co-president of ship between Curtis Brown’s role as a They may be forgiven for wondering Endeavour Content, was interviewed talent agency and Cuba’s activities as a if the increasing power, resources and by Deadline in May, he said he did not producer. Before Cuba was set up, involvement in production of the want to produce. Instead, he wanted to Curtis Brown could be said to have had super-agencies will shut them out, at provide “support” across sales, financ­ a simple mission: to negotiate the best, precisely the moment that the stream­ ing and business affairs, and offer most lucrative deals for its actors, writ­ ers are offering greater opportunities producers “whatever they need to ers and directors to work on the best than ever before. n operate their business in the most shows, and make sure its authors effective way”. landed the best deals for their books. Simon Shaps is the founder of Simon The statistics about the power of the With its own production arm to feed, Shaps Ltd. He also works as a TV and major talent agencies in the US are that conversation has become, at best, film consultant for the literary agency already jaw-dropping. According to more complicated. Can there be an Georgina Capel Associates.

Television www.rts.org.uk January 2019 21 TV news Steve Clarke is persuaded by an RTS panel that transparency will be central to content platforms maintaining trust

t roughly the same time the Prime Minis- ter faced three con- secutive defeats over Brexit in the House of Commons, across the roadA in Portcullis House another important discussion was taking place – an RTS All-Party Parliamentary Group debate on “The future of TV journalism in an age of fake news and disinformation”. Of course, the stakes were hardly of the same magnitude as the pain and chaos of Brexit. For those involved in television news, however, the online Damian Collins MP era is throwing up huge challenges for news organisations and the digital platforms that are gaining popularity at the expense of traditional outlets. In charge of proceedings was no lesser figure than Damian Collins MP, Chair of Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Fighting fake Media and Sport Committee. His attempts to hold Facebook to account have made him a hero to those wor- ried that social media may be contrib- uting to the erosion of democracy. news On this occasion, he may not have had the elusive Mark Zuckerberg in the room, but he did have a very distin- beneficiaries of new investment – the good shape, reported Angus. It had guished panel: Deborah Turness, Presi- former in Euronews (in which NBC confounded predictions that rolling, dent of NBC News International; Jamie took a 25% stake, worth a reported 24-hour-news channels would Angus, the director of the BBC’s World $30m, in May 2017), while the World become obsolete in an online world. Service Group; Ben McOwen Wilson, Service received a five-year injection “It’s the BBC’s single, most-watched YouTube’s regional director for EMEA; of £289m, announced in late 2015. channel,” he said. and Jonathan Thompson, CEO of Digi- And, as Angus pointed out, Sky’s The phenomenon that is President tal UK, which operates Freeview. new owner, Comcast, had recently Trump is good for all news providers. The panellists were broadly upbeat given assurances that it would back However, the obsession with Trump in about the future of TV news, despite for a decade. general – and particularly his spats changing consumption habits, different Alongside these developments, well-­ with the likes of CNN – was diverting distribution models and the spectre of resourced, state-funded news channels, attention away from important stories fake news, recently joined by “deep including “some pernicious ones”, such in other places such as South and fake” videos as AI makes it easier still as Russia Today and ’s CGTN, sub-Saharan , suggested the to manipulate pictures and sound to have made an impact. The latter will World Service executive. fabricate stories. open a new hub in London next year. “There, people are suffering genuine Both Turness and Angus were the The BBC World News channel was in threats to life and limb.… The BBC is

22 Damian Collins MP From left: Ben McOwen Wilson and Deborah Turness Paul Hampartsoumian Paul Hampartsoumian Paul

one of the very few remaining interna- broadcasters and other news organisa- component of UK public service tional broadcasters to genuinely invest tions. He explained: “In the UK, we broadcasting. But, while the consump- in news gathering in parts of the world work with all of the news providers tion of TV news on traditional plat- where it is not economically viable for – the BBC, Sky, Channel 4, ITN and forms remained strong and, according commercial broadcasters to have a ITV – and with international broad- to opinion polls, was the most trusted significant presence,” Angus said. casters such as Euronews, Russia form of news in the UK, he expressed In East Africa, the BBC has 300 jour- Today, Al Jazeera and others. anxieties about the long-term outlook. nalists, a resource that privately owned “Alongside this, we have strong rela- He worried about news’s economic news organisations would find tionships with people who provide us sustainability, particularly in relation to uneconomic. with video clips, such as the Telegraph, the BBC licence fee, and about how As impressive as this sounds, in the Guardian, the FT and the Economist. younger audiences would connect to common with other traditional news “Supplementing this, we also have legacy news providers. Maintaining outfits, the BBC’s audiences are ageing a number of endemic players, such as trust was also a concern. as young people skip scheduled bulle- the BuzzFeeds of this world.” Proper regulation of PSB services tins (see Stay Tuned box on page 25). Jonathan Thompson, the CEO of was essential. “One of the problems of In the online space, news is every- Digital UK, which operates Freeview, today is the lack of ability to sanction where and one of the main platforms stressed that impartial news was a vital online platforms for harmful content,” is YouTube, where trusted suppliers said Thompson. play an important role. Turness, one-time editor of ITV News, McOwen Wilson outlined the vari- A.I. MAKES IT was able to provide a perspective from ous ways in which users could watch EASIER STILL TO both sides of the Atlantic. She was the news content on the Google-owned New York-based President of NBC platform. News clips, live streaming, MANIPULATE News before she returned to Europe mid-length reports of around 10 to PICTURES last year to take up her present role. 12 minutes and “many thousands of At Euronews, she said, “We have hours” of longer documentaries were AND SOUND been very deliberate in asking, ‘How all available to YouTubers. These were TO FABRICATE do you rebuild trust?” She added: “We supplied through partnerships with a are building Europe’s town square – range of UK and international STORIES all voices are welcome. We invite �

Television www.rts.org.uk January 2019 23 From left: Jonathan Thompson and Jamie Angus Paul Hampartsoumian Paul

� nationalists and populists to join the here’s how we were able to debunk it. McOwen Wilson said that it was a debate.” She added: “We look for the Don’t just ignore it because it’s fake’. priority for YouTube to ensure that light, not the heat, and believe that we It’s part of a public service, if you like, authoritative news coverage appeared must engage.… To be truly impartial is to explain that,” said Turness. at the top of its search menu. Context to engage with a broad spectrum of At the BBC, its Reality Check service was vital to help people make their political views. How else will we be was introduced as a permanent fixture own decisions regarding what they trusted by the majority of audiences?” in January 2017. The initiative was a watched. On the vexed issue of fake news, response to the proliferation of fake Clear labelling of news providers which she said was shared six times news, much of it posted as clickbait on was important – so that users would faster than the genuine article, the NBC Facebook and distributed peer-to-peer know the BBC was publicly funded executive questioned whether the term on WhatsApp. and that Russia Today was owned by itself had become debased. In the US, Angus said that Reality Check was a the Russian state. “We’re expanding both pro- and anti-Trump activists response to audience demand in the the range of labels on YouTube,” he make accusations of fake news accord- run-up to the 2016 Brexit referendum: stressed. “We need to ensure that ing to their own political prejudices. “There was a very clear message from high-quality journalism thrives in the “The term ‘fake news’ is a weapon used the audience that didn’t want the kind online world.” by everyone for their own conveni- of reporting that said – and this is a The YouTube executive added that ence,” suggested Turness. “It’s becom- parody – A says X, B says Y, how do you news consumption from authoritative ing a devalued currency.” know which is right, only time will tell.” sources on the platform was up more As an aside, she pointed out that the He added: “Everyone is now doing than threefold over the past 18 months. assumption that Fox News was the ‘fact check’, including Russia Today. Reliable news encouraged people to most popular US news cable channel You’ve got to check which facts get come back for more, he argued: “We was incorrect. “It’s MSNBC, by some checked and by whom.” are working with young people to try margin. The Show Turness said there should be a dis- and help them think through what fact [fronted by a prominent Trump critic] cussion to see if “an aggregation of checking is and getting them to start is the number-one show at 9pm. trusted fact checking organisations” looking at multiple sources.” Trump is driving huge engagement could emerge. Fact checking everything He added: “To fight fake news, you and huge ratings.” was impossible for one news provider/ need to elevate genuinely reliable At Euronews, Turness has overseen distributor because millions of pieces of content, and to suppress fake content.” the introduction of The Cube news fake news appear every day. McOwen Wilson explained that a desk, staffed by “professional social She continued: “We could do our minimum of four authoritative UK news journalists”. They have the verification own work and publish it so that it’s sources were needed before a story skills to debunk fake news live on air. available to everyone else. Trusted would be labelled as breaking news. “We have to say, ‘If this was in your brands could be brought together to Damian Collins said that, in an newsfeed today and it’s not accurate, form a whole.” online world driven by algorithms,

24 ‘EVERYONE IS NOW DOING “FACT CHECK”, INCLUDING RUSSIA TODAY’ technology could subvert the best intentions of news organisations and digital platforms. What could be done when the algorithm knew more about The case for transparency people’s personal tastes than even the users themselves, inquired the MP. One way to combat and call out fake ‘Anatomy of a Killing tells the story in “We’re doing quite a lot of work at news is to make the processes of the most transparent way. You are left the BBC on what Tony Hall calls the video news journalism more transpar- in no doubt that this journalism is real public service algorithm,” replied Angus. ent. Turness highlighted Anatomy of a and good and true. That shines the light But how do you go about building an Killing, the online film made by the BBC on the path forward for us all.’ algorithmic product that serves a pub- for its strand Africa Eye, as an example She added: ‘We need to find new lic-service purpose? Would this algo- of transparent reporting at its finest. ways to tell our stories and to commu- rithm serve you some of what it In this piece of open-source jour- nicate with our audiences that insulate thought you wanted, but also addi- nalism, the reporters used digital tools, us from any connection to fake news.… tional public service content that you including Google Maps and Facebook, ‘There’s a big question around how didn’t know you were interested in to prove that the Cameroon govern- we evolve and adapt in this environ- until you got it? ment’s assertion that its soldiers did ment. It’s not just about fake news, it’s “A digital Lord Reith,” suggested not murder two women and two chil- also about the newish idea that there Collins to audience laughter. dren was a blatant lie. are alternative facts and that truth isn’t The growing popularity of voice-­ The Cameroon authorities had truth.… Our job is to be more transparent activated smart speakers, powered by initially dismissed video footage of and wear our journalism on the outside.’ their own influential algorithms, poses the incident as ‘fake news’. In the Jamie Angus said that a lot of inter- another challenge to news providers. documentary, a split screen is used to national stories have disputed video “Voice is an important part of privi- identify precise locations in the video, footage at the heart of them. ‘We have leged discoverability for PSB content which are matched against the same an open-source media organisation in a digital world,” said Angus. “We are places identified by satellite mapping. called BBC Monitoring, which sits at the working with voice platforms to ‘It’s the best piece of journalism I’ve heart of our newsroom,’ he explained. ensure that BBC News has a strong seen all year,’ said Turness. ‘It’s abso- ‘Beyond that, we’re also building an presence globally.” lutely critical that we continue to show open-source investigations capacity in But supposing you ask Alexa for the our work and not only tell.… That way, Africa, because we see more and more headlines and get the latest gossip on we will increase trust and transparency. of these stories coming in.’ the Kardashians, rather than an impor- tant breaking news story? “We have to promote the quality end of the market over what the algorithm gives you,” TV news needs to evolve faster emphasised the World Service chief. He continued: “If there is a critical In the US, NBC News has worked with ‘If you were launching a news organi- incident, a national emergency and a to distribute Stay Tuned, a sation today, you’d be mobile-first,’ need for quality public information, news show aimed at 16- to 25-year-olds. she emphasised. digital platforms need to ensure that Deborah Turness explained: ‘Within a On the other hand, traditional news- the most accurate and more trusted year, it has gained 8.1 million subscrib- casts retained their relevance, regard- news – often that is PSB content – ers, more than the nightly news. You’d less of changing viewing patterns. gets to the top of the search results.” be surprised how traditional it is in its ‘From an NBCUniversal, Comcast That may be easier said than done. delivery, but it’s got a different tone. perspective, news is incredibly valued The case for a digital Lord Reith grows ‘Effectively, it’s news videos chopped because, unlike Netflix or HBO, news is stronger every day. n up and presented by an anchor. You’ve a connector,’ she argued. ‘People turn got to be smart and move your content to news in a moment of need.’ ‘The future of TV journalism in an age on to social platforms that are reaching Jamie Angus said: ‘Audiences are of fake news and disinformation was an young people.’ still robust for the BBC’s main news RTS All-Party Parliamentary Group event She added: ‘The holy grail is finding bulletins.’ held at Portcullis House, central London, a style of news that young people will He added: ‘Live, unscripted events on 4 December. It was chaired by Damian consume regularly. I am not sure any- are still responsible for huge amounts Collins MP, Chair of the Digital, Culture, one has cracked it.’ of TV consumption.… News ham- Media and Sport Committee. The pro- Content had to be produced that mocked between those events has ducer was Sue Robertson, with Jonathan was platform- and device-appropriate. a good future.’ Simon, Martin Stott and Nigel Warner.

