July/August 2020

Is TV just painting over the cracks? Television www.rts.org.uk September 2013 1 HOW DO WE CREATE MODERN ORCHESTRAL MUSIC?

We fuse a classical approach with modern production techniques – from epic, panoramic and inspirational to bold new hybrid soundscapes.

From big screen to small, tell incredible stories with Modern Orchestral music.

Find out more Naomi Koh [email protected] | +44 (0)207 566 1441

MODERN ORCHESTRAL_AD SUITE_A4_FA_2.indd 1 24/06/2020 11:28:33 Journal of The Royal Television Society July/August 2020 l Volume 57/7

From the CEO Diversity and inclusion the coming months and look forward the time to talk to the RTS at a very are back at the fore- to hearing other perspectives­ on this demanding time for anyone running a front of the political hugely important issue. news operation. Thanks, too, to Stew- agenda. Everyone who It may be summer, and we are only art Purvis for chairing this session. works in the media just emerging from lockdown, but it’s Also outstanding was the “Back in business is doing some been another frantic period for RTS production” event in which John soul-searching. Broad- events. Our national and regional Whiston explained to the RTS how casters and platform owners have centres have excelled by putting on ITV successfully restarted filming its responded to the new impetus of the some extraordinary webinars and two super soaps, Coronation Street and Black Lives Matter movement by virtual events, some of which have Emmerdale. announcing fresh initiatives in order to made a splash internationally and Finally, congratulations to all the tackle what remains a serious struc- attracted large audiences. Huge winners of the RTS Student Television tural problem in the UK TV sector. thanks to all of you who have been Awards 2020. Our cover story is by veteran diver- involved in these events, especially sity campaigner Marcus Ryder and the panellists and producers. provides a valuable and passionate At HQ, we’ve had another month of contribution to the diversity debate. must-watch lunchtime events. I’m We will be returning to this topic in thrilled that Fran Unsworth could find Theresa Wise

Cover: The recently unveiled mural on the EastEnders set by Contents Nottingham-born artist Neequaye Dsane, aka Dreph (BBC) Emma Scott’s TV Diary The trouble with experts Emma Scott realises that she does not want to swap TV Dr Charlie Easmon casts a sceptical eye at the TV 5 for teaching – and succeeds in Hollywood via Zoom 18 pundits proffering their expertise during the pandemic Working Lives: stunt co-ordinator The joy of difference Gangs of London stunt co-ordinator Jude Poyer An RTS event unlocks the secrets that made 6 is interviewed by Matthew Bell 20 BBC One drama The A Word such a success Comfort Classic: Father Ted The real cost of lockdown ‘Fathers… finish your breakfast and come outside for your Television’s freelance workforce is suffering mentally 8 daily punishment.’ Steve Clarke applauds a comedy gem 22 and financially from the impact of the pandemic Ear Candy: Talking Sopranos Mining for TV gold HOW DO WE CREATE MODERN Steve Schirripa and Michael Imperioli’s podcast is BBC One’s The Luminaries brings a subversive edge 9 perfect for bingeing on The Sopranos, says Kate Holman 24 to period drama. Caroline Frost learns how it was done ORCHESTRAL MUSIC? Why black lives have to matter more Why we love property shows Commitment at the top is vital if ethnic minorities are to Series that hook into viewers’ obsession with their 10 achieve equality in the TV sector, insists Marcus Ryder 26 homes are here to stay, says an expert RTS panel We fuse a classical approach with modern production An opportunity for change Lockdown winners The BBC’s new Director-General, Tim Davie, needs to be Viewing of linear channels has surged, but not as much techniques – from epic, panoramic and inspirational 12 bold, argues Roger Mosey 28 as it has for on-demand services such as Netflix to bold new hybrid soundscapes. Keep it safe, keep it simple Our Friend in Leeds The RTS takes a detailed look at the new working John Whiston hails a TV doctor like no other – and still 14 methods getting programmes back into production 30 finds time to dance the coronavirus two-step From big screen to small, tell incredible stories with No compromise on impartiality RTS Student Television Awards 2020 Modern Orchestral music. BBC news chief Fran Unsworth says the corporation must Matt Richardson and Siobhan Greene hosted a virtual 16 hold those in power to account – without editorialising 31 ceremony sponsored by Motion Content Group

Editor Production, design, advertising Royal Television Society Subscription rates Printing Legal notice Find out more Steve Clarke Gordon Jamieson 3 Dorset Rise UK £115 ISSN 0308-454X © Royal Television Society 2020. [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. Naomi Koh Matthew Bell Sarah Bancroft E: [email protected] Enquiries: [email protected] London SE1 5TP Registered Charity 313 728 [email protected] | +44 (0)207 566 1441 [email protected] [email protected] W: www.rts.org.uk

Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2020 3

MODERN ORCHESTRAL_AD SUITE_A4_FA_2.indd 1 24/06/2020 11:28:33 Proud sponsors of the RTS Student Television Awards TV diary

Emma Scott realises that she doesn’t want to swap TV for teaching – and finds that Zoom helps her to succeed in Hollywood

t’s the end of an era. The ■ Pitching our slate to Hollywood ■ During lockdown, the power of country is slowly easing out executives via Zoom wasn’t part of the revitalised Beano brand reached of lockdown. Against the the plan. new heights. The comic production odds, we’ve delivered a show I soon discovered that all pretence line kept going and delivered each to the BBC and become sur- and poker face go out the window week, just as it did in the Second prising best mates with the on Zoom. World War. Bank of England, and I’m We’ve encountered many LA- My most delightful and bizarre leaving the Beano for new adventures. based kids, cats, dogs and a truly lockdown moment was being quoted IOur brilliant Beano team adapted to disastrous exploding coffee cup. Not alongside Andrew Bailey, the Gover- lockdown at lightning speed, despite forgetting the behind-the-scenes nor of the Bank of England, on the some becoming quite poorly with hysteria in my home and total bans front page of the Financial Times. Covid-19 symptoms. We mobilised on streaming anything in case it We had been working with the everyone to work from home early messed with the wi-fi. bank to produce Beano-inspired and we’ve kept all content production These glitches and travails of tech learning materials to help kids better across TV, digital and the comic on have, ironically, brought levity, understand money. track. Endless innovation, creativity warmth and greater acceptance. The launch was brought forward and cheer has shone through. After all, we are all in this together. to help teachers with home learning. And did I mention it? We even The press exploded with joy at the ■ At home, my two teenage daugh- managed to sell two shows. prospect of Dennis and Minnie help- ters somewhat reluctantly adjusted to ing kids to understand interest rates. me being around a lot more. Funnily ■ Over on the kids’ side of the busi- A skill we all may need in the com- enough, I quickly discovered I was ness, I’ve seen the sheer ingenuity and ing months and years.… never destined to be a teacher. Home hard graft that go into keeping our pro- schooling is officially a nightmare. duction of Dennis & Gnasher: Unleashed! ■ And then, amid all the madness, I Give me working in telly any day. on schedule for CBBC this month. decided it was time for me to leave Beano Studios producers Tim Searle, Beano Studios. ■ Mark Talbot has powered away. He Karina Stanford-Smith and Louise After five and half years, I want to joined us from Hat Trick Productions Condie, along with the BBC’s Jo Allen, do something new. to head up our teen/young adult slate have created a really fun, witty show. Taking an old and iconic comic and based on the comic archive. Working with our fantastic anima- turning it into a digital-first entertain- In March, he told me that you can’t tion producers, Jellyfish, they have ment business has been a rollercoaster do a writer’s room by Zoom. “Rubbish,” kept the show on track. Before lock- ride. I’m really proud of what we’ve I said, and then, of course, he totally down Jellyfish managed to move a achieved. nailed it: the Beanoverse came alive. team of 250, including 57 artists and I will be cheering from the sidelines, Suddenly, writers are at even more of 30 animators, to work from home. looking out for the commissions, a premium, but you can get the atten- Their work is outstanding. while lying down in a darkened room tion of directors and on-screen talent We are on air in mid-July. I could for a little while. because they’re not stuck on a set. As not be happier that we’re delivering a a result, our projects now have addi- dose of much-needed joy and laughs Emma Scott is the outgoing CEO of tional quality creative talent attached. to kids and families. Beano Studios.

Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2020 5 WORKING LIVES

Gangs of London Sky Stunt co-ordinator

ude Poyer is responsible for the choreographing fight sequences or I read that the BBC was making a fantasy high-octane action sequences and staging shoot-outs. martial arts show, heavily influenced by bone-crunching but balletic fights Hong Kong films and Chinese folklore. of Sky Atlantic’s hit crime thriller How did you become a stunt I wanted to be involved, emailed the Gangs of London. co-ordinator? producers and got the job. I was cred- Growing up, my passions were film, ited as the show’s choreographer drama and martial arts. In 1996, when I because there was no contact in the J What does the job involve? was 18, I moved to Hong Kong, where a fight scenes as they involved children. There are two sides to the job: safety lot of martial arts action movies were and creativity. We identify scenes that made, to pursue a career in film and What makes a good stunt are potentially hazardous and, where TV. I stayed for eight years, working as co-ordinator? possible, remove those risks, or reduce a stunt performer and then taking my You have to have performed a variety them to an acceptable level. That may first steps in co-ordinating stunts and of stunts and observed other perform- involve using a stunt double instead of action directing. ers and co-ordinators on set. There’s an actor or using safety equipment, very little that hasn’t been done before, such as elbow pads under costumes, What was your first major TV job so you need to draw on a full range of out-of-shot crash mats or complex in the UK? experience. A creative and visual mind wire-rigging. Creatively, we could be The BBC children’s series Spirit Warriors. helps. And you need humility. You

6 make something totally safe. Stunts are Combined physical inherently risky, but it’s the job of a choreography and co-ordinator to carry out risk assess- visual effects in Gangs of London ments and mitigate the risks.

Have you refused to do a stunt? If there’s something beyond my exper- tise, I wouldn’t do it. But, usually, there will be a way to make a stunt safe – often by employing visual effects.

Can you share a trick of the trade? On Gangs of London we used pre-vis [pre-visualisation] for a lot of the action sequences. I spent three months with my team, Gareth and the cine- matographer, Matt Flannery, in a rehearsal space and we built the sets out of cardboard and shot low-tech versions of the fight sequences and set pieces. When it came to the shoot, we fol- lowed the pre-vis sequences, shot for shot. This saved time and money. In the US, it’s been common for more than a decade; in the UK, there’s resist- ance to pre-vis. We should embrace it.

Has the job changed over time?

Sky We have a more safety-conscious culture now, which is a good thing. As shouldn’t pretend you know it all – stunts or train cast members for fight a result, we take more time to assess seek the advice of experienced sequences. Alternatively, on a sitcom risk and plan sequences. We are also co-ordinators. or soap with only the odd stunt, we making progress in being more might turn up on the day to, for exam- inclusive. Are there specialists? ple, teach an actor to fall safely. There are specialists in, say, vehicle or Is digital technology a threat to the horse stunts. In the UK, most stunt What stunts are you most proud of? stunt co-ordinator? professionals have more than one skill, I’m very happy with how Gangs of I welcome advances in technology. We including, usually, some experience ­London has turned out. Series creator use it to paint out wires and crash with fighting. Fight scenes are my Gareth Evans is a fantastic director of mats, which makes stunts more realis- strongest suit, but I also do a variety of action but also very collaborative, so tic. Long ago, if a person was flying on stunts, including fire and wire work. we worked together to design the a cable, the hope was that the cable sequences. It has been gratifying to see was thin enough that it wouldn’t be Who do you work with? the positive response of audiences. The picked up on camera. But sometimes Primarily, the director and cinematog- series is stylised, so action scenes are those cables broke.… Now, people hang rapher, but also with other heads of heavily choreographed, like a dance on ropes that can hold enormous department, including special effects, sequence. We actually had professional weight but, using visual effects, we armoury, production design, costume stunt performers playing some roles. remove them from the shot. Knowledge and visual effects. Together, we are of visual effects is part of the stunt working to realise the director’s vision. What are the best and worst parts of co-ordinator’s arsenal. I don’t see a the job? time when we won’t be needed. When are you brought on to a Stunt people are well paid and we get production? to see the world – it’s a privilege. It What advice would you give to a On an action-heavy show such as doesn’t feel like a job – films and fight would-be stunt co-ordinator? Gangs of London, the stunt co-ordinator choreography are my hobby – and, if it Get lots of years under your belt per- is brought in early. There’s lots of all comes together, I love seeing the end forming, and study action cinema and ­planning, even down to the material result. Occasionally, you encounter the TV, old and new, from all over the the costumes are made of – if we’re odd director or actor with an ego prob- world. You have to know more than doing stunts with fire, we want [non-­ lem, or someone who doesn’t value how to throw a fake punch or land flammable] natural fibres to be worn. safety on set highly enough. safely; you need to be a film-maker. n For a fight, we might request long sleeves so elbow pads can be hidden. Are stunts always safe? Stunt co-ordinator Jude Poyer was inter- We sometimes scout locations for It would be arrogant to say you can viewed by Matthew Bell.

Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2020 7 COMFORT CLASSIC

Father Ted Channel 4

ather Ted is one of TV’s ‘Fathers… finish your Catholic Church would have been greatest British sitcoms unthinkable in the wake of the child – up there with other breakfast and come abuse scandals that have rocked the giants of the genre such institution in recent years. as Fawlty Towers, Gavin and outside for your Slapstick is often a vital ingredient in Stacey and The Thick of It. It daily punishment.’ comedy. In Father Ted, made by comedy is plain loopy – daft, surreal, edgy in its powerhouse Hat Trick, slapstick is debunkingF of the Church and blessed Steve Clarke applauds given a surreal edge in, say, the episode by four timeless characters. (the writers’ favourite) in which Ted This quartet were delivered to the a comic gem kicks the pompous and tyrannical small screen fully realised in the first Bishop Brennan in the arse. episode shown on Channel 4 in 1995: pre-dinner nip of sherry. Father Jack Or as the insanely clumsy Mrs Doyle the utterly gormless Father Dougal is a sex-obsessed, uber-sozzled priest, again falls out of a window or lurches McGuire; the debauched Father Jack an alcoholic sometimes in the full grip into a door, the contents of her tea Hackett; the obsequious housekeeper of delirium tremens. He rarely says trolley scattering across the cluttered from hell (sort of), Mrs Doyle; and the anything apart from: “Drink! Feck! and moth-eaten sitting room. eponymous Father Ted Crilly, vain and Arse! Girls!” The set itself is a joy, shabbier even hapless. There is a lot of the anarchy of The than its occupants. Ahead of its time, Father Ted is no Young Ones in Graham Linehan and All great sitcoms are based on char- cosy, suburban sitcom poking gentle Arthur Mathews’ comic masterpiece. acters that jump out of the screen. fun at well-meaning vicars fond of a The show’s reckless attitude to the Father Crilly, scheming, always on the

8 Ear candy make and yet ultimately kind-hearted, is brilliantly portrayed by Dermot Mor- gan, who was a celebrity in Ireland but largely unknown in the UK until Line- han and Mathews came knocking at his door. Crilly is another sitcom lovable rogue, but this time a wayward priest whose innocent love of money is set at odds with the teaching of the institu- tion that employs him. He has been banished to Craggy Island, the show’s windswept, rain-sodden location, for “financial irregularities”. Father Ted’s sidekick, Father Dougal, zestfully played by the Irish stand-up Ardal O’Hanlon (spotted by the writers performing Shakespeare) is empty-­ headed in the extreme, a dunce’s dunce. As for Pauline McLynn’s matchless portrayal of Mrs Doyle, let’s just say it’s comic heaven when she appears in the sitting room brandishing yet another pile of sandwiches higher than a bap- tismal font. “Go on, go on, go on,” she urges, pressing the food on her unholy Steve Schirripa (left) and Michael Imperioli employers. TV Now With Father Ted, less was more. Sadly, the show ran for only three series, leaving audiences wanting more. Ever since, the 25 episodes have been on more or less permanent repeat, a sta- Talking Sopranos ple of UK Gold and latterly shown by All 4 and BritBox. The series’ demise was caused by the he ground-breaking they’ve met on their journeys to untimely death of Morgan, perfectly US crime drama The stardom. cast as the eternally put-upon Father Sopranos, from HBO, is The pair reveal in-depth details of the Ted. He died from a heart attack, aged often ranked as one of characters they play in The Sopranos and 45, the day after recording the final the greatest television share candid comments about what episode of series 3. Twenty-five years series of all time. some of their fellow actors in the series later, his legacy as the Catholic priest During its six seasons, were really like. with a dodgy past is secure. it won numerous accolades. The podcast also treats fans to an All this plus a cast of minor charac- TThirteen years after the dramatic exclusive reading of a new lockdown ters who, in a lesser show, would have finale, co-stars Michael Imperioli and Sopranos script, written by creator received star billing. There’s boring Steve Schirripa have reunited for Talk- David Chase. priest Father Paul Stone, who can’t stop ing Sopranos, a new re-watch podcast Joining Imperioli and Schirripa are talking, the alcoholic and self-­regarding that takes fans through each episode the show’s producers, writers, crew TV presenter Henry Sellers, and hyper from the very beginning. and special guests, including fellow Father Noel Furlong, played by a man The pair recount behind-the-scenes cast members Michael Rispoli, Robert who would go on to become one of stories, their favourite memories from Iler, Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Edie Falco. TV’s biggest stars, Graham Norton. filming and some surprising facts Whether it’s for a nostalgic trip Even when coronavirus is beaten, about the real mob lifestyle they por- down memory lane or an introduction Father Ted will still be making us all tray on screen. to an iconic series, this podcast is laugh. A tonic for tough times. n The friends give fans an insight into essential listening. For a real binge, their own lives and friendship. They watch The Sopranos on Now TV along- Father Ted is on Channel 4 and also discuss their experiences in the TV side the podcast. n available on All 4 and BritBox. industry and the intriguing characters Kate Holman

Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2020 9 Director Steve McQueen on the set of BBC One’s forthcoming 1970s drama Small Axe BBC Why black lives have to matter more Commitment at the top is vital if people from ethnic minorities are to achieve a breakthrough in the TV sector, insists Marcus Ryder

nother day, another racial injustice fund over the next mentoring programme for our diverse Black Lives Matter pro- three years. It will create a diversity staff in 2020”. test. Another day, action group and invest in pro- Two weeks later, on 22 June, the BBC another testimony by grammes that highlight racial injustice. caused a minor earthquake, in the way a black figure in the And it will redouble its efforts to only the BBC can, by announcing it industry about all the increase black, Asian and minority would commit “£100m of its content direct and systemic racism they have ethnic (BAME) representation both spend on diverse productions and facedA working in the industry. Another on-screen and behind the camera. talent” over the next three years. day, another statement by a British A day later, Channel 4 announced its I have highlighted three of the bigger broadcaster about how it is responding commitment to be an “anti-racist” announcements of the past few weeks to the current crisis. organisation, setting out a six-point but they are far from isolated cases. When I was first approached by plan to “be a driver of anti-racism in Bafta is consulting on how it can Television to write this piece, the brief the industry and improve black and address failings around race (my words was simple: go through recent events, minority ethnic representation”. not theirs). Netflix has a new “Black assess the different policy initiatives The broadcaster reaffirmed previous Lives Matter” category. And there are a the industry has announced and offer diversity commitments as well as add- host of additional initiatives and pro- a prediction as to whether this would ing a few new ones, such as doubling gramming by other broadcasters and lead to lasting change. “the number of BAME-led independ- industry stakeholders. And so I started to do just that. ent producers that we commission This has all happened against a back- On 8 June, Sky announced a £30m from by 2023” and launching “a new ground of almost daily examples of

10 black people working in the industry advisory boards and subcommittees to giving public accounts of their ‘FOR BLACK AND represent different groups, raise impor- experiences. tant issues and give Ofcom focus and These include Oscar-winning direc- BROWN PEOPLE, direction. tor Steve McQueen calling out parts of THE UK MEDIA There is the Content Board, which the British film industry for “its blatant represents the “interest of the viewer, racism”, accusations of racism on the INDUSTRY IS A the listener and citizen”. There is a set of Channel 4’s Hollyoaks and thou- TOXIC PLACE Consumer Panel to “maintain effective sands of media professionals signing an arrangements for consultation with open letter addressed to the UK’s major TO WORK’ consumers”. And there are four advi- broadcasters calling for substantial sory boards to represent “interests and changes to “reshape our industry opinions” specific to people living in into one whose words are supported created and sustained for so long? And the four UK nations. by action”. to answer that question we must look The nations’ boards are crucial to It would be possible to go through beyond the broadcasters’ individual “provide specific advice… on matters each announcement made by every statements and new policy initiatives relating to television, radio and other broadcaster and dissect whether it will and look at who regulates the industry. content on services regulated by really lead to substantial long-term If there is a long-term, systemic Ofcom” in the respective nations they change. Or go through each statement problem across the entire sector we represent. by a high-profile person of colour in must ask ourselves what has the Despite the UK’s BAME population the industry and ask, “what do they industry regulator, Ofcom, been doing accounting for 14% of the entire popu- really mean” and what will be the over the past two decades or, in the lation and therefore being roughly the repercussions of the statements? But, case of the BBC, the BBC Trust and same size as all the nations outside of for me, that is missing the far larger then Ofcom? England combined (16%), there is no and more important picture. When an entire industry seems to be board dedicated to the interests of the Taken collectively, what has come suffering from an issue it is not good country’s ethnic minority communities. to the surface in recent weeks is the enough to simply ask whether Chan- Recent events have surely proved acknowledgement that, for black and nel 4 will be successful in implement- that Ofcom has failed, since its incep- brown people, the UK media industry ing its anti-racist policy. Or whether tion in 2003, to give sufficient attention is a toxic place to work. the BBC will be able to start doing a to the task of policing the industry Privately, black and brown people better job with its £100m commitment. when it comes to ethnic diversity. have thought this for decades (for as It is the very reason we have an When four different chairs (and innu- long as I have worked in the industry) industry regulator – to solve industry merable changes in personnel) over and the research bears this out. wide-issues and for it to put condi- nearly two decades have failed at a According to The Looking Glass report tions within the broadcasters’ licences specific task it is naive to attribute this – commissioned by The Film and TV to rectify market failures. to one person’s failings. We must look Charity and conducted by Lancaster Interestingly, as far as I can tell, instead at structural solutions. University Management School – Ofcom is one of the few major indus- The time has surely come for a new black African, Caribbean or black Brit- try stakeholders that has not com- board to be established on the same ish men are almost 40% more likely to mented on the racial issues that are level as the four nations, with the spe- have been bullied in comparison to currently raging through the very cific remit of looking at the issue of men overall working in the industry. industry it regulates. diversity in general and the BAME The same report said: “BAME women The obvious question is: how did the communities in particular. are most likely to report that their abil- industry regulator not spot this huge To use the Latin phrase Quis custodiet ity to speak out about working practices issue in the industry? Or, to the extent ipsos custodes? (Who guards the or the working environment was nega- that it did, why did it fail to put suffi- guards?): if we want the regulators to tively affecting their well­being”. And, cient conditions within licence agree- do a better job at making sure our possibly most importantly of all, ments to make sure the issue was industry is a better place for all of us to “three-quarters of mid-career BAME addressed to a satisfactory degree? work, we need to look at the diversity women have contemplated a career The answer lies in the structure of of those advising, overseeing and even change to protect their wellbeing”. Ofcom. The regulator has several judging them. To their credit, the broadcasters We have a unique opportunity to seem to be implicitly and explicitly change the industry we all love. And acknowledging the scale of the prob- that means we cannot just look at the lem and have not defensively tried to ‘HOW DID broadcasters. counter the testimony of black and THE INDUSTRY We must look at the regulators who brown people working in the media. should have ensured we never reached They are at least talking about REGULATOR NOT this position. n ­policies that may address some of SPOT THIS HUGE these issues. Marcus Ryder is the Acting Chair of the Sir But the bigger question must be: ISSUE IN THE Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity how could an industry toxic for non- and an executive producer at Chinese white people have been allowed to be INDUSTRY?’ financial media group Caixin Global Media.

Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2020 11 The BBC’s new Director-General, Tim Davie, needs to be bold, argues Roger Mosey

Tim Davie FT/Daniel Jones An opportunity for change

ome BBC director-­ pressures on the BBC mean that “no the corona­virus crisis; the worry that generals are a reaction to change” is no longer an option. decriminalising non-payment could their predecessor. After BBC executives are fond of Lord Hall, cost hundreds of millions; an absence the remorseless strategis- but many have been bothered by his of dividends from BBC Studios, as a ing of the John Birt years, avoidance of the tougher strategic deci- further consequence of the pandemic; Greg Dyke was chosen to sions that they believe are overdue. “I and undelivered savings from the last bringS the human touch to staff who felt think Tony himself accepts that it is budget round after Hall withdrew unloved. When Dyke turned out to be a time for something different,” murmurs controversial plans to cut BBC News. little too populist and freewheeling for one. These decisions cannot be avoided, Further politically toxic savings need some, the governors opted for a more because the financial outlook is bleak. to be made in the nations and regions. cerebral traditionalist in the form of It isn’t known whether Hall plans to “They are royally screwed,” says one Mark Thompson. emulate the Labour politician Liam corporation finance expert. But, now, we appear to have a conti- Byrne MP and leave a letter behind This would be a grim picture even nuity candidate: Tim Davie is one of saying, “There is no more money”, but without the likely long-term trends. Tony Hall’s key lieutenants, supported there is certainly no magic money tree The BBC has come into its own during by many senior colleagues and repre- outside New Broadcasting House. the pandemic as an institution that can senting a known quantity, with 15 years The financial worries include: the bring the nation together, and it has of BBC board experience. The truth, long-running issue of free licences for been buoyed by increased consump- though, is that he may have to be a over-75s, which has been costing the tion levels even among younger revolutionary: the external and internal BBC an extra £40m a month during audiences.