Television www.rts.org.uk January 2019 25 RTS Student Programme Masterclasses 2018 Journalism Clive Myrie Journalist and presenter, BBC News

n an era of widespread concern about fake news, trusted and experienced correspondents such as the BBC’s award-winning Clive MyrieI are more important than ever. He told the RTS how, during his career of 30-plus years, he had reported from many of the world’s trouble spots, latterly Myanmar and Yemen. BBC News is respected internation- ally for its high standards of accuracy and impartiality but this did not mean, said Myrie, that reporters should put a clamp on their own emotions. RTS “If you’re feeling something, bring it out,” he advised. “Don’t let it overwhelm or dominate the story, but I don’t like to see news reporters or presenters who are robots. You’re a human being as well Masterclasses as a reporter. If you’re reporting from a war zone and see a dead baby in front of you, I’d be surprised if you’re not show- ing some emotion. “Let your emotion inform the story. 2018 The great reporters are able to translate a story for the viewer through their and distil two days of own experience.” Steve Clarke Matthew Bell The son of Jamaican immigrants, expert advice from leading television practitioners Myrie read law at the University of Sussex. There, he started doing jour- nalistic work for the local radio station. As a child, he’d been inspired to consider a career as a globe-trotting foreign correspondent by watching TV. The late Alan Whicker, a fixture on TV schedules from the 1960s to the 2000s, and, especially, Trevor McDon- ald were early role models. “I’m a Northerner [he was brought up in Bolton] and didn’t come from a Clive Myrie media family… There was a guy on ITV

26 ‘PRODUCTION JOBS OF ANY who looked like me and sounded a bit KIND ARE NEVER Petzal worked as a script editor on like me. He travelled around a lot. I CBBC dramas, which, she argued, was thought maybe I could do what he did. A WASTE OF “an invaluable way to learn about tele- He was Trevor McDonald.” YOUR TIME’ vision production and writing”. After graduating, he was accepted as She went on to write scripts for a trainee barrister at Middle Temple. At CBBC shows, including Wolfblood, The the same time, he also applied to the can go on for ages as the idea is refined Dumping Ground and Danger Mouse. “If BBC. “I chose the BBC and my parents and distilled. Hopefully, you, as a pro- you can turn stuff in on time, you tend have never forgiven me,” he recalled to ducer, do that with a broadcaster.” to get dragged from one show to the laughter from the RTS audience. With many different content plat- next,” she said. Moving from BBC Radio Bristol to TV forms operating across streaming, ter- Getting a break as a new writer, news in London required dedication restrial and multichannel networks, it’s admitted Petzal, was “undeniably and working unsocial hours. absolutely vital to consider the intended tricky” but “children’s drama is a really A week’s work in the West Country audience when honing an idea. good place to start”. would be followed by a drive up the She said: “Look at the platform or In fact, she told the students in the M4 to do weekend shifts in the capital broadcaster you’re thinking of pitching audience, “Production jobs of any kind for BBC TV News. to and make sure that it is not already are never a waste of your time because Eventually, Myrie gained a reputation doing something similar to your idea. the relationships that you’ll make are as a foreign correspondent for reporting “Ask yourself if the tone, sensibility invaluable. It’s only in the last couple of from places such as Liberia in 1995, and attitude chimes with a particular years that I’ve received offers for things where reporters experienced difficulty channel. Where will this idea sit –‘You from people who’ve never met me.” gaining access. do this kind of show so you really need Petzal graduated to writing episodes Asked what personal qualities were this kind of show, because it will add for ITV’s Jekyll and Hyde and BBC Two’s necessary for this sort of journalism, he to what you’re trying to do.’” medieval drama The Last Kingdom. Writ- replied that empathy was vital: “The Keeping an idea simple was essen- ing the latter, she said, was a “great most important thing is to try and put tial: “Simplicity is the key. When I was experience”, and described the episodes yourself in someone else’s shoes and commissioning, if I didn’t know what as “like hour-long plays, beautiful, tell their story as honestly as possible. the show was in two or three lines, I’d textured, emotional pieces of writing”. It’s not about you, the reporter, it’s tell the producer to rethink it. Adding another string to her bow, about them.” “I’d sometimes get a beautifully she took on a last-minute rewrite for presented five-page document and get the thriller Riviera: “These to the end of it and think ‘So, what’s jobs are nice because, if you do rela- Factual entertainment the show?’” tively well, everyone thinks that you’ve She added: “For me, the other big saved the day; if you do terribly, people thing is purpose – what’s the point? tell you that it was doomed anyway.” Nav Raman Just because you can do it with TV Writing Blood, which stars Adrian Founder and creative cameras doesn’t mean that it’s a TV Dunbar as an Irish country GP who is show. You should be trying to answer suspected of murdering his wife, was director, Chatterbox a question. “massively exposing”, said Petzal. “But “At Channel 4, I commissioned The it was an incredible experience and ollaboration is key to being a Unteachables, which tapped into kids I’m deeply proud of it.” n successful producer of such who were excluded from the state hit shows as Child Genius, Brat education system. My question was: ‘Is Camp, The Unteachables and there such a thing as an unteachable Documentary BollywoodC Star, all commissioned by Nav kid?’ My answer was ‘No’.” Raman when she worked at Channel 4. Today, she co-runs the new indie Brian Woods Chatterbox, where she hopes to extend Drama Founder, True Vision and her winning form in factual entertain- ment formats. Raman emphasised that programme Sophie Petzal Katie Rice ideas are unlikely to arrive fully formed Writer Producer/director and therefore need to be worked on by groups of people. “No one wakes up ophie Petzal’s first original TV or more than two decades, with a fully-formed idea,” she told the series, Blood, has recently aired True Vision has built a reputa- RTS students. “If you have the seed of to critical acclaim on Virgin tion for making hard-hitting an idea, you need to be able to explain Media One in Ireland and films that address important it simply, in order to get someone else ChannelS 5 in the UK. subjectsF – and, thanks to the power to understand it quickly. Having been accepted on to the of television, make a difference.

Paul Hampartsoumian Paul “Keep asking yourself, what is it? It BBC’s Production Trainee Scheme, “You see some really interesting �

Television www.rts.org.uk January 2019 27 � films at [documentary] festivals, which probably 10,000 people will see in the life of a film,” said the indie’s founder, Brian Woods. “They’re not going to have an impact on the world ‘THE REALITY unless a broadcaster picks them up IS THAT and shows them.” It is not always a comfortable expe- EVERYTHING rience making docs such as True WE DO IS Vision’s multi-award-winning film about Aids orphans in , ARTIFICE’ The Orphans of Nkandla. “The temptation is to intervene but, if you intervene, then you change the reality,” argued Woods. “You have to let the reality play out because, if you don’t let things happen and get them Craft Skills in the can, then you don’t have the film Masterclasses that has the power to affect things, not just for these children but for hundreds of thousands of children across Africa.” Nevertheless, film-makers have a responsibility to look after their con- tributors, continued Woods: “You form a relationship with them. It’s not friendship, because you are making a film about them… but you want to keep in touch [and] keep supporting them if you can.” True Vision’s Katie Rice, who directed Child of Mine, a Channel 4 series exam- top of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s ining couples affected by stillbirth, RTS Craft Skills tallest building, to capture the sound of reiterated the importance of the bond fear in presenter Dallas Campbell’s between film-maker and subject: “All voice as he swayed in the wind, clean- our films are based on really strong Masterclasses ing the skyscraper’s windows. relationships with contributors. If they Specialist recordists are threatened want us to stop [filming], we stop. It’s 2018 by the increasing use of single sound/ not our story – it’s theirs.” camera operators. “If you’ve got a per- Woods identified “sheer, bloody- Sound son dedicated to each [part of the film- minded perseverance” as the most ing process], you’re going to get a important attribute needed to make it better result,” argued Bax. But, added in TV. He recalled that he wrote “about Phil Bax Gettens: “If [you are] in a confined 150 letters” before he landed his first Sound recordist and space with only room for one person job in TV as a researcher. with a camera and microphone, that’s On selling an idea for a documentary, what you have to work with.” And, he he recommended making a taster tape: Greg Gettens added, “budget limitations” often mili- “Do it on your phone – it doesn’t have Head of broadcast factual tate against hiring a sound specialist. to be shot on a £20,000 camera, because Hitting the right note is the key to [commissioners] are interested in the sound, Molinare working in sound. “Over the past 15 or characters and story you’ve got.” n so years, I’ve worked on all sorts of ogether, they covered the two documentary projects, but with a small Clive Myrie was interviewed by Naomi ends of the sound spectrum. cohort of the same directors, production Goldsmith, media consultant and journal- “Phil records the sound on managers and camera people. If you ism trainer. Nav Raman was interviewed location,” explained Greg Get- work together once and get on well, by Sharon Powers, creative director, Ttens. “We add music, effects and sound you work together again,” said Bax. Potato. Brian Woods and Katie Rice were design to produce the final mix you Gettens agreed that being persona- interviewed by Alex Graham, joint CEO, hear on telly.” Recently, he added ble is part of the sound mix: “A lot of Two Cities Television. And Sophie Petzal “explosions and bullets whizzing the time, I’m in a dark room for was interviewed by John Yorke, a drama around people’s heads” to BBC One’s 10 hours a day, five days a week with producer whose credits include Wolf D-Day’s Last Heroes: In Their Own Words. other editors – they have to get on Hall, Life on Mars, The Street and Bod- Bax experienced the high life on BBC with you. It’s not all about sounds; a lot ies. The producer was Helen Scott. One’s Supersized Earth, working at the of it is about personality.”