12 ‘THE CONTINUITY CANDIDATE… MAY [BE FORCED] TO BE A REVOLUTIONARY’

But it seems improbable that those this undermines the commitment to MSNBC in the US, which is open about will endure. Consent for the licence fee universality. But that may be forced its left-of-centre position. will remain shaky if the media habits of upon them, and it could even be an Recent research by the Reuters Insti- the young resume their regular pattern. ultimatum that the corporation needs. tute for the Study of Journalism at That, in turn, feeds the bloodlust of the Which parts of the BBC’s output Oxford finds that there is still a public Tory right, who see a way to diminish should, in future, be funded by the demand in the UK – 76% of those the corporation by extolling the virtues state for the good of the state – and surveyed – for news to be “neutral”. of drama and entertainment on You- which might be discarded or be paid Davie should stick on his wall Matthew Tube, Netflix and the rest. for directly by new financial models? Syed’s recent piece in The Sunday Times, One well-placed corporation figure A seasoned observer suggests: “Tim which argued that any corrosion of the notes that two reviews are looming – getting on the front foot with this kind BBC’s reputation for impartiality “is of the 2022-23 licence fee negotiation and of initiative could change the weather.” unusually grave importance.… This the Charter mid-point review – and Also at the top of the Davie in-tray could yet destroy the BBC itself, turn- that “time is short to make a compel- will be the future of BBC News. He, ing a great organisation into a facet of ling case, and to get the BBC seen as a himself, is not a journalist, but it is a polarisation rather than a bulwark critical investment”. The national and curiosity of the Hall regime that the against it.” international economic meltdown outgoing DG – a very effective director Related to that is the imperative to makes that task even tougher. of news under John Birt – has not make devolution real, and to reflect the And yet… the BBC still has a much seemed sure-footed as editor-in-chief, whole of the UK. The BBC has been bigger budget and a more guaranteed from his unfathomable defence of the good at moving staff into the nations income stream than its UK commer- Cliff Richard coverage to persistent and regions, but much less effective at cial rivals. ITV or Channel 4 can only crises about impartiality. giving them real power. Almost all the dream of £5bn a year coming into their Trust ratings are still high, but being top decision-makers still sit in a small bank accounts. eroded; and one of Hall’s colleagues piece of real estate in W1A. It is time to One critic says the financial crisis in who is normally stout in the defence give authority and budgets to the likes the BBC is partly self-inflicted: “It cre- of the BBC describes the current posi- of Glasgow and Salford in a way that ated an inherently unstable economic tion on employees’ use of social media can allow them to overrule a London model in the digital era, cemented by as being “like the Wild West”, with an view, rather than the other way round. the BBC’s inability to stop doing things urgent need for management control. There are, of course, many more while it continued to add more and The particular problem for the BBC pages in Davie’s “to do” list. Much of it more.” is that many of its staff’s Twitterings about regulation and distribution and The question for Davie, then, is reveal the metropolitan, “Remainer”, influencing legislation: the kind of whether he can get the size and shape liberal bias that its critics have always stuff that is a hard slog but vital if pub- of the organisation right, and match suspected; and there is a battle ahead, lic service broadcasting is to retain its that to its core funding, in a way that too, to counter that perception about prominence in a digital era. has eluded his predecessors. the mainstream output. It is fine for the And he will have to cope with the One former senior television execu- BBC to be a liberal organisation inter- usual storms that accompany any DG. tive outlines a possible approach. “BBC nally, and it still needs to do more to One current executive notes that we drama has stayed in the game despite increase the diversity of its staff. But it should never underestimate how diffi- being outspent tenfold by its competi- is not acceptable for the BBC on air to cult the job can be and how much tors,” he says, citing shows from The morph into a news organisation like firefighting is involved. He cites the Night Manager to Normal People, “because amount of management time spent on the quality of commissioning and pro- the equal-pay debacle. duction has stayed up to par. But what ‘PRESSURES Davie will, therefore, need luck. But the BBC doesn’t need is three or four he also has the opportunity in his early terrestrial channels to spread its drama ON THE BBC days to set an agenda and seize control across.” MEAN THAT of events. He will, I hope, do that. Another figure with experience of Change is coming – like it or not. n running BBC budgets concurs: “If ever “NO CHANGE” ‘fewer, bigger, better’ should apply, it’s IS NO LONGER Roger Mosey is a former head of BBC now.” The corporate strategists will, of Television News and is now the Master course, be reluctant to saw off limbs if AN OPTION’ of Selwyn College, Cambridge.

Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2020 13 Keep it safe, keep it simple

Coronation Street ITV

nprecedented times can no longer have half the cast fight- demand creative think- The RTS takes a detailed ing at a wedding. We’ve been reduced ing. An RTS webinar look at the new working to the essence of soaps – fantastic heard that shows as scripts and great performances,” different as ITV’s Coro- methods that have got stressed Whiston. nation Street, the BBC’s As for sex, a steamy romp is left to Top Gear and Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch programmes back into the imagination. “A lot has to be done haveU all learnt how to adapt their pro- with smouldering eyes rather than production duction routines to keep cast and crew touching,” said the executive. He safe in the age of Covid-19. assistants and other crew members’ hoped that Corrie would be back to its The so-called pope of soap, John assistants are banned; cast members full six episodes per week by autumn. Whiston, managing director of contin- aged 70 or over and children (because For Top Gear, a show famous for its uing drama at ITV Studios, explained they come with tutors and chaperones) spectacular stunts filmed in exotic how Coronation Street and Emmerdale are excluded from the soaps’ storylines. climes, executive producer Clare Pizey have streamlined their filming sched- Location filming is out. If a court told the RTS that Bolton was the new ules. In the process, they have com- room is needed for a plot, the soaps’ Bogotá. Half of the footage – including plied with Government-approved carpenters can make one. As Corrie sequences filmed overseas – for the producers’ guidelines on social dis- gears up for its 60th anniversary in next series of Top Gear was already in tancing and hygiene protocols. December, expect fewer pyrotechnics the can before lockdown. But filming Four key phrases have been intro- than usual for an anniversary special. had to resume in the UK. duced: “Keep your distance”, “Keep in “Normally, we blow everything up,” “It’s a huge change that we can no groups”, “Keep it simple” and “Keep said Whiston. “We will be doing some- longer go abroad,” admitted Pizey. away”. Film units are kept in their own thing, but it won’t be quite on the scale “But, sometimes, when you forced into studio spaces, avoiding shared areas. that audiences are used to.” a constraint, it makes you think differ- “The only people who move around Scripts (paper scripts are no longer ently. One of the films we’re doing is are the actors,” said Whiston. allowed on set) have been simplified. a direct result of having to think more The number of people involved in Rather than the normal 21 scenes per creatively.” filming is kept to a minimum. Camera episode, 16 or 17 is the new norm. “We Following a difficult patch, critics

14 agree that Top Gear, being promoted would give Top Gear a sense of scale using public transport in London and from BBC Two to BBC One for its 29th but, as with every other production, other big cities. We’re spending more series, has got its mojo back, thanks to costs are spiralling,” she said. With money – we [consider using] private the chemistry between presenters luck, the new one metre-plus rule transport to travel to productions – to Freddie Flintoff, Chris Harris and may help. ensure people are comfortable.” Paddy McGuinness. For studio-bound series Sunday Pact CEO John McVay said that, on “With Paddy, Freddie and Chris, we Brunch – three hours of live TV, trans- average, extra costs, including medical know what we’re aiming for and the mitted 52 weeks a year – Susan King, checks and longer production sched- performances we’re looking for. All we head of production­ at the show’s pro- ules, have added between 10% and do is set up a playground and off they ducer, Remarkable, explained how they 30% to budgets. go,” said the executive producer. had kept going throughout lockdown. He said: “Indies, where margins Money that would have been spent “We did the show remotely for about were already slim, [when] trying to on travel has been diverted to enhanc- eight weeks, while working on a plan soak up those additional costs [face] ing production values. to return to the studio as quickly as a bit of a challenge. That may change “We’ve done a film in Bolton that possible,” she said. with new health and safety guidance,