28 is effectively a series of still frames starring Hugh Grant as Jeremy Thorpe. – composition is everything.” She was recently nominated for an RTS , said Geraint Warring- Craft & Design Award for the series. ton, “are great for trying out composition Di Ciaula also edited Netflix’s The – but that’s it. They don’t teach you how Crown, working with director Stephen to create a look on a normal camera. Daldry. “He likes to shoot a lot of [You don’t] learn the full skills of pho- material and expects me to send him tography – I’m a great believer in [learn- assemblies at the end of every day. ing] on a proper camera.” To practise, “I would get somewhere between added Mash, “a DSLR (digital single-lens two and a half to six hours of material reflex) camera is the place to start”. every day. They couldn’t be rough Mash argued that cameras can “be assemblies. They had to be tight and good or bad, depending on who’s got have a . He doesn’t like hold of them. [But] the lenses on the looking at green screens. My assistant front of the camera make a huge had to composite all those shots, so it difference.” looked like a finessed show even agreed with his fellow though it was a first assembly.” DoP: “Try to use the most expensive Rick Barker, whose credits include lens you can afford. I mainly shoot on Who Do You Think You Are? and Long Lost the Sony F55 – it’s an amazing quality Family, said: “I think it’s fair to say that camera. It’s also quite lightweight – editing can be fairly intense. 90% of the stuff I do is [with the cam- “Certainly, the current-affairs stuff era] on the shoulders.” that I’ve done, you find yourself in the Studying for qualifications gives the edit suite occasionally having discus- would-be DoP the opportunity to get sions at very late hours of the night to grip with cameras and to “gain the over whether a scene is working – or From left: Ruth Pitt, technical knowledge on how cameras if a producer or a journalist can write Pia Di Ciaula and and lenses work”, said Warrington, a very long piece of expository jour- Rick Barker

Paul Hampartsoumian Paul who studied at [media and design nalism over your beautifully crafted university] Ravensbourne. But, added sequence.” And, added Bax, try everything: “The Mash, while “qualifications are great, In drama, Di Ciaula told the students [BBC] put me on a gantry at a football you will still have to work your way up that the work of an editor involves match with a bit of rusty old equip- – there’s nothing like experience”. pleasing the director. “Directors are ment that didn’t work and a commen- How to get that experience? Contact kind of possessive of the editing,” she tator who berated me all afternoon. I camera companies, suggested War- revealed. “Sometimes, they allow pro- realised I didn’t want to do football rington: “You’ll be prepping the kit to ducers to watch assemblies, but they matches. [But] use opportunities rather go out on shoots, so you’ll have all this don’t want any comments because they than dismissing them outright – then equipment in front of you to learn want to avoid being biased by com- you find out what you want to do”. [from] – you could be a very useful ments made early on in the process.” camera [assistant] if you know how the For factual shows, it’s the editor who equipment works.” sets the agenda in the edit suite, noted Camerawork Barker: “I think it’s important that the edit suite is the editor’s. We don’t have Editing that layering that people who work in Phil Mash drama do. In factual, you’re there to Director of photography bring a fresh pair of eyes. Your job is to Rick Barker try and find the story within the rushes.” Editor He added: “Part of what I do as an Geraint Warrington editor is manipulating emotions. In Director of photography factual TV, we have long debates about Pia Di Ciaula how far you can go and how one is Editor able to manipulate the truth. wo leading directors of pho- “The reality is that everything we do is tography (DoPs) offered some artifice. We create interviews, we chop useful pointers to the many lthough they worked in dif- up sentences and we make films.” n students in the audience with ferent genres – factual and Ttheir hearts set on a career behind drama respectively – both The sound masterclass was chaired the camera. editors agreed that their jobs by Emma Wakefield, MD of Lambent Mash admitted that he was “rubbish requiredA total dedication. Productions; the camerawork session by at the technical side” when he started “I am very passionate and work long Helen Scott; and the editing masterclass out. He recommended stills photogra- hours,” said Pai Di Ciaula, whose recent by Ruth Pitt, creative director of Under phy as a good way to practise: “Filming credits include A Very English Scandal, the Moon. The producer was Helen Scott.

Television www.rts.org.uk January 2019 29 hristmas ratings are not what they used to be. Many think that festive television is trading on past glories. Now it isC threatened by streaming. When bingeing on box sets is more common than keeping up with the latest from the soaps, can Christ- mas telly survive? In December, an RTS early-evening­ event summoned up the ghosts of Christmas TV past, present and future to look back at festive classics, discuss the 2018 Christmas schedules and predict the role TV will have – if any – in Christ- Kate Russell mases to come. Over nearly four decades, Michael, now Lord, Grade walked the corridors of power at London Weekend Televi- sion, the BBC, Channel 4 and ITV. He was director of programmes at LWT; controller of BBC One and, later, the corporation’s Chairman; Chief Execu- tive of Channel 4; Chief Executive and Executive Chairman of ITV. No one is more qualified to discuss festive TV. He brought with him a bumper box of clips from past Christ- mas specials, including EastEnders, Upstairs, Downstairs and, of course, The Matthew Bell is haunted by the ghosts of Morecambe & Wise Show, in which and Wise at a Yuletide RTS event Morecambe played “all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order” with the composer André Previn. Xmas TV ’s specials remain the British public’s most memorable Christmas show, according to a BBC poll – even though their final festive special, by which time the duo had Carving up switched to ITV, was shown on Boxing Day in 1983. Lord Grade commissioned many of the nation’s favourite festive pro- grammes, including the 1986 Christ- mas Day EastEnders in which Den Christmas issued Angie with divorce papers. Soaps are a key part of the festive schedules. “They’re familiar and the audience knows that something dra- matic is going to happen on Christmas viewing

30 Christmas 1936

Day. Everyone will be at everyone’s The BBC’s first Christmas Day tele­ throats, trying to kill each other – just vision in 1936 – broadcast from like at home,” said Lord Grade. Alexandra Palace, London, to just “The secret of Christmas shows is 400 households – offered an eclectic that you’ve got to have a sense of mix of programmes. anticipation,” he continued. “You can’t But, from the earliest days of TV,

have a run-of-the-mill episode.” schedulers recognised that Christmas BBC The BBC dominated the festive rat- deserved festive-themed shows. ings during Lord Grade’s era – and it The Christmas : A Demonstra- still does. He offered a simple explana- tion of Carving was the first programme A Seasonal Tour Through the Empire; tion for ITV’s poor performance: “We of the day at 3pm, ingeniously sched- Some Unusual Christmases; more never bothered. We didn’t want to give uled in a post-lunch slot to demon- News Reel; and the final programme of away our crown jewels over a holiday strate to viewers, presumably, how they the day, Television Party, before televi- period when there was no advertising should have carved their turkeys. sion closed down at 10pm. revenue. News Reel followed and then a In total, the BBC was on air for just “We used to get murdered by the talk, A Lonely Christmas in the Arctic; one hour in the afternoon and one in

Paul Hampartsoumian Paul BBC, which we didn’t care about succeeded by the first Christmas spe- the late evening. It was a small begin- because there was no revenue,” he cial of magazine show Picture Page; ning but it marked the beginning of continued. “We let the BBC have it.” Christmas Carols: The Singing Boys; Christmas TV. There is far more at stake for the corporation at Christmas. “For the BBC, it is crucially important because it’s the time when the BBC can prove to the BBC rules the festive season ratings nation that it has something for every- one,” he argued. Contrary to popular belief, EastEnders, The runner-up was BBC sitcom Mrs As Chief Executive at Channel 4 for shown in two separate parts on Christ- Brown’s Boys (9 million). The only ITV almost a decade from 1988, the great mas Day 1986, is not Christmas Day’s shows in the top 10 – a Christmas tra- scheduler adopted a different approach most popular programme. The soap dition that endures – were the veteran to the Christmas schedules. pulled in 30.2 million viewers; but this soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale. The problem was, he recalled, “What figure combines viewers who watched BBC entertainment controller Kate the hell do you do at Christmas? All we on 25 December and Phillips, however, was could do was make trouble and try to separate audiences for optimistic about the do something that was outrageous.” the omnibus edition on future. ‘I refuse to believe In 1993, Lord Grade introduced the 28 December. that ratings are going to Alternative Christmas Message, which was In reality, the honour keep falling each year. delivered by Quentin Crisp. At the RTS goes to the Paul Hogan On Christmas Day, peo- event, he showed a clip of Brigitte movie Crocodile Dundee, ple do want to come Bardot’s 1995 Message. which secured 21.8 mil- together.” The ghost of Christmas present – viewers for BBC One Consolidated ratings, BBC entertainment controller Kate on Christmas Day 1989. which include non-live Event chair Anita Singh

Phillips – argued that festive TV should Following closely viewing within seven Hampartsoumian Paul be “shared viewing”. In entertainment, behind, is the 1977 Christ- days of a programme’s she said, “I want shows that the mas outing of The Mike Yarwood Show transmission, ‘are becoming much three Gs will watch – [when] three (21.4 million), which featured a bizarre more important now’, she added. generations come together, grandpar- sketch with then-Chancellor Denis Lord Grade, though, was dismissive ents, parents and children. That’s a Healey dressed as a punk (imperson- about the importance of ratings, espe- really hard thing to do but, at Christ- ated by Yarwood) and Paul McCartney cially if they were used to influence crea- mas, the BBC does it really well and (the real Macca). tive decisions. ‘I hate anything that leads has done so historically.” For the Christmas period as a whole, you towards reading audience’s reactions Among the festive favourites filling Only Fools and Horses takes the hon- to last night’s TV and making judgements the BBC’s 2018 schedules were Call the ours, clocking up 24.4 million viewers about what you’re going to commis- Midwife, Mrs Brown’s Boys and Strictly for a single show on 29 December 1996. sion on the basis of what the audience Come Dancing, the three highest-rating Christmas Day TV ratings in 2017 watched,’ he said. ‘It is the broadcasters’ shows last Christmas. “It’s the familiar were the lowest since reliable records job to keep ahead of public taste. titles but they’re all a bit special on began: the top show was Call the ‘I’m always nervous about any- Christmas Day, which is what people Midwife, which visited South Africa for thing to do with data that points you want,” said Phillips. its festive outing, with a consolidated towards some kind of predictable, She added that her role was to “keep audience of 9.2 million. formulaic [programming].’ the greats great and grow the new �

Television www.rts.org.uk January 2019 31 Modern comedy at Christmas

Lord Grade Paul Hampartsoumian Paul

Lord Grade: ‘In the tradition of Eric and Ernie, – he’s got different skills, of course – is the supreme artist, who has the widest possible appeal. ‘His material, as far as I’ve ever The 1971 Morecambe & seen, is very clean and family-­ Wise Show, featuring oriented. He’s clever, he’s funny, put-upon composer he’s a natural clown, [and] he’s André Previn a brilliant actor and writer. Car Share was so original and brilliant.’ � greats. It’s a tricky balance, because Russell. “It was [the author] William Kate Phillips: ‘In Car Share he got we have so many titles in entertain- Gibson who said: ‘The future is away with a whole [routine] about ment that are still performing well.” already here; it’s just not widely dis- dogging.… Mrs Brown’s Boys sails Lord Grade revealed that, when tributed yet.’” was first com- Russell demonstrated to the audi- missioned, Bruce Forsyth thought ence an augmented-reality app that that the “show would be taking the offered a visual lesson in how to piss out of the celebrities, which is carve a Christmas turkey. “We have what attracted him” to hosting the this technology – it’s just a question series. “He had no idea they were of it becoming mainstream and going to take it so seriously and be affordable,” she said. so good.” “Viewing habits are changing – Winning promotion in 2018, from people are watching live streaming, Kate Phillips

Christmas Eve to Christmas Day, was people want to be part of the broad- Hampartsoumian Paul Michael McIntyre’s Big Christmas Show. cast and not passively experiencing “Morecambe & Wise was brilliant but [it],” argued Russell. pretty close to the wind [too] – Michael McIntyre is that modern, “But I hope we’ll still get together [Brendan O’Carroll] gets away multi-strand variety show and I think on Christmas Day and watch the old with murder and people love it.… he does it brilliantly,” said Phillips. films as a family,” she continued. I’d rather do stuff that people are The ghost of Christmas yet to come “My take on it is that audiences in talking about.’ – Kate Russell, one of the presenters 100 years’ time will still have an Lord Grade: ‘Mrs Brown’s Boys is a of the BBC’s consumer technology appetite for stories, laughter and radical show in breaking the fourth programme Click – offered an emotion – all the things that televi- wall, which is quite revolutionary imagined story of a family Christmas sion can provide,” said Lord Grade. in comedy, [although] it’s a tradi- with technology to the fore. “All that’s changing is the distribution tional, Carry On-type sitcom.’ In Russell’s vision of the future, the methods – the way you get it.” Kate Phillips: ‘Brendan O’Carroll is Queen gave her annual Christmas “Look at the amazing explosion of a brilliant man. What works very address in “holographic form” in the box-set drama,” he suggested – it cleverly on that show is that it’s family’s living room; artificial intelli- reflects “our hunger for stories”. n quite rude [with lots of] slapstick, gence selected comedy sketches on but then he does this moving epi- the TV; and virtual assistant Alexa The RTS early-evening event ‘A TV logue when he talks about family. ordered pizzas, which were delivered Christmas Carol’ was held at The Hospi- ‘It’s going right back to those by a drone to the family – who were tal Club in central London on 6 Decem- brilliant Only Fools and Horses still watching TV, in the traditional ber. The event was chaired by Anita episodes where you had all the manner, huddled on the sofa. Singh, arts and entertainment editor of slapstick but there was also stuff Much of the technology mentioned , and produced by that got you [in the heart].’ in her story is “in existence now”, said Andrew Scadding and Sue Robertson.

32 RTS Craft & Design Awards 2018 Hosted by Tom Allen, the awards were presented on 26 November at the London Hilton

The City and the City BBC

Television www.rts.org.uk January 2019 33 Lifetime Achievement Award Kathy Schultz

Everyone in this room will know, Although Kathy started her broad- and will have benefited from, the casting career at the BBC, it was at unwavering professionalism, passion, ITV where she would make her honesty and loyalty of the Managing mark. Thousands of hours of pro- Director of ITV’s London Studios, grammes, the very biggest shows. Kathy Schulz. Many of you will have worked on Professionalism – with her unique them, and [seen] what Kathy understanding of the business, and achieved, often against the odds. her drive to be the very best. The way in which she handled the Passion – for her genuine love and closure earlier this year with such affection for this industry of ours. dignity and respect underlined why Honesty – for never letting client or she was only ever the right person crew down, despite huge pressures. for the job. Loyalty – for her desire to main- The last ever live show was Satur- tain relationships built on trust and day Night Takeaway, a show that epito-

Richard Kendal transparency. mised TLS and Kathy’s work.

Costume Design – Design – Programme Content Design – Titles Entertainment and Non Drama Sequences Sasan Roohi, Amber Sutera, Peter June Nevin – The Windsors Royal Axis Animation – Kiss Me First Aldridge and Michael Pearson – Wedding­ Special Kindle Entertainment and Balloon Deep State Noho Film and Television for Channel 4 ­Entertainment for Channel 4 Endor Productions for Fox NG (Europe [Despite] low budgets and time pres- Visually stunning and incredibly well and Africa) sures, the was still executed. This strong, narrative-themed ambitious [and] full of sensitivity Nominees: sequence was beautifully executed and imagination. Made in Colour – Empire Windrush: [and] really encapsulated the mood Nominees: Newsround Special, CBBC Productions and central character of the show. Heather MacVean – The Keith and for CBBC Nominees: Paddy Picture Show, Talkback for ITV Moonraker Visual Effects Team – One Ben Hanbury, Hugo Moss, Paul McDonnell Howard Burden – Zapped (Series 2), Strange Rock, Nutopia / Protozoa and Tamsin McGee – Ordeal by Inno­ Baby Cow Productions / Black Dog Pictures and Overbrook Entertainment cence, Mammoth Screen for BBC One Television / Itchy Coo Productions Production for National Geographic Nic Benns, Miki Kato, Karl Watkins and for Dave Svenja Frahm – Philip K Dick’s Electric Dreams, Television for Costume Design – Drama Channel 4 Marianne Agertoft – The City and The City Design – Trails and Packaging Mammoth Screen for BBC Two BBC Sport, BBC Creative, Blinkink – The costume design [had a] sinister yet 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia familiar feel… achieved with skilful BBC Sport/BBC Creative/Blinkink layering of textures and colour. for BBC Nominees: Iconic in its approach, ambitious in Fotini Dimou – King Lear, Playground its scale, unique in its design…. A real Television (UK) / Sonia Friedman masterstroke. Productions for BBC Two Nominee: Joanna Eatwell – The Miniaturist, The BBC Sport, Y&R and Nexus Studios – Forge Entertainment for BBC One The 2018 Winter Olympics, BBC Sport, Y&R and Nexus Studios for BBC

Fox NG Deep State

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1 Costume Design – Entertainment 2 Costume Design – Drama: 3 Design – Programme Content and Non Drama: The Windsors Royal The City and the City Sequences: Kiss Me First ­Wedding Special 5 Design – Trails and Packaging: 6 Director – Comedy Drama/Situation 4 Design – Titles: Deep State 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Comedy: Girls

7 Director – Documentary/Factual 8 Director – Drama: A Very 9 Editing – Documentary/Factual: and Non Drama: White Right: English Scandal The Detectives: Murder on the Streets Meeting the Enemy

Television www.rts.org.uk January 2019 35 The Windsors Royal ­Wedding Special Channel 4

Director – Comedy Drama/ Director – Drama Editing – Documentary/Factual Situation Comedy Stephen Frears – A Very English Scandal Paul Carlin, Paul Dosaj and Kevin Michael Lennox – Derry Girls Blueprint Pictures for BBC One Konak – The Detectives: Murder on Hat Trick Productions for Channel 4 The performances were on the nose the Streets The director… achieved a breathtaking – a masterclass in character directing. Minnow Films for BBC Two combination of profoundly poignant Luscious and excellent in every way. Astonishing imagery and beautiful intercut with fearfully funny moments. Nominees: editing… took observational documen- Nominees: Jonathan Entwistle – The End of the tary making to a new level. Adam Miller – The Windsors Royal F***ing World, Clerkenwell Films and Nominees: Wedding Special, Noho Film and Dominic Buchanan Productions for Ben Brown – Grenfell, Minnow Films for Television for Channel 4 Netflix/Channel4 BBC One Andrew Chaplin – GameFace, Objective Nick Murphy – Save Me, World Production Team – Blue Planet II, BBC Fiction for E4 Productions for Sky Atlantic Studios/The Natural History Unit/The Open University/BBC America/Tencent/ Director – Documentary/ Director – Multicamera WDR/ Télévisions and CCTV9 for Factual and Non Drama Nikki Parsons – Strictly Come Dancing BBC One Deeyah Khan – White Right: Meeting (Series 15) the Enemy BBC Studios for BBC One Editing – Drama Fuuse Films for ITV The beautifully crafted direction con- Adam Trotman – Come Home This film stood out for its fearless veyed every nuance of the dance per- Red Production Company for BBC One immediacy​ of approach… an exciting fectly to the audience. Impactful… and very sensitive use of directing talent, brilliantly deployed in Nominees: cutting delivered the viewer right into front of camera, too. David Kester – Coronation Street, ITV the emotional heart of the story. Nominees: Studios for ITV Nominees: Francis Hanly – Arena: Stanley and His Liz Clare – The Voice UK (Series 7), ITV Mike Jones – The End of the F***ing Daughters, A BBC Arena Co-Production Studios and Talpa for ITV World, Clerkenwell Films & Dominic with 1212 Productions for BBC Four Buchanan Productions for Netflix/ James Rogan Stephen – The Murder Channel4 that Changed a Nation, On the Corner Pia Di Ciaula – A Very English Scandal, in association with Rogan Productions Blueprint Pictures for BBC One for BBC One

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1 Editing – Drama: Come Home 2 Editing – Entertainment and Comedy: 3 Editing – Sport: Champions League The Windsors Royal Wedding Special Final Liverpool vs Real Madrid opening 4 Effects: The Crown music sequence 5 Lighting for Multicamera: 7 Make-Up Design – Entertainment and Upstart Crow 6 Make-Up Design – Drama: King Lear Non Drama: The Dali and the Cooper:­ Urban Myths 8 Multicamera Work: The Royal Wedding: 9 Multicamera Work – Sport: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle The London Marathon

Television www.rts.org.uk January 2019 37 Editing – Entertainment Make-Up Design – Drama Multicamera Work and Comedy Naomi Donne – King Lear Camera Team – The Royal Wedding: Mark Williams – The Windsors Royal Playground Television (UK)/Sonia Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Wedding Special Friedman Productions for BBC Two BBC Studios for BBC One Noho Film and Television for Channel 4 Each character was delivered with a A monumental task realised with feel- One of the funniest satirical shows on skilled but gentle simplicity, raising ing…. Perfect depth of field in the close- TV… impeccable pacing and comic the visual pathos while allowing the ups, and stunning wide shots. timing throughout the editing process. tragedy of the story to play out. Nominees: Nominees: Nominees: Nick Wood and the Camera Team – Charlie Fawcett – GameFace, Objective Daniel Phillips – A Very English Scandal, Not Going Out, Avalon for BBC One Fiction for E4 Blueprint Pictures for BBC One Richard Boden, Barbara Hicks and Tony Lucien Clayton – Derry Girls, Hat Trick Sjaan Gillings – Flowers (Series 2), Keene – Upstart Crow (Series 2), BBC Productions for Channel 4 Hootenanny and Sister Pictures for Studios for BBC Two Channel 4 Editing – Sport Multicamera Work – Sport Ian Grech, Mike Carter and Kevin Make-Up Design – Entertainment Micky Payne – The London Marathon Evans – Champions League Final and Non Drama BBC TV Sport Production for BBC Liverpool vs Real Madrid opening Vanessa White – The Dali and the Good use of technology, with helicop- music sequence ­Cooper: Urban Myths ters and radio cams on bikes. BT Sport Me and You Productions for Sky Arts Nominee: As much a skilful music edit as it was The combination of great skill and Simon Wheeler – BDO World Darts a sport piece [it] told the story very sheer bonkersness won through here… Championships, IMG Productions for well. All in all, it was a joy to watch! a fantastic recreation of two iconic Channel 4 Nominees: characters. Nicholas Perry, David Bouchard and Nominees: Music – Original Score John Nicholson – Winter Olympics, BBC Lulu Hall – The Windsors Royal Murray Gold – A Very English Scandal Sport for BBC Wedding Special, Noho Film and Blueprint Pictures for BBC One Scott Ferry-Collins, Jim Wiseman and Television for Channel 4 A simply brilliant score that perfectly Tim Hampel – Monaco Grand Prix Vanessa White, Floris Schuller and Neill pitched the humour and pomp… cool, Feature/ Formula 1 2018, Whisper Films Gorton – Tracey Breaks the News, BBC catchy and very charismatic. for Channel 4 Studios and Allan McKeown presents Nominees: for BBC One Graham Coxon – The End of the Effects F***ing World, Clerkenwell Films and One of Us, Chris Reynolds – The Crown Dominic Buchanan Productions for Left Bank Pictures for Netflix Netflix/Channel4 Breathtaking in its scale, ambition and Tandis Jenhudson – Civilisations, achievement…. Seamless, flawless and Nutopia for BBC Two beautifully crafted. Nominees: Music – Original Title Moonraker Visual Effects Team Oli Julian – Motherland – One Strange Rock, Nutopia/ Delightful Industries for Protozoa Pictures and Overbrook BBC Two Entertainment Production for The title score was National Geographic cool, fun, bold and Tanvir Hanif, Fifth Wall VFX brassy. A high- and Becci Blood – Katy, CBBC tempo intro- Productions for CBBC duction that grabbed you Lighting for Multicamera and made you Martin Kempton – Upstart want to watch! Crow (Series 2) Nominees: BBC Studios for BBC Two Murray Gold Each shot was expertly crafted, – Come Home, capturing the essence of “old mas- Red Production ters”… and, being comedy, it was Company for careful not to miss any facial BBC One expressions. Tandis Jenhudson Nominees: – Civilisations, Dave Davey – Britain’s Got Talent, Nutopia for Thames/Syco for ITV BBC Two Nigel Catmur – Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance, BBC Studios for BBC One A Very English