Top Gear BBC

I would argue is one of the funniest Pre-lockdown, Sunday Brunch but that is what the initial analysis is films we’ve ever made,” said Pizey. For depended on having guests remain in looking like.” one item, to ensure social distancing the studio throughout the broadcast. For many freelancers working in TV, and avoid having two people sat in a That was no longer possible. The the crisis has been a severe setback. car, one person was strapped to the top number of guests and the size of the However, there was some hope from of the vehicle. crew have been scaled back, but pre- King. She said that, so far, Remarkable Even before the health crisis, health senters Tim Lovejoy and Simon Rim- had no plans to employ fewer freelan­ and safety were, according to Pizey, “on mer have returned to the studio, albeit cers in future: “We’ll be working really speed dial”, since men driving fast cars with only one guest present at a time. hard to ensure we’re able to employ is inherently dangerous. Coping with Video calls have become common- people as much as we were before [the the threat of coronavirus, therefore, place and have given Sunday Brunch lockdown] at level market rates.” does not require huge changes to film- access to guests who would have been Pizey added: “As long as we’re making ing. “They’re quite often two metres unlikely to agree to appear on the show Top Gear, we’ll be using freelancers. One apart in normal times,” she noted. in person. difficulty is that some of our directors But the logistics of accommodating Whiston said that one of the biggest make car ads. The bottom has fallen and feeding 35 people on location is barriers to resuming production was out of that market. more challenging: “At the moment, we’re overcoming his staff’s fear of contract- “It’s really tough. We can supply in a hotel in York – but if key workers ing the virus. King agreed that this had work, but there’s not the same amount need the beds, we have to get out.” been a problem: “A lot of people are of work out there.” n Travel, too, is something of a head- desperate to get back to work – it is ache, with spaces in minibuses being important for everyone’s wellbeing Report by Steve Clarke. The RTS webinar left empty and cars accommodating – but, interestingly, some people are ‘Back in production – unlocking the TV only one person. still very nervous. production industry in a Covid-19 world’ The studio part of the show is, inevi- “People are happy once they get to was held on 17 June. It was chaired by tably, more problematic than filming the office. They know the office is Broadcast deputy editor Alex Farber. The outside. Pizey conceded that having going to be very well set up, with all producers were Tessa Matchett, head of 700 people indoors was impossible. sorts of measures and protocols in press, ITV Studios, and Sarah Booth, direc- “We’ve got a couple of ideas that place. But they are nervous about tor of communications, Endemol Shine UK.

Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2020 15 No compromise on impartiality

BBC news chief Fran Unsworth explains why the broadcaster needs to hold those in power to account – without editorialising

ran Unsworth used process to take its course,” she explained. her recent conversation “Our guidelines had been crossed in with the RTS to support terms of attributing motivation to the incoming Director-­ public, to the Prime Minister.” General Tim Davie’s Unsworth stressed that nobody on statement of 5 June, the Newsnight team was disciplined whenF he stressed the need for impar- – “We had a robust discussion” – and tiality across the organisation, regard- emphasised that the programme had less of whatever battles between the had a “brilliant run during this pan- BBC and government might be going demic. They got to the care homes on behind the scenes. “The more valu- first. We did some great stuff on an able we are to audiences, the greater Italian hospital. That is the totality of our standing is going to be with the what Newsnight is all about.” Government,” the BBC’s director of Inevitably, her judgement faced news and current affairs said firmly. criticism from both sides, leading to This came as the news chief contin- accusations that she was bowing to ued to perform a high-wire act, pro- Government pressure. “There was no viding a platform for the Government’s question of us being cowed by the crucial health messaging while simul- Government over this,” she insisted. taneously holding it to account. But was it further proof that BBC Fran Unsworth

Interviewed by former ITN CEO and BBC presenters could no longer be relied editor-in-chief Stewart Purvis, she upon to be impartial? “I think it just defended her journalists’ challenging criticism of Newsnight in late May, shows how difficult my job is,” she said of ministers in the daily coronavirus which she said, failed BBC guidelines with a wry smile. briefings (which ended in late June), in its presentation of Government Another challenge is the corpora- even if viewers did not always support advisor Dominic Cummings’ contro- tion’s use of social media, now used by this approach. versial trip to Durham. so many people as their main source of “When this first happened, there was On 26 May, Emily Maitlis introduced news. Unsworth cited a recent Africa Eye a sense in the UK of, ‘We’re all in this the programme with the words, “Dom- story, Anatomy of a Killing, that reached an together, everybody’s got to pull inic Cummings broke the rules. The online audience of millions across the together’,” she said. “The political country can see that and it is shocked world. response became contested over the that the Government cannot.” “Social media is a force for good,” past 10 weeks, and it’s the job of jour- Unsworth said the very next day that she said. “It’s a way of getting informa- nalists to ask questions and highlight this script “did not meet our standards tion out to particular sections of the that, even if the public don’t like it.” of due impartiality”. audience who now make it their main This situation followed a period in “Emily’s comment was rooted in source of information, but it has its which ministers had boycotted other evidence but the problem was the limitations. It lacks context. A limited BBC news programmes. Unsworth said language in which it was put – it number of characters makes it quite she was pleased to see them back on belonged more to the op-ed of a news- difficult to fulfil BBC editorial values.” Radio 4’s Today, The World at One and paper page than to the introduction of A running controversy is to what PM, at least for now. “This is an oppor- a BBC broadcast programme,” main- extent BBC News presenters and jour- tunity to speak to 8 million listeners tained the head of news. nalists can comment freely on social a week. I wish they would put them- She expanded on why she immedi- media, while adhering to editorial selves up more widely.” ately criticised the approach without guidelines in their day jobs. The issue Still citing impartiality, she didn’t waiting for an official internal inquiry. “I is so contentious that former BBC hesitate to double down on her didn’t need to wait for some complaints News chief Richard Sambrook has

16 Black Lives Matter demonstration in Bristol South West News Service News South West been commissioned by the corpora- and that [the killing of George Floyd] home offices once New Broadcasting tion to conduct a review. was very bad, but there are areas where House is back to normal. Given the example of BBC world it goes into matters of public policy, Meanwhile, on screen, audiences affairs editor John Simpson, who runs which we have to treat impartially have become used to seeing guests his own YouTube channel, in which he – what shall we do with statues? What contribute via Zoom. “What this has is far more opinionated than BBC shall we do with the education system?” shown is that the audience is more impartiality guidelines would allow, Telling the story of the pandemic has tolerant of things [that are] not of high Unsworth agreed that it was compli- provided unique challenges, such as broadcast quality. That’s a lesson we cated, particularly as Simpson and when medical correspondent Fergus can apply going forward.” others were freelance employees. Walsh filmed inside intensive care Lockdown has brought audiences “What licence they have to express units at London’s University College back to the delights of linear-television their views elsewhere is something Hospital. news bulletins and 16- to 35-year-olds we’ve got to look at,” she said. “It was clearly a really important part have been tuning in. “We thought they The coverage of the Black Lives Mat- of the story, how hospitals were coping,” were a lost audience for linear-TV ter protests was another balancing act said Unsworth. “There are so many news bulletins, but they haven’t been. for Unsworth, as she strove to navigate things you have to think about – the But to be honest, there is a question a path between the clear moral cause safety of your people, the perception mark over the longevity of that.” sustaining the movement and covering issues, because Fergus had to go in full Does this give pause to her focus on the protests in all their complexity. PPE, at a time when it was in short a digital strategy? Unsworth hesitated “You can say, ‘I believe black lives supply. A lot of viewers were saying to use the behaviour of the captive matter’ – it’s a statement of fact – but we’d used up some PPE there, which, audience of the past few months as does the BBC sign up to #BlackLives- actually, we donated. It’s important to a long-term guide. She said: “It’s diffi- Matter? The BBC didn’t endorse Black show audiences what is happening.” cult to make a judgement at this stage. It Lives Matter because it’s a campaign. It How BBC News has responded to doesn’t make you reverse your strategy, can endorse the sentiments behind it.” the pandemic will clearly have impli- it makes you take stock and consider.” n She was speaking four days after cations for the department’s future. protests in Bristol culminated in the But Unsworth confirmed that cuts first Report by Caroline Frost. Fran Unsworth, toppling of the statue of Edward Col- announced in January – some 450 jobs director of news and current affairs at the ston, slave trader and city philanthro- to save £80m by 2022 – would go ahead. BBC, was in conversation with Stewart pist. She called the coverage of the With 90% of BBC staff working from Purvis for an RTS webinar held on 11 June. protests a complex area for her staff. home, she predicted that high numbers The producers were Sue Robertson and “The BBC’s not impartial about racism, of staff may prefer to remain in their Martin Stott.

Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2020 17 y idea of heaven is Monty Python’s Dr Charlie Easmon casts a sceptical eye at the TV Whicker’s World pundits proffering their expertise during the pandemic spoof, Whicker Island, where our hero wistfully watersM whisky while wantonly waxing words with W. For me, hell would be a post-lockdown lock-in in a dodgy pub full of TV pundits. The trouble Brexit and football have taught me not only to distrust these people, but to despise them as they fling unsubstan- tiated opinions around like the prover- bial brown stuff hitting the fan. It is with experts messy, unpleasant and the odour stays with you for ages. Football managers are famous for having opinions on everything, but it took a steely German, responsible for guiding Liverpool to their crushing Premier League championship win, to bring some sense to the coronavirus pandemic. The wise words of Jürgen Klopp should be on permanent loop in every town centre, as he told a journalist that his opinion did not matter and they should instead go and ask the experts. However, history has shown us that everyone, from Mao Zedong to Michael Gove, can hate experts. Mao was a tad harsher than Gove and killed quite a few experts. Latterly, Gove has had to recant as he claimed the Government had been “following the science”. In the eyes of many, that phrase has become to be synonymous with fol- lowing the lead lemming off a cliff as tens of thousands of our fellow citizens and loved ones have died. But who are the experts in this pan- demic and how do they differ from pundits? Who gets wheeled out when, and whose voices get heard and whose get silenced? Listening back to specialists in virol- ogy, infection, epidemiology and pub- lic health, these experts tend to fare well if they stick to what they know, but, like everyone else, start to look a tad less credible when asked to specu- late. Doctors David Lipkin, Anthony Fauci and Peter Piot are all still much quoted on TV networks. When they do appear on TV, experts are often shunted aside by a popular US medical commentator creature of modern fiction that the Dr Mehmet Öz has said he 19-year-old Mary Shelley would have ‘misspoke’ after suggesting recognised. The modern Franken- on Fox News that it might stein’s monster is the popular TV doc- be ‘worth the trade-off’ to reopen schools despite tor who is made up of the following potentially increasing the parts: a conventional level of attrac- coronavirus death toll

tiveness; well-groomed hair, if they Kisby Getty Images/Roger

18 have any; reassuring smile; and, finally, praises China’s response to the crisis the ability as a generalist to comment (“it’s been contained and managed on specialist subjects knowledgeably very well”) and rebuts each sensible after hurriedly jotting down a few question posed by the journalist (one notes before going on air. commentator says that Parrish treats The US has Dr Phil and Dr Öz (judged every question “like a hostile witness”). to be as “reliable as the Wizard of Oz” Professor Sanjaya Senanayake, an by one commentator). One with no hair infectious diseases specialist based in and the other with a legendary barnet. Canberra, Australia, plays down the Both have come credibility croppers as threat of coronavirus, while Dr Nicho- the pandemic has rolled on. The great las Thomas (in Hong Kong) aligns with saying that, “You can fool some groupthink, claiming: “There is not a of the people some of the time, but you lot to be worried about.” can’t fool all of the people all of the Astute comments from the public on time”, is superbly reflected in the com- YouTube include the telling view that ments sections in YouTube. If you need the “comments section is giving better a laugh in these troubled times, the information than the actual video”. sharp wit of some of these spears the Others observed: “I must be living in interlocutors’ arrogance and some of it a parallel universe to these experts!”; is, of course, plain old-fashioned mean. “I came here to get an update – these Mad magazine has a gap-toothed people obviously don’t have a clue”; cover star called Alfred E Neuman. and “They don’t build four hospitals in Alfred’s satirical byline is: “What, four days for flu”. Dr Charlie Easmon me worry?”. But I have found it sad TV medics get wheeled in, dropped to see supposedly serious TV personal- in, dumped and ultimately yanked off ity medics take this same approach, the media stage. Experts get as much and often delivered in a patronising ‘THERE HAS right as they get wrong but, regrettably, manner. few public-health or social-sciences Many lessons can be learned BEEN AN experts are given decent airtime. The from watching the World Health OVEREMPHASIS smarter members of the public can Organization’s first press conference work things out for themselves. on Covid-19.­ For such a large institu- ON “CALM Looking back on the past three tion, it is strange that those involved DOWN, DEAR” months, there has been an overem- appeared to have received such poor phasis on “calm down, dear” science media training. SCIENCE VS vs common sense. The public use of Dr Tedros Adhanom, the WHO’s COMMON SENSE’ masks and face coverings is a good Director-General, comes across as ami- example. Of course, there was scant able but obsessed with trying to raise definitive scientific research on the use cash. He is the parish priest less inter- of these because no one had thought ested in saving your damned soul than it important enough to conduct the in saving the damned church roof. studies. Many experts disagreed with WHO That, however, doesn’t stop any consultant and former Imperial College sensible person working out that the academic Dr Maria Van Kerkhove’s fewer droplets you spread in the envi- 8 June comment that “it still seems to ronment, the better the outcome for all be rare that an asymptomatic person concerned. transmits onward to a secondary indi- Experts and media-friendly doctors vidual”. This was jumped on by doctors can give you some idea, but it is always and those parts of the media that dis- best to get a range of views. From that, liked the idea of social distancing. you can then try to work out what “That has not aged well” is my makes sense in any disease situation. favourite comment under a four- No matter how adorable they seem month-old YouTube clip from early on TV, no one person is infallible, not February when there had been only even me. n 300 deaths worldwide. The video has not one but three medical experts Dr Charlie Easmon MBBS MRCP MSc Pub- talking on Al Jazeera’s Inside Story about lic Health DTM&H DOccMed is: medical the early stages of the pandemic. I director of Your Excellent Health Service; suspect all three now wish it could be president of the International Association erased for ever. You can watch it here: of Physicians for the Overseas Services bit.ly/AJinside. (www.iapos.co.uk); co-founder of YEHS The culprits are in the public domain We Care; and co-founder of Global and so can be named. Dr Mark Parrish, Health Action, Strategies & Solutions who works for International SOS, (www.ghass.co.uk).

Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2020 19 ver three series, The A Word has been widely praised for its honest portrayal of autism The joy of and the tensions this unleashes on a fam- ily.O But The A Word is also laugh-out-loud funny and joyful – and, given its Lake District setting, beautiful to look at. difference The BBC One drama, which finished its third series in early June, tells the story of Joe, a young boy with autism, An RTS event unlocks the secrets that made and his fractious, larger-than life extended family. BBC One drama The A Word such a success At an online event hosted by RTS North West, BBC North and MediaCity UK, BBC Breakfast’s Naga Munchetty spoke to its writer, Peter Bowker, and two of its stars, Christopher Eccleston and Pooky Quesnel. Stockport-born Bowker taught chil- dren with severe learning disabilities, many of whom had autism, for 12 years before his writing career took off. He was spurred into action by the Israeli series Yellow Peppers, which provides the template for The A Word – “a dysfunc- tional family with, at its centre, a young boy who’s on the autism spectrum. “It felt like I was being giving per- mission to write about my own mate- rial and understanding of it. As the series has gone on, it’s moved further and further away from the original.” Max Vento, who is not autistic, plays the drama’s central character, Joe. “We decided that it was too much to ask of a child of five on the autism spectrum to play another child on the spectrum. When we’ve cast older characters with autism, we’ve always insisted the actor is someone on the spectrum. “Max was pretty much everyone’s first choice from the moment we saw him. I remember seeing Max and say- ing that he looks like a chubby Ian Cur- tis [from Joy Division]. For me, that fulfilled the criteria, given that his musical tastes are, bizarrely, the taste of a 61-year-old man from Manchester.” Music is a prominent feature of the programme, with Joe playing post-punk classics through the headphones almost permanently clamped to his head. “I’ve been Stalinist about this: it’s entirely my iTunes [collection]. Max hates my musi- cal taste,” said Bowker. Quesnel – who, like Eccleston, was born and brought up in the Salford area – plays Louise, the mother of Ralph, who has Down’s syndrome, as Max Vento plays Joe in The A Word

BBC does the actor who plays him, Leon

20 confidence with medical terminology. But my dad had the nobility to see a human being for what they were and… try to connect. “My dad, my brothers, a lot of the men I grew up with, felt trapped in the machismo, but, when really needed, the feminine and the tenderness could come out.” Quesnel added: “We can all see so many different aspects of our true selves, across many of the characters, male or female. Pete gets to the authen- ticity of how people think and feel.” In series 3, Harrop – who has also appeared in north-west-set dramas Moving On and Brassic – takes centre stage, as Ralph’s romance with Katie blossoms. She is played by Sarah Gordy, who also has Down’s syndrome. Eccleston explained how working Series 3 ends with with Harrop had forced him to reassess the marriage of Ralph his craft: “You have to up your game. and Katie ( played by The thing we’ve all done for 20, 30 years Leon Harrop and is reinvigorated by Leon’s presence and Sarah Gordy)