Scandal Channel 4

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1 Music – Original Score: A Very English 2 Music – Original Title: Motherland 3 Photography – Documentary/Factual Scandal and Non Drama: Retreat: Meditations 5 Production Design – Drama: The City from a Monastery 4 Picture Enhancement: The UN Abuse Scandal 6 Production Design – Entertainment and 8 Sound – Entertainment and Non Drama: Non Drama: Britain’s Got Talent 7 Sound – Drama: Bodyguard Retreat: Meditations from a Monastery 9 Host: Tom Allen

Television www.rts.org.uk January 2019 39 Photography – Documentary/ Factual and Non Drama Andrew Muggleton – Retreat: Meditations from a Monastery Tigerlily Productions / BBC Four Sensitive and evocative photography… both formative and indispensable. Nominees: Camera Team – Blue Planet II, BBC Studios/The Natural History Unit/The Open University/BBC America/Tencent/ WDR/ France Télévisions and CCTV9 for BBC One Glen Milner – Handmade in Hull, BBC Studios / Pacific Quay Productions for BBC Four Photography – Drama and Comedy Justin Brown – The End of the F***ing World Clerkenwell Films and Dominic Buchanan Productions for Netflix/ Channel4 Outstandingly fresh in vision and execution, and sleight-of-hand clever The Crown

in its creation of an immersive and Netflix compulsively watchable world. Nominees: Production Design – Sound – Entertainment Cathal Watters – Peaky Blinders Entertainment and Non Drama and Non Drama (Series 4), Peter Bingemann – Britain’s Doug Dreger, Greg Gettens and Kim Caryn Mandabach Productions/Tiger Got Talent Tae Hak – Retreat: Meditations from Aspect Productions for BBC Two Thames/Syco for ITV a Monastery Stuart Biddlecombe – Hidden, A Severn A beautifully executed transformation Tigerlily Productions for BBC Four Screen Production in association with of this existing location, with the Fantastic sound, comprehensively International for BBC Wales flexibility to change looks for each captured and creatively mixed. and performance over many weeks. Nominees: Nominees: Andy Hodges, Sam Staples and Renato Picture Enhancement Dave Ferris – Zapped (Series 2), Baby Ferrari – (Series 25), Envy Adam Dolniak – The UN Sex Abuse Cow Productions / Black Dog Produc­ Post Production / BBC Studios for Scandal tions/Itchy Coo Productions for Dave BBC Two Ronachan Films for Channel 4 Production Design Team – Love Island The Sound Alliance – BBC Proms 2018, The… grade was cinematic and beau- (Series 4), ITV Studios Ltd/Motion BBC Studios for BBC Two and Four tiful. Astounding work. Powerful, Content Group for ITV2 stand-out and with huge impact. Nominees: Sound – Drama Dan Coles – Flowers (Series 2), Dan Johnson, Simon Farmer, Jamie Hoote­nanny and Sister Pictures for Caple and Marc Lawes – Bodyguard Channel 4 World Productions/BBC Gareth Spensley – King Lear, The sound was dramatic, visceral and Playground Television (UK)/Sonia seamlessly mixed. Friedman Produc­tions for BBC Two Nominees: Dylan Voigt, Nigel Edwards, Ben Production Design – Drama Norring­ton and Seb Shorter – Deep Simon Rogers – The City and the City State, Endor Productions for Fox NG Mammoth Screen for BBC Two (Europe and Africa) Bold, atmospheric and confident Nigel Squibbs, John designs that were very well executed. Mooney, Filipa Nominees: Principe and Tony Grant Montgomery – Gunpowder, Gibson – Patrick Kudos in association with Thriker Films Melrose, Little Island for BBC One Productions/Two Cities Martin Childs and Alison Harvey – The and SunnyMarch for

Crown, Left Bank Pictures for Netflix Showtime/ Sky Atlantic Come Home BBC

40 RTS NEWS Director travels back in time

Doctor Who’s longest- serving director, Graeme Harper, dis-

RTS London cussed his TV career with the British Film Insti- tute’s Justin Johnson at an RTS London event in early November. Harper worked as a floor assistant on the BBC One sci-fi classic in the 1960s – before directing episodes in the 1980s and again in the 2000s after new showrunner regenerated . Harper started young in show business, attending the Italia Conti stage school and paying his way by taking on

acting roles. After leaving BBC school, a driving job at MGM Studios in Borehamwood led learned “everything” about the and Cybermen. on Doctor Who.” Harper used to a chance conversation production”. Work as a first Harper said he loved direct- his action expertise to direct with . “That assistant director and then a ing action sequences but had the tram crash in Coronation changed my thinking,” he place on the BBC’s director learned the importance of Street at the start of the soap’s said. “I knew I wanted to be course followed, which led to storyboarding scenes, includ- 50th anniversary week in him – a director.” him directing ing green-screen CGI effects: December 2010. He landed a job at the BBC as Doctor Who in 1983. “It really helps everyone on He continues to direct, and, over three years as a He returned in 2006, direc­ the production know exactly most recently on BBC Two floor assistant and eight as ting four episodes with two what they have to do – and comedy Inside No 9 in 2018. an assistant floor manager, of the series’ greatest villains, that’s a formula we stuck to Nick Radlo

Olopade also discussed services on their smart TVs. Google opens its YouTube’s news and sports ‘Voice is becoming the new services. The latter includes a normal,’ he claimed. deal with BT, which has enabled Media customer engineer doors to RTS London the broadcaster to live stream Melika Golkaram talked about AI, the Champions League football claiming it could help broadcast- n Twenty years after its launch media companies to pool their final on the platform for the ers target advertising and exploit – during which time it has grown resources. Earlier this year, BBC past three years. YouTube is their programme archives. from a small start-up company Studios’ virtual-reality team now dipping its toe into long- Android TV development to a global giant – Google and games studio Preloaded form drama – in November, manager Matthias Puschmann invited RTS London to its Bel- launched BBC Earth: Life in it released sci-fi drama Origin, said ‘an explosion in content’ was gravia offices in late November. VR on Google’s virtual-reality which is produced by Left Bank making it ‘harder for consumers Jon Brennan, Google’s platform, Daydream. Pictures, maker of Netflix’s to figure out what to watch and regional manager for broad- YouTube is known largely as The Crown. through which service’. He said cast, entertainment and media an online and mobile platform, Partner technology man- that Google’s partnerships, said that TV is ‘still yet content partnerships man- ager Manuel Weiss discussed for smart TVs, Android TV, would central’ to people’s lives. The ager Dayo Olopade revealed the voice-activated Google help consumers find the best UK is ‘an exceptional market’, that, thanks to the take off of Assistant, which uses artificial shows and content providers he added, that offered oppor- smart TVs, ‘our fastest-growing intelligence (AI) to help viewers to improve their services. tunities for Google and other screen is in the living room’. navigate their way around the Matthew Bell

Television www.rts.org.uk January 2019 41 RTS NEWS: Northern Ireland invests in drama

inear television is in Pictures. Sophie Petzal, who rude health, argued gave the 2018 RTS Student Bill Malone in his RTS Masterclass in drama, wrote Dan Gilbert Memorial the thriller, which stars LLecture at the Metropolitan Adrian Dunbar and aired on Arts Centre, . Virgin Channel 5 in the UK. Media Television’s director “The ambition with this of programming said: “We’re [type of] show is to make constantly being told linear something of world standard, TV is dead, but the facts Rolls-Royce quality that will actually present a different resonate with Irish audiences picture.” but also have an impact In Ireland, Virgin Media internationally,” said Malone. was “bucking the trend and “TV drama is, in effect, the showing continual growth in new film industry. Projects audiences” – a result, he such as Blood create more claimed, of a “notable step up interest in Irish content in [the] scale, ambition and abroad. These stories can quality” of programming. travel like never before.” Virgin Media Television Virgin Media Television bought Ireland’s largest com- has signed partnerships with, mercial free-to-air broad- among others, Netflix, Sky Blood

caster, TV3, in 2015, renaming BBC and the BBC. “International it this year. partnerships and co-funding The -based broadcaster RTS Northern Ireland held its awards and have now become an essen- operates two other linear tial part of the day-to-day channels – a series of events in a busy November business in a more global and Three – plus Virgin Media broadcasting landscape,” Sport (which has the rights to audiences first”, pushing he said, is to build “strategic he argued. Champions League football) “quality Irish programming in partnerships across borders The lecture is given in and on-demand video service all genres”. He added: “We are – local TV [is] becoming inc­ memory of Dan Gilbert, a . doing a lot of things that com­ reasingly global in outlook”. former radio current-affairs Malone, who left RTÉ2 to mercial broadcasters don’t do”, The executive discussed editor at the BBC. RTS join TV3 two years ago, argued including investing in news Virgin Media One’s Blood, a Northern Ireland hosted the that Virgin Media Television’s and current affairs beyond co-production involving lecture as part of the Belfast growth was “rooted in the regulatory requirements. Company Pictures in London Media Festival. n principle of putting our The broadcaster’s strategy, and Dublin-based Element Matthew Bell

founders Rosie Le Garsmeur and Stuart Sloan presented Raiding the lost archives the story of the documentary film specialists’ evolution n RTS Northern Ireland Ciara Chambers, head of BBC Rewind project, which into Northern Ireland’s most joined forces with Film film and screen media at plans to release 10,000 pieces experienced film archive Hub NI – part of the BFI University College Cork, gave of material Online over the exhibitors. They screened a Film Audience Network – to a rundown of her work on the next few years. selection of some short films showcase the latest develop- TG4 project to save century- Documentary film-maker from the Second Chance ments in TV and film old newsreels that document Brian Henry Martin, from collection. archives. Ireland’s political history. Belfast-based indie Double- Media lawyer Olivia O’Kane “Raiders of the lost archive” RMC Media’s Fran Rowlatt- Band Films, presented his from Belfast law firm Carson discussed the wealth of digital McCormick discussed her work on the BBC NI Super 8 McDowell also spoke at the archive material available experiences of working as an Stories, a series that presented joint RTS/Film Hub event at which could be used to archival producer on projects 75 years of life in Northern Queen’s Film Theatre, which enhance TV and film produc- such as 66 Days, a film about Ireland as recorded on was held as part of BBC Digi- tion, as well as providing Bobby Sands’ hunger strike. super 8 film home movies. tal Cities Belfast week. material for film exhibitors. Warren Bell discussed the Second Chance Cinema Sara Gunn-Smith

42 ed Production Com- Derry Girls: pany’s Belfast-set Scripted Comedy Come Home, took the award winners Drama prize at the RRTS Northern Ireland Pro- gramme Awards. ’s BBC One series stars Christopher Eccleston and Paula Mal- comson as a couple whose collapses and threatens to destroy their children’s lives. The Scripted Comedy award went to Lisa McGee’s Channel 4 sitcom Derry Girls, which was made by Hat Trick Productions. No Stone Unturned, which Derry Girls: on tells the story of the unsolved murders of six men in a bar in Northern Ireland during the top deck the 1994 World Cup, won the Channel 4 Current Affairs award for Fine Point Films. It was BBC Northern Ireland’s Stronge was presented with Stronge for winning the Brian directed by the renowned US television news service, the Brian Waddell Award for Waddell Award, re-named in documentary film-maker, BBC Newsline, won the News her outstanding contribution memory of her father, who Alex Gibney. Coverage award for Kevin to local TV and film. founded the Belfast indie Belfast production com- Magee’s investigation into Her credits include HBO’s Waddell Media. pany Fine Point Films picked paedophile hunters. BBC Game of Thrones, for which The RTS Northern Ireland up a second award (with Northern Ireland also picked she has won two Emmys, Awards were held at the Met- Cyprus Avenue Films) for up the Interactive award for and the recent BBC Two ropolitan Arts Centre, Belfast, 66 Days, about Bobby Sands its virtual-reality film 1943 factual drama Doing Money, and hosted by Bronagh and the 1981 hunger strikes, Berlin Blitz. about slavery in the UK. Waugh, who recently starred which garnered the Docu- “The high quality of this “Waddell Media was the first in the ITV drama Unforgotten. mentary prize. The Specialist year’s entries was truly place I did work experience, Matthew Bell Factual award went to Erica impressive and hugely reflec- so I am very proud to be the Starling Productions and tive of Northern Ireland’s first recipient in the award’s Northern Ireland winners Ronachan Films for Leonora dynamic creative commu- new name,” said Stronge. Carrington: The Lost Surrealist, nity,” said RTS Northern Ire- Jannine Waddell, Chair of Brian Waddell Award•Carla Stronge Drama•Come Home•Red Produc- about the English-born Mex- land Chair . the awards committee, gave tion Company for BBC One ican artist. Casting director Carla “special congratulations”. to Scripted Comedy•Derry Girls•Hat Trick Productions for Channel 4 Entertainment•What Makes You Tic?•Nice One Productions and Hindsight Productions for BBC Three Paul Ghirardani – who with a CV masterclass, fea- Factual Entertainment/Features• Rachel Allen: A Cook’s Adven- Belfast brought one of his Emmys turing former BBC lead talent ture•Big Mountain Productions for with him – was joined by manager Helen Thompson. Channel 4 Specialist Factual•Leonora artist Daniel Blackmore and The “Ultimate careers Carrington: The Lost Surrealist• welcomes draughtsman Owen Black at panel discussion” featured: Erica Starling Productions/Ronachan Films for BBC Four the session, which was director John Strickland (BBC Documentary•66 Days•Cyprus students jointly hosted by Belfast One thriller ); BBC Avenue Films/Fine Point Films for Design Week. The trio dis- NI head of content Eddie BBC Two News Coverage•BBC Newsline: cussed their roles in the art Doyle; devel- Paedophile Hunter Investiga- n A sold-out session on the department, before an opment producer Maeve tion•BBC NI work of the art department 80-strong audience. McLoughlin; Creative Skill- Current Affairs•No Stone Unturned•Fine Point Films of HBO fantasy drama Game Belfast’s Titanic Studios set’s Margaret Burgin; and NI Children’s/Animation•Joe All Alone: of Thrones was the highlight has been the main studio Screen’s Christine Morrow. Home Alone•Zodiak Kids Studios of RTS Futures Northern and post-production facility The RTS Futures NI careers for CBBC Interactive•1943 Berlin Blitz•BBC NI Ireland’s careers day at for all eight series of Game day was part of BBC Digital Original Music Score•Rocky Ros Queen’s University Belfast. of Thrones. Cities Week Belfast 2018. Muc•Below the Radar for BBC NI Supervising art director The careers day began Stacey Burns

Television www.rts.org.uk January 2019 43 RTS NEWS

bservational docu- mentaries have offered audiences some of their most Ocherished memories over the years, from Michael Apted’s Up series, to Molly Dineen’s The Ark to Rowan Deacon’s How to Die: Simon’s Choice. At an RTS Futures event in November, National Film and Television School head of docs Peter Dale chaired a debate on what it takes to be a great film-maker. One of the panel, Lizzie Kempton, was the associate producer on the Grierson Award-winning BBC Two film,How to Die: Simon’s Choice, which tells the story of a man with an aggressive form Havana Marking: Afghan Star

of motor neurone disease Films Zeitgeist who chooses to end his life. She studied journalism at university, working as a run- ner at ITV in Manchester Letting the camera linger during her holidays. After graduating, Kempton tried her hand at current affairs Matthew Bell takes a seat as the experts discuss (Tonight with Trevor McDonald) and factual (Long Lost Family) RTS Futures how they shoot observational documentaries TV, but she was set on mak- ing observational docs. respected her as a film- BBC Three film Manchester Challen, who is appealing She got in touch with maker,” Kempton told Dale, Bomb: Our Story gave Kempton, a murder sentence on the director Vanessa Engle and Channel 4's ex-head of docs. who had secured a place on grounds that her husband landed a job as an assistant As a producer, Kempton the BBC’s documentary direc- was psychologically abusive. producer on Engle’s BBC worked “with some really tors initiative, her first direc- Another panel member, Two doc Welcome to the World brilliant directors for a few tor’s role. She is currently Peter Beard, who directed of Weight Loss. “She has a very years. I was able to observe working for Minnow Films on Channel 4’s Bafta-winning clear, distinctive style and I how [they practise] their craft.” a film about a woman, Sally doc My Son the Jihadi, had wanted to be a movie direc- tor. But a work placement on is going to do. But, if you don’t the Harry Potter set, “emptying To shoot or not to shoot? enjoy it or find it’s distracting the bins”, gave the teenager a you from having emotional dose of realism: “I realised n The panellists held differing petrified I wouldn’t be good engagement [in the film], you there were about 500 people views on the need for direc- enough,’ said Lizzie Kemp- shouldn’t do it,’ she argued. ‘If between me and the director.” tors to shoot their own films. ton. However, when she was you’ve got a really skilled cam- Beard shot short films and ‘It’s something I enjoyed as admitted to the BBC’s doc- era person, who is really good won a place on a researcher soon as I started making films umentary directors scheme, at blending into the background, training programme at Chan- as a teenager,’ recalled Peter she threw herself into it ‘and then you can have just as much nel 4. His break came as an Beard. But, as an employer of absolutely loved it’. Self-shoot- intimacy – in fact, more.’ assistant producer on Bruce crews at his indie, Story Films, ing, she argued, gives a director Peter Dale, the chair of the Fletcher’s BBC Three doc he admitted that it is ‘more ‘more freedom’ and ‘an inti- Futures event and head of about a man with Down’s problematic’ to employ a macy’ with contributors. documentaries at the National Syndrome, Otto: Love, Lust and non-shooting director together Havana Marking can shoot Film and Television School, Las Vegas. “I absolutely loved with ‘a really strong assistant but chooses not to. ‘It’s really said: ‘There aren’t enough that type of observational producer who can shoot’. important to know how to women shooters. We’re try- film-making, in which you ‘When I was a producer, I shoot, how to cover a scene ing to address the dearth of get time to get to know didn’t shoot because I was and what your camera person female, talented shooters.’ character[s] and get under their skin.”

44 Beard “raced” to become a director and was commis- sioned to direct a film for Channel 4’s First Cut doc strand, but “felt entirely out of my depth”. He took a step back and, like Kempton, learnt from observing other directors while producing. “Directing is not a gift – it’s a craft that you learn,” he said. Beard produced Channel 4 series Bedlam, which was directed by David Nath with whom he later founded the indie, Story Films. “That was a massive lesson,” Beard recalled. “It took me from being a point-and-shoot director to someone who thinks a lot about how the Black Roses: The Killing of Sophie Lancaster story is being put together.” BBC Havana Marking, the third panel member and director of Afghan Star, which follows the lives of contestants on an ‘This life can be for you’ X Factor-style show in Kabul, worked on a newspaper in Dorset before becoming a Carole Solazzo city: “This is Manchester: we ladder behind me”, encour- researcher on Channel 4’s do things differently here.” aged her ambitions. That Escape to River Cottage. “I is persuaded The antithesis of the “luv- young lady became loved the combination of the vie” actor, Hesmondhalgh star Annie Wallace. North West North West Centre visual and the storytelling by actor Julie spoke about her background, Hesmondhalgh said “how components [of the show],” Hesmondhalgh’s education – “a product of the proud” she is of Corrie for she recalled. state” – her career and social bringing issues such as the Marking moved to London, passionate words campaigning. She emphasised right to end one’s own life but discovered its streets the importance of being told, “into people’s front rooms. weren't paved with TV gold. ne of the highlights as a young, Northern, work- We have a responsibility to A job on ITV reality show of the North West ing-class woman, that “this do [these issues] justice for Holiday Showdown was calendar took place [artist’s] life can be for you”. those going through [them].” “awful”. Marking had been at The Lowry, Sal- She also impressed on the She praised Russell T told it was a “banging - Oford, in November, where the audience her gratitude at Davies, who gave the inaugu- day show” but, in reality, it audience was treated to an being “supported by grants ral Anthony H Wilson Lecture was “car-crash television”. evening of wit and warmth and benefits”, which are no in 2007, for using her charac- She left “mainstream TV”, from . longer available to new artists, ter in Channel 4 drama vowing “to make films about The actor, who has won two and discussed her work with Cucumber to discuss the the things that I want to RTS North West awards for organisations such as youth effects of pornography on make”, and directed her first her work in ITV soap Corona- charity Arts Emergency. young people. She also doc about a troupe of dis- tion Street and BBC Two fac- “The opportunity, not to praised ITV’s , in abled male strippers, The tual drama Black Roses: The change people’s minds but to which she played “an ordi- Crippendales, after winning a Killing of Sophie Lancaster, was open them,” said Hesmond- nary middle-aged woman” Channel 4 pitching scheme giving this year’s Anthony H halgh, meant that when she who is raped, for not portray- for new talent. Wilson Memorial Lecture. was chosen to play trans ing a clichéd rape victim – a Marking followed her debut In conversation with actor character in “naked young woman run- with the Sundance Film Fes- and director Noreen Kershaw, Coronation Street, she thor- ning through woods”. tival award-winning Afghan Hesmondhalgh proved to be oughly researched the expe- Kershaw concluded with a Star, which was supported by the embodiment of the riences of trans people. surprise for Hesmondhalgh: the BritDoc Foundation and words of the late Granada In particular, she used filmed tributes from Corrie More4 – the Channel 4 Reports anchor and music those of “a shy, young lady co-stars and fellow Broad- ­offshoot conceived and impresario, Wilson, who from Aberdeen” and, in the church actor and new Doctor launched by Peter Dale. n memorably summed up his spirit of “never pulling up the Who .

Television www.rts.org.uk January 2019 45 RTS CENTRE AWARDS

The hugely popular BBC One sitcom Peter Kay’s Car Share picked

North West North West Centre up two top prizes for its last-ever outing on televi- sion at the RTS North West Awards in Manchester. Peter Kay’s Car Share: The Finale won the Comedy Pro- gramme award, while Kay’s co-star, Sian Gibson, was named Comedy Performer for her appearance in the Goodnight Vienna Produc- tions’ show. The other acting awards at the ceremony went to: Jack P Shepherd (Performance in a Continuing Drama), who plays David Platt in ITV soap Coronation Street; Rob Edwards for his performance in BBC Four’s Men Who Sleep in Cars, a single drama, writ- ten entirely in verse by Peter Kay's Car Share: The Finale Michael Symmons Roberts; and Jodhi May, who starred in an episode of the long- running anthology drama series Moving On, created by Car Share fills its boot Jimmy McGovern. May wrote the same Mov- ing On episode, Invisible, about the subject of Title Role Pro- digital businesses in Newton the North West Centre, a mother confronting the ductions’ Manchester Terror Heath, and Space Studios, . teacher who abused her at Attack: In Their Own Words for Manchester’s facility for actor John school many years before. Channel 5, which won the high-end television and film Thomson hosted the RTS Moving On, which is made by Regional Story award. production in West Gorton. North West Awards at the LA Productions for BBC One, The former Managing “Sue hugely deserves this Hilton Deansgate in Novem- was also took the award for Director of ITV Granada, recognition. She’s a dynamic, ber, in front of a star-studded Daytime Series. Susan Woodward, received inspiring and visionary audience that included the RTS Judges Award for leader who has transformed Shayne Ward, drama Cold Feet, which founding the Sharp Project, the television industry in the and Johnny Vegas. returned to ITV in 2016 after which is home to 60 creative North West,” said the Chair of Matthew Bell a gap of 13 years, received the Drama award. Topical RTS North West winners Performance in a Comedy•Sian Gibson, Stories•ITV Studios for ITV Television’s The £1 Houses: Peter Kay’s Car Share: The Finale• Daytime Series•Moving On• Britain’s Cheapest Street for Judges Award•Susan Woodward Goodnight Vienna for BBC One LA Productions for BBC One Channel 4 scooped the Fac- Single Drama or Series•Cold Feet• Entertainment•Jane McDonald and Sports•Alan Shearer: Dementia, Foot- Big Talk Productions for ITV Friends•Elephant House Studios ball and Me•BBC Sport for BBC One tual Series proze, while BBC for Channel 5 Performance in a Single Drama or Breakthrough Talent•Chloe Lea, Two’s long-running business Series – Male•Rob Edwards: Men Who Single Documentary•Manchester Katy•CBBC Sleep in Cars•BBC Studios for BBC Four Bomb: Our Story•Blakeway North ideas show, ’ Den, for BBC One Animation/Puppetry•Go Jetters: The Performance in a Single Drama or Great Pacific Garbage Patch•CBeebies picked up the Factual Enter- Jodhi May: Moving Factual Series•The £1 Houses: Britain’s Series – Female• Raa Raa the On•LA Productions for BBC One Cheapest Street•Topical Television Children’s – Pre-School• tainment Programme award. for Channel 4 Noisy Lion: Raa Raa and the Funniest Scriptwriter•Danny Brockleshurst: Laugh•Mackinnon and Saunders The Single Documentary Come Home•Red Production Company Factual Entertainment•Dragons’ for CBeebies Den•BBC Studios for BBC Two award went to Blakeway for BBC One Children’s – School Age•My Life: Hike to Performance in a Continuing Drama• Regional News Journalist•Daniel Happiness•Nine Lives Media for CBBC North for its BBC One film Hewitt• for ITV Jack P Shepherd: Coronation Street• Digital Content•Hollyoaks: #DontFilter- Manchester Bomb: Our Story, ITV Studios for ITV Regional News•Granada Reports Feelings• for Channel 4 which was directed by Lizzie Continuing Drama Storyline• Compilation•ITV Production – Craft•Twirlywoos: More Coronation Street: The Rape of David Regional Story•Manchester Terror About Cleaning •Mackinnon and Saun- Kempton. The terrorist attack Platt•ITV Studios for ITV Attack: In Their Own Words•Title Role ders/ for CBeebies on the Manchester Arena in Comedy•Peter Kay’s Car Share: The Productions for Channel 5 Post-production – Craft•Safe (audio)• May 2017, following a concert Finale•Goodnight Vienna for BBC One Current Affairs•Judge Rinder’s Crime Porcupine Media Services for Netflix by Ariana Grande, was also

46 Comedians were the big winners at the RTS Midlands Awards –

Midlands Centre Guz Khan scores West Bromwich-born ONLINE received the Baird Medal in recognition of at the RTS his contribution to TV, while hat trick of wins ’s Guz Khan claimed three prizes for BBC n In November, we celebrated Three sitcom Man Like Mobeen. Britain’s behind-the-scenes TV Khan won the Acting talent at the RTS Craft & Design (Male) and Outstanding New Awards. Comedian Tom Allen Talent awards, and shared was the witty compère, elegantly the Writer prize with the rattling through a ceremony co-writer of Man Like Mobeen, that saw Stephen Frears pick Andy Milligan. up the Director – Drama award More than 300 people for Jeremy Thorpe drama A Very attended the awards cere­ English Scandal. The Lifetime mony, which was hosted by Achievement award went to television presenter Trish former ITV Studios MD Kathy Adudu, at Birmingham Schultz. You can watch backstage Town Hall in November. interviews on our website ITV News Central bagged a (www.rts.org.uk/CD2018). hat trick of awards for News Programme of the Year, Jour- n The awards demonstrated the

BBC nalist of the Year for Balvinder impact good craft skills have on Sidhu and Digital Creativity. TV production. Earlier in Novem- BBC Birmingham also won ber, the RTS Student Craft Skills three awards at the cere­ masterclasses helped to unpack mony, for the documentary what it takes to make a great feature How the NHS Changed show. In the camerawork ses- Our World: Birmingham Chil- sion, directors of photography dren’s Hospital; Phil Mash and Geraint Warring- filmRichie Anderson Coming ton explained that there is no Out (Short Form); and Laura substitute for experience, and Man Like Mobeen

Rollins for long-running BBC BBC that stills photography is a good One drama Doctors (Acting way to practise composition. Performance – Female). outstanding and tonight’s BBC Midlands, Channel 4, You can watch the session at The BBC Two single drama nominees and winners Creative England, Film Bir- www.rts.org.uk/Camerawork18. The Boy with the Topknot, made showed the region at its mingham and the University by Kudos with Parti Produc- best,” said RTS Midlands of Worcester for supporting n Editors Pia Di Ciaula and Rick tions, secured the Drama Chair Caren Davies. the RTS Midlands Awards. Barker discussed the differences award. The film is an adapta- The centre is grateful to Matthew Bell between editing drama and fac- tion of journalist Sathnam tual programmes. In drama, the Sanghera’s memoir of grow- director likes to be present in the RTS Midlands winners Specialist Factual•Hospital•Label1 ing up in Wolverhampton. Television for BBC Two edit suite, Di Ciaula explained, Baird Medal•Frank Skinner The BBC's Inside Out East Documentary•How the NHS Changed while Barker said that in factual Drama•The Boy with the Topknot• Our World: Birmingham Children’s Midlands was named Current Kudos in association with Parti Hospital•BBC Birmingham for BBC it is the editor’s domain (www. Affairs Programme of the Productions for BBC Two One rts.org.uk/Editing18). Year, while North One Tele- Writer•Guz Khan and Andy Milligan, Current Affairs•Inside Out East Man Like Mobeen•Cave Bear and Tiger Midlands•BBC Aspect Productions for BBC Three n vision’s Travel Man: 48 Hours Journalist of the Year•Balvinder Sound, though vital to pro- In... series won the Factual Acting (Female)•Laura Rollins, Doc- Sidhu•ITV News Central gramme-making, can often be tors•BBC Studios for BBC One Entertainment prize for the News Programme•Glenfield Children’s a bit of a mystery to outsiders. Acting (Male)•Guz Khan, Man Like Heart Unit Reprieve•ITV News Central second year running. Mobeen•Cave Bear and Tiger Aspect Molinaire’s head of broadcast Productions for BBC Three Children’s•Jamie Johnson•Short Form Actor Mark Williams Film for CBBC factual sound, Greg Gettens, and On-screen Personality•Mark Williams, picked up the On-screen Civilisations Stories•Zebra Digital for Digital Creativity•ITV News Central sound recordist Phil Bax helped Personality award for Civilisa- BBC One West Midlands Short Form•Richie Anderson Coming to unravel the mystery, and Guz Khan, Out, The One Show•BBC Birmingham tions Stories in which he Outstanding New Talent• for BBC One described how a job in sound Man Like Mobeen•Cave Bear and Tiger uncovers the radical world Aspect Productions for BBC Three Excellence in Post-production Craft can take you from an edit suite Affixxius Films of Georgian Birmingham. Factual Entertainment•Travel Man: Skills•Rugby School• to the world’s highest building 48 Hours in ... •North One Excellence in Production Craft Skills• “The range of programming Television for Channel 4 All Is Not Lost•Affixxius Films (www.rts.org.uk/Sound2018). being made in the Midlands is Pippa Shawley

Television www.rts.org.uk January 2019 47 RTS NEWS

RTS events Students and freelances IN BRIEF study in Southampton Scotland launches Two hundred locally reporters from BBC Radio engineering, acting, locations writer award based journalism stu- Solent and The News, which is and TV companies gathered to RTS Scotland launched its 2019 dents attended the based in Portsmouth. discuss their current projects awards in November. Chair of Southern Centre Southern Centre’s fifth There were also sports at the Vestry in Southampton. judges and head of Lion TV in annual “Working in journal- journalists working as com- Working as a freelance Scotland Lisa Hazlehurst unveiled ism” event at Solent Univer- munications officers for GB television professional can the criteria and categories, includ- sity in mid-November. Wheelchair Rugby and Brigh- be challenging, especially for ing a new category for writers. It is one of the best forums ton and Hove Albion FC. those who are new to the Ben Philip, who received the for students to meet working There was much talk about region, so the fair provides Young Journalist award in 2018, journalists to discuss current journalists dealing with “fake a platform for people from and Duncan Cowles, whose film opportunities and career news”. One of the visiting different sectors of the indus- Taking Stock won the Short Form development – three of the professionals said that good try to meet and connect. Content award last year, shared 15 journalists at the event had journalism relies on indi- “Once again, this event has their experiences. The awards will attended as students in the vidual integrity and the abil- proved to be very popular,” take place in Glasgow on 12 June. past two years. Indeed, one ity to “sift through the said Southern Centre Chair gained her job with Sky News speculative and embellished Stephanie Farmer. “It shows as a result of the contact she to get the real story”. that there is a role for the Ireland celebrates made as a student in 2017. n Later that month, Southern RTS to support the growing Brendan Behan The professionals included Centre held its second Free- band of creative freelance on-screen and online staff lance Fair. More than 50 pro- professionals in our region.” RTS Republic of Ireland hosted from BBC South, ITV Merid- fessionals from film, editing, Gordon Cooper and a screening of Birgitta Pierre’s ian and Sky News, as well as camera, sound, kit hire, Katharine Duchesne 1970 documentary A Jar with Brendan Behan in November at RTÉ in Dublin. The film was Craig and Ingrid. All recent is Jinsy and Living the Dream, shot by Godfrey Graham, who graduates, they offered inspi- their Channel 4 series The revealed that Pierre, a Swedish Raising a ration and insight to an audi- Windsors and Badults; and researcher at RTÉ Television, had ence of more than 160 school, the BBC’s Ruddy Hell! It’s become fascinated by the Irish laugh in college and university stu- Harry & Paul, for which Mant writer. Behan is portrayed by dents from across Devon and won a Bafta award. Niall Tóibín, who also appeared Cornwall at the Theatre Royal, Kingsley Marshall in a stage adaptation of Behan’s Plymouth Plymouth, in November. Borstal Boy on Broadway. The second half of n RTS Devon and Cornwall’s ‘Breaking into media’ annual ‘Breaking into media’ featured comedy Centres celebrate event featured its largest producers Izzy Mant with quizzes ever ‘Getting in and getting and James Dean, on’ panel, which boasted an who discussed their Three RTS centres held Christmas army of TV talent. journey into televi- quizzes. BBC Look North in Leeds Sam Smith represented sion, and offered lifted Yorkshire’s trophy, answer- the BBC, while Kate Haskell advice on how ing questions set by TV writer and Sam Blackledge spoke to develop Lisa Holdsworth. Bristol factual for ITV West Country and Dan and deliver and natural history specialists Willers for animation studio a comedy Offspring Films were crowned Yellow Mouse. series for champions at the West of Eng- Beagle Media, Silver- broadcast. land quiz, which was hosted by stream TV and the TwoFour Their BBC Points West presenters Alex Group brought their heads of talk was Lovell and Sabet Choudhury. ITV department Harry Anscombe, illustrated Wales presenter Ruth Wignall Rob Davey and Rick Horne, by clips hosted the RTS Wales quiz, together with some of their from: their which was won by a combined young talent – Hannah, Kirsty, Sky series This Ruddy Hell! It’s Harry & Paul

Sugar Films/BBC Studios team. BBC

48 More than 100 students picked up valuable tips Bristol hosts on making factual TV

Yorkshire Yorkshire Centre during Yorkshire’s careers day at Leeds College sold-out of Music in November. At two masterclasses and youth event three mini “Anatomy of a hit” sessions, the students learned from some of the The Watershed in region’s leading television ­Bristol was full with practitioners. emerging TV talent

The first masterclass fea- West of England when it hosted the RTS tured Channel 5 commis- West of England’s Futures sioning editor Greg Barnett; Festival in late November. True North creative director The RTS centre – in part- Jess Fowle and producer nership with ScreenSkills, Hayley Raper; Daisybeck the industry body for the Studios production executive UK’s screen-based creative Hannah Melia; and Andrew industries – put on the event White, the presenter and during the BBC Academy- Catching a Killer

producer of Walks Around Channel 4 run Digital Cities Bristol. Britain. The execs offered Sixteen companies from advice on how to make the the creative community in most of a work placement. the region were on hand to The second featured Leeds reveals offer advice and discuss speakers in the early stages opportunities. Indies in of their careers: True Vision attendance included Keo Yorkshire production trainee Films, Wall to Wall West, Icon Harry Lock; Daisybeck Stu- factual secrets Films and Plimsoll Produc- dios researcher Hannah tions, alongside ITV News West McDonagh; Air TV produc- Country and post-production tion manager Holly Pywell; Paul Stead and The Yorkshire Anna Hall from True Vision facilities Doghouse, Evolu- and True North production Vet’s vet, Julian Norton, to Yorkshire talked about her tions and Films at 59, which co-ordinator Ravelle Thomas discuss the Channel 5 show. RTS Yorkshire award-winning brought along camera kit for and development researcher Representing high-octane series for Channel 4, Catching students to try out. Eleanor Wight. medical series Helicopter ER a Killer. The panellists spoke Digital influencer Amrit The careers day ended with (UKTV channel Really) were about the work that went into Singh explained how to create a look at three factual TV hits Matt Richards from Air TV making programmes involv- successful digital campaigns made in the region. Greg and Dr Andy Pountney, one ing real people, and how vital and build brands, while Mar- Barnett returned to the stage of the Yorkshire Air Ambu- it was to build up trust. ble Films’ Jane Zurakowski with Daisybeck Studios MD lance medics on the show. Lisa Holdsworth talked about production man- agement, revealing that it doesn’t involve just paper- work and budgets, but can backgrounds. It offers RTS CEO Theresa Wise. “Our be creative, too. Bursaries 25 bur­saries for TV produc- first two years of graduates Series director George tion and broadcast journal- are doing us proud and we Pagliero (BBC One’s Earth’s ism students, and seven for look forward to supporting Natural Wonders) gave a guide safeguard those studying computing our new first years into their to self-shooting, while and engineering. The Steve future careers.” ScreenSkills provided an TV’s future Hewlett Scholarship, for stu- During their studies, each overview of its Trainee dents pursuing a career in recipient receives £1,000 a Finder scheme, which helps current affairs journalism or year to assist with their place trainees on feature he RTS has announ­ documentary production, expenses. In their final year of films and high-end TV drama ced the recipients of was awarded to Georgia May study, the RTS aims to set up across the UK. its 2018 undergradu- Keetch and Liam Warden. It mentoring opportunities with Students also attended ate bursaries. The was set up to honour the late senior industry figures. ScreenSkills’ “show and tell Tscheme, which aims to TV executive and journalist The Steve Hewlett scholar- sessions” on film and TV improve access to the TV “Television needs a broader ship is worth £2,000 a year to lighting, make-up, produc- industry, supports talented pool of young people to enter each of the two recipients. tion and editing. students from lower-income the industry and flourish,” said Matthew Bell Suzy Lambert

Television www.rts.org.uk January 2019 49 OFF M E SSAGE

ell, that also a great champion of diversity. And so it turned out to be. French was the During his tenure, Channel 4 was cycling fans will be rejoicing. They year that voted Britain’s Best Diverse Company. hated the way that the deep-pocketed was. His award-winning “superhumans” team exerted total and utter domi- Another campaign for Channel 4’s coverage of nance over the Tour de France. golden the 2012 London Paralympics repre- Who would have thought, when 12 months sented truly groundbreaking work. Sky’s distinctive and luxuriously for TV, as everyone was treated to a Off Message wishes him well in his appointed black bus first appeared Wsuccession of brilliant drama series. new venture. at the race in 2009, that their cyclists In no particular pecking order, a New would go on to win six editions of the Year toast to some of TV’s choicest cuts ■ As the awards season gains Tour. In the process, Bradley Wiggins, of 2018 - Killing Eve, Bodyguard, Patrick momentum, hosts capable of making Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas Melrose, A Very English Scandal, My Brilliant these nights fly by are at a premium. became household names. Friend and The Marvellous Mrs Maisel. If comedian Tom Allen isn’t fully As Sky’s CEO, Jeremy Darroch, said There were also encouraging trends booked to hand out the prizes, then when it was announced that his com- behind the screen, as more women he should be. Anyone who attended pany was ending its backing: “After seemed to be working in positions of the RTS’s recent Craft & Design more than a decade of involvement, power and influence. This year, British Awards will know that the acerbic I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve TV can salute the impressive starts that Allen is in a league of his own as an achieved with Team Sky and our long- Carolyn McCall and Alex Mahon has awards presenter. standing partners at British Cycling.” each made during challenging times Memorably describing himself as Off Message hopes that Sky’s Ocean at ITV and Channel 4, respectively. “Kirstie Allsopp trapped inside Phil Rescue campaign, which aims to At ITV, the recent ratings success of Spencer”, he made light and rapid reduce the role that single-use plas- I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! is a work of announcing the winners of tics play in our lives, is as successful. tribute to the resilience of a truly great some 28 awards. format – and television’s unique ■ And finally, congratulations to power to ignite national conversations. ■ Good to see ’s CEO, Sharon the RTS Fellows presented with Not only did the programme achieve White, giving another impressive their awards at November’s Patron its highest-ever launch audience – the defence of public service broadcast- Dinner: Gary Franses, late of sports consolidated viewing figures were ing at Digital UK’s “Outside the box” producer Sunset+Vine, and Peter 13.7 million – the show’s finale peaked conference in November. Fincham and Janice Hadlow, who at an extraordinary 12.1 million. Once again, she urged further col- have both held big jobs at the BBC. Well done, ITV, and well done to laboration between the PSBs as they It’s easy to forget that, as controller the gallant Harry Redknapp for contemplate the competition from the of BBC Two, Hadlow was responsible cheering up the dark winter nights. streamers and other tech behemoths. for introducing The Great British Bake Meanwhile, a reinvigorated Chan- The Ofcom chief was candid when Off to the nation. nel 4 looks forward to 2019 with a she said that she thought the BBC had Handing out the fellowships, RTS clear vision, as it positions itself to be a acted too quickly to switch BBC Three Vice-Chair Simon Pitts, who once regional broadcaster of genuine scale. to an online-only operation. worked alongside Fincham at ITV, Talking of BBC Three, it will be couldn’t resist teasing the man who ■ Talking of Channel 4, Off Message fascinating to see who is appointed to helped bring Downton Abbey to the would like to extend huge thanks succeed its controller, Damian Kava- screen. Not only did he call out the to Dan Brooke, an RTS stalwart and nagh, who is leaving, after a four- ex-Talkback man’s sartorial weak- assiduous Chair of the Early-Evening year stint, to run Tiger Aspect. ness for upmarket knitwear, he also Events Committee. highlighted his apparent reluctance He is quitting his job as Channel 4’s ■ There had been speculation in the to travel by Tube. chief marketing and communications specialist sports press that Comcast’s At which point the ever-resourceful officer to set up his own company. new ownership of Sky might mean co-founder of Expectation Entertain- Dan is unlikely to be short of clients. the end of the company’s sponsor- ment flourished his Oyster card for Known for his calm authority, he is ship of the all-conquering Team Sky. all to see.

50 January 2019 www.rts.org.uk Television RTS PATRONS RTS Principal BBC Channel 4 ITV Sky Patrons

RTS A+E Networks International NBCUniversal International International Akamai Patrons CGTN Turner Broadcasting System Inc Discovery Networks Viacom International Media Networks Facebook YouTube

RTS Accenture EndemolShine McKinsey and Co Spencer Stuart Major Amazon Video Enders Analysis Motion Content STV Group Patrons Atos Group UKTV Audio Network Finecast Netgem Vice Boston Consulting FremantleMedia OC&C Virgin Media Group IBM Pinewood TV YouView BT IMG Studios Studios YM&U Group Channel 5 ITN S4C Deloitte KPMG Sargent-Disc

RTS Autocue Isle of Media Raidió Teilifís Éireann Patrons Digital Television Group Lumina Search UTV Television Grass Valley PricewaterhouseCoopers Vinten Broadcast

Who’s who Patron Chair of RTS Trustees CENTRES COUNCIL RTS Futures at the RTS HRH The Prince of Wales Tom Mockridge Dan Adamson Alex Wootten Lynn Barlow Vice-Presidents Honorary Secretary Charles Byrne IBC Conference Liaison David Abraham David Lowen Dan Cherowbrier Terry Marsh Dawn Airey Caren Davies Sir OM Honorary Treasurer Kieran Doherty RTS Technology Bursaries CH CVO CBE FRS Mike Green Stephanie Farmer Simon Pitts Baroness Floella Cat Lewis Benjamin OBE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Jane Muirhead AWARDS COMMITTEE Mike Darcey Lynn Barlow Will Nicholson CHAIRS Julian Bellamy Nikki O’Donnell Awards & Fellowship Lord Hall of Birkenhead Tim Davie Tony Orme Policy Lorraine Heggessey Mike Green Fiona Thompson David Lowen Armando Iannucci OBE David Lowen Michael Wilson Ian Jones Tom Mockridge Judith Winnan Craft & Design Awards Baroness Lawrence of Simon Pitts Lee Connolly Clarendon OBE Jane Turton SPECIALIST GROUP David Lynn Rob Woodward CHAIRS Programme Awards Sir Trevor McDonald OBE Archives Wayne Garvie Ken MacQuarrie EXECUTIVE Dale Grayson Gavin Patterson Chief Executive Student Television Trevor Phillips OBE Theresa Wise Diversity Awards Stewart Purvis CBE Angela Ferreira Phil Edgar-Jones Sir Howard Stringer Early Evening Events Television Journalism Dan Brooke Awards Sue Inglish Education Graeme Thompson

Television www.rts.org.uk January 2019 51 8