BBC working methods. “He taught me to relax, he taught me Harrop. “Her whole life has narrowed Writers, Bowker added, who make a to have more fun. Leon unabashedly down to championing Ralph,” she said. subject “so repellent and difficult” loves acting and performing. He has “She is a tiger mum.” Fiercely protec- don’t engage the audience. Rather, insecurities and he’ll have a chat with tive, when she feels Ralph is threat- they “invite [viewers] to celebrate the his dad about whether he’s done it ened she turns on people, even her ego of the writer who’s brave enough right or wrong but, basically, he’s free boyfriend, Maurice. to use these terms”. of a lot of the neurosis that I carry Eccleston plays Maurice, Joe’s gran- TV viewers embrace the realism of about the impact of my performance.” dad, who, when the series starts, has Bowker’s writing, even if Maurice can “He’s completely unselfconscious,” entirely unreconstructed views about make them feel uncomfortable. “People said Quesnel. “He’s such a spontane- disability and a vocabulary that is dec- always say, ‘Thank God, you’ve not soap- ous and very, very funny person. He’s ades out of date. It is a fantastic role boxed or been po-faced about it.’ Mau- got this incredible sense of comic that the Our Friends in the North actor rice is the key to that,” said Eccleston. timing.” and former Doctor Who makes the The actor is familiar with both “He’s got all the technique but [also] most of it. “There’s nothing more glori- Bowker and the theme of autism. They the joy on top of it,” added Eccleston. ous in a PC world to play somebody worked together on the 2002 BBC Two Series 3 ends with the jubilant mar- non-PC,” he says. drama Flesh and Blood, which won each riage of Ralph and Katie. Will there be Now, the actor says he is “a fully of them RTS awards, for Writer and more? “Towards the end of each series paid-up member” of the “PC brigade”, Actor. Eccleston plays a man, adopted I’ve thought I was written out, I didn’t adding: “I used negative terms for at birth, who finds out that his birth know where we could go,” said Bowker. people with learning difficulties as a parents have learning disabilities. In “But then something grows in these child and as a young person. Coming March, the duo discussed Flesh and characters and I can think of other to London, going to drama school, Blood at another RTS North West event journeys to take them on. changed me.” (see Television, April 2020). “Never say never again. I wanted “It’s the stuff of drama: whenever Bowker has also bagged RTS Writer something that would be satisfactory we present a character who is fully awards for Occupation and Eric & Ernie. [to end on] if this was the last time we rounded, we all switch off. The [best] To get inside the character of Maurice did it, but the door’s open from my characters in drama are the ones that for The A Word, Eccleston drew on his point of view.” n make mistakes.” own father’s life. “There’s something “You have a responsibility,” said about him that’s desperate to connect Report by Matthew Bell. ‘Spotlight on… Bowker, “to be authentic without cele- to his family and to life. I got that from BBC One’s The A Word: The secrets of brating that [pejorative] language [about my father, who had a rudimentary its success’ was held on 8 June, produced disability] and making it respectable education to the age of 14, when he by Rachel Pinkney and supported by the again. I don’t like dramas that rub your was kicked out into the world. University of Salford’s media production nose in it, that say, ‘Look how daring I “It’s based very much on my dad’s team. All three series of The A Word are am as a writer.’” beautiful, beautiful heart but lack of available on BBC iPlayer.

Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2020 21 Raw Pixel Raw The real cost of lockdown

he coronavirus outbreak been doing enough to keep its people has left much of the Television’s freelance safe and well. television workforce workforce is suffering The prospects for young people idle, with most TV pro- trying to break into television appear duction suspended mentally and financially particularly bleak, certainly in the since March. Freelanc- from the impact of short term. ers,T who account for 100,000 of the RTS bursary student Charlie McMo- total TV and film workforce of 180,000, the pandemic rine, who had finished university and have been dealt the rawest of deals. was awaiting his results, said the They have been hit hardest by the ill health is widespread. The Film and Covid-19 crisis had been extremely lockdown – 93% are out of work, TV Charity says almost nine in every stressful: “For us, as graduates, we according to The Film and TV Charity. 10 people in the industry have experi- don’t know when we will be able to Worse, according to the charity’s CEO, enced problems, compared with 65% make our break into the industry. We Alex Pumfrey: “Three-quarters of free- in the UK population as a whole. don’t know how to move forward.” lancers working within the television Covid-19 has made a bad situation The Film and TV Charity unveiled sector have been unable to access the worse. “Research done across the UK some sobering research at the event. Government’s employment and has shown a huge spike in anxiety and The most common words used by self-employment support schemes.” depression around 24 March,” revealed freelancers to describe their treatment Financial woes have exacerbated the Pumfrey. She was one of the panellists by the industry, said Pumfrey, were mental-health problems that were at an online event, hosted by the RTS “disposable” and “expendable”. already known to affect so many TV and The Film and TV Charity in June, Bullying, she noted, was still “incred- workers before the pandemic. Mental which asked whether the industry has ibly prevalent”. Partly, this reflected the

22 culture of an industry that valued that’s diverse and representative, and from fast-turnaround shows to big “toughness” and praised people for young, exciting, vibrant and creative.” reality shows. “earning their stripes”. She added: Charlie McMorine agreed, adding “The protocols we are using for the “This idea that you should tough it out that meeting industry execs in person shows that go into production or restart when you are being badly treated is could be “daunting” for university production this year will be robust very commonplace.” students. “Sessions like this are really enough to continue whatever happens Worst of all, Pumfrey claimed that helping build connections for people with the virus, so we don’t end up hav- “more than half of people working in like myself,” he said. ing to stop everything again.” the industry have considered taking Discussing the return to making TV, Bectu’s Childs called for “a new deal their own life”. Opie said that while, in the short term, for freelancers”. She emphasised: “We Philippa Childs, head of broadcasting “there might be fewer people involved”, don’t just want to return to things as union Bectu, said the charity’s research in the longer-term, “the production they were before the crisis.” was “shocking”, but added: “I can’t say sector will continue to be vibrant”. RTS bursary student McMorine said I’m surprised by these findings. BBC Studios, she said, had “paused” he and his fellow graduates needed “We know that there were real prob- 82 productions in March, but had “more knowledge about what happens lems prior to Covid-19 and we all know that those problems are only going to be exacerbated in the current situation. “From our research, lots of people have had to rely on loans and borrow- ing from family; they’ve lost their homes… because they simply haven’t had the financial support. “There is a great deal of anger out there [among] the freelance workforce.” Lisa Opie, MD of UK production at BBC Studios, found grounds for opti- mism, however, as the industry pre- pared to resume full production. “What I’ve been really encouraged by

is that I’ve seen more collaboration Getty Images and joined-up thinking across our industry than ever before… on how to ­continued working on 28. “Hold the next. A lot of people coming out of return to work safely,” she said. faith: we will return to production university are terrified at the thought “We are in an industry that is built – not as fast as I’d like, but we will.” of freelancing. Now, they have been on insecurity, with freelancers working Coronavirus hit Channel 4 harder put off it completely because of Covid from project to project,” admitted Kelly than other broadcasters. TV advertis- and having seen what’s happened Webb-Lamb, deputy director of pro- ing, which sustains the channel, col- to freelancers in the industry during grammes at Channel 4. “That, in itself, lapsed when the UK went into this time.” is a very difficult way to work and has lockdown in late March. He wanted “more information, more always meant that certain people are “We lost hundreds of hours of con- conversation with industry experts”. better able to access the industry than tent overnight and have taken a £150m The Film and TV Charity’s Pumfrey others.” cut to our content budget, along with said that, as well as the obvious health Like Opie, though, Webb-Lamb saw a huge cuts across the rest of the chan- benefits, there was also a business case brighter future. The coronavirus crisis, nel. We’ve also had to draw down on for looking after people’s mental health. she said, had highlighted structural £75m of borrowing,” said Webb-Lamb. “This isn’t a cost,” she insisted, high- problems within the industry and was “We’ve faced a pretty stark year. lighting research from Deloitte earlier bringing it “together to tackle [them]”. “The very best thing we can do for this year, which found that “there is a The “informality of the industry” she freelancers and the industry is to con- £5 return for every £1 you invest in said, held some people back because tinue to commission. Despite the mental health”. advancement was “so much based on ­challenges we are facing, we have “[TV] budgets will be constrained, who you know. That informality has ring-fenced money to continue to but that cannot be at the expense of gone as a result of this virus, because commission this year.” the welfare of our people. In fact, that we are all talking to each either like Programme tariffs were lower, she should be at the top of the list.” n this [via Zoom], and you can’t go for admitted, but “we still have the same lunch or drinks. number of hours on telly. We are work- Report by Matthew Bell. ‘Are you staying “We can use the [crisis] as a catalyst ing out how to fill our schedule with a safe and well? Mental wellbeing in the for change. significantly lower budget this year. TV industry during Covid-19 and beyond’ “We have to question whether “We need to get back to work. And was hosted by the RTS and The Film and expecting young people to sidle up to we need to work out how we can TV Charity on 9 June. Paul Robinson, powerful people at drinks events is the make a full range of shows, starting director of the consultancy Creative right way to help them get into the as soon as possible, to ensure we can Media Partners, chaired the online event, industry. I don’t think that’s the way get people back to work across the which was produced by Terry Marsh and that we’re going to get an industry industry, from scripted to unscripted, Jonathan Simon.

Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2020 23 BBC One’s adaptation of The Luminaries Mining for brings a subversive edge to period drama. Caroline Frost learns TV gold how it was done t is a brave screenwriter who takes on the task of squeezing a Booker-prizewinning door- stopper of a novel into six hours of television, even if that writer is the book’s author herself.I It took Eleanor Catton seven years to adapt her 2013 novel The Lumi- naries for the screen (after a relatively brief five years writing the book), and plenty of playing with both form and story that another writer might not have dared. “If Eleanor hadn’t been involved, I doubt we could have been so subver- sive,” reflects director Claire McCarthy on filming the 832-page tome, which tells the story of the 1866 gold rush in New Zealand’s South Island, complete with betrayal, brothels and a murder mystery, as well as an “astrological love affair” at its centre. The first episode of the six-part series led to complaints from viewers who struggled with its opening scenes, shot in near darkness and with little expla- nation of where they fitted into the complicated timeframe of the story. But The Luminaries is well worth sticking with – not least for its rich production, stellar performances and the way it avoids many of the clichés of period drama and brings a refresh- ing, feminist take to what is often por- trayed as a macho world. “Eleanor had to honour the charac- ters, be faithful to historical detail and bring the characters off the page but also to streamline, so that it didn’t feel literary or ponderous,” says McCarthy. “There were lots of things to show, so we had to dance a fine line between playing with narrative and bringing a lot of archetypal ideas, then turning them on their head and asking what they mean to a TV audience.” Producer Lisa Chatfield agrees that the challenge was immense: “There are jumps in time in the book as well, but it starts with 12 men meeting in a Eva Green as bar. They know a crime has happened Lydia Wells in and they’re trying to figure out if they The Luminaries

BBC are culpable.

24 character, explaining: “He’s off-stage, but he’s guiding her. He’s someone who follows his heart. He thinks he’s doing the right thing, then it leads to something tragic and he has to deal with the consequences of that. “I wanted to know what that does to someone, whether it hardens him, or makes him resolve to do what he does in the end, which perhaps looks like a grand folly from the outside.” Without giving too much away, the series’ final set piece takes place in a courtroom, with an epic speech from Emery lasting five pages of script and taking days to film. Patel thanks Elea- nor Catton’s words for guiding him through. “When lines are easy to remember, it’s a credit to the writer who makes it feel natural. It was a joy to do.” The Luminaries’ ending is as ambigu- ous as its beginning for both Emery The Hokitika town set of The Luminaries

BBC and Anna, something Patel applauds. “We don’t have a backstory for either “But, as well as being a great writer, her choices are made of character not of them. I like the fact that we don’t Eleanor is an avid, very passionate plot, without justification. She has no really know who they are, other than viewer of television. She realised that background or context.” this journey we’re going on with them. the story needed to be told through a This crucial, demanding role – It was probably true of a lot of people key character.” 17 weeks of shooting, with only five who travelled at that time, leaving Enter Anna Wetherell, a mysterious days not on the call sheet – went to something behind.” young woman, seemingly drawn Hewson (previously seen in The Knick) Perhaps the show’s greatest, most straight from the pages of Victorian after an international trawl. mysterious character of all is New gothic novels, but brought up to date Chatfield explains what the produc- ­Zealand itself, from Dunedin on South by the script and relative newcomer ers saw: “We met lots of people, with Island’s east coast to the gold fields of Eve Hewson’s rich portrayal. a real mixture of variety and talent. Hokitika on the west. The lack of “She’s not an innocent,” explains Some brought innocence to it, but Eve remaining period architecture in the McCarthy. “She comes with a past. We really captured the depth.” country meant the whole set had to be may not know all her secrets but we At the centre of the adapted tale built from scratch on farmland outside know that she comes to get her hands is Anna’s relationship with Emery Auckland with reference to thousands dirty. She seems like the perfect charac- Staines, a man she first encounters as of historical pictures and museum ter to take us into the New Zealand of they arrive by the same boat in New artefacts – and, most treasured of all by this era, and be the one to guide us Zealand. Later, they discover they are McCarthy, visits to Hokitika and a wel- through the mystery of those timelines.” “astral twins”, something explained by come by the local Māori community. For Chatfield, keeping Anna’s mys- the spooky Lydia as: “If two people “It felt very important for us to go tery in both her past history and pres- were born at the exact same instance there, to be in that sacred place with its ent decisions was key to avoiding the and very near to one another, they one river. We wanted to involve people clichés of every 19th-century fictional would share a destiny.” from that community in terms of the courtesan, particularly after Anna falls For the actor who plays Emery, tattooing, the carving, the greenstone on hard times. “When she first arrives, Himesh Patel – best known for his we used in the film. Then, we had to Anna is asked, ‘Sent for or sent away?’ long-time role of Tamwar Masood in figure out how to create that world, and she answers, ‘I sent myself.’ It was EastEnders before finding new fans in which is such a part of the story.” a clear decision not to give Anna’s the lead role of Danny Boyle and Rich- Along with its many other themes, backstory, to have her living in the ard Curtis’s Beatles big-screen rom- The Luminaries is clearly a love letter moment, without context.” com, Yesterday – this presented the to New Zealand from all concerned, The same goes for the choices we see challenge of playing a character who is something brought home to Patel on Anna make, such as her early decision extremely important but often absent. his very last day of filming with Māori to keep quiet when she realises that her As Chatfield puts it, “Emery is like actor Richard Te Are, who plays green- purse has been stolen by her new the male embodiment of a traditional stone hunter Te Rau. friend Lydia Wells, played with custom- girlfriend role. He spends a lot of time “Richard did a haka at the end of the ary brooding charisma by Eva Green. away. It’s a tricky role, balancing their shoot. You could tell what it meant to “Some people find that really chal- romance and connection, but without him to be doing that. It was one of the lenging,” agrees Chatfield. “Why doesn’t becoming completely soppy.” most moving moments of my life. It’s Anna take her money back and go? But Patel embraced the positivity of his a truly holy place.” n

Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2020 25 Phil Spencer and Kirstie Allsopp in Location, Location, Location Channel 4 Why we love property shows

roperty shows have long Nick Knowles, the presenter, producer been an essential part of Series that hook into and writer whose credits include BBC many broadcasters’ viewers’ obsession One’s DIY SOS. schedules. They’re What did she think? “Someone once ubiquitous in both day- with their homes are said about Phil and I that we’re very time and peak time and here to stay, says an different personalities but very similar haveP made celebrities of presenters characters. I am genuinely fond of Phil. such as the seriously posh Kirstie All- expert RTS panel We are a unit.… But I do find it strange sopp and her charming Location, Loca- that people think it’s all about our tion, Location co-host, Phil Spencer. Allsopp, who first co-hosted Location, relationship. I’ve acknowledged that’s But what is the secret of their suc- Location, Location back in 2000, pin- true, but I think it’s important that Phil cess and how do they endure while pointed the “human stories” that exist and I don’t think it’s about us. other factual fare is more ephemeral? at the centre of her show, which aims “If we became too obsessed with that, Is it our guilty pleasure in seeing to find dream homes for house hunters it would wreck everything. It has to be beyond other people’s front doors, the with the minimum of heartache. “We about your relationship with those peo- relationship­ between the programme invest so much in where we live and ple who you’re helping to find a home.” presenters, our obsession with prop- how we live. We use our homes to say Extraordinarily, Location, Location, erty prices – or something loftier, such something about ourselves. We’re Location is 34 series old and has under- as an interest in the rich variety of fascinated by people’s stories. There’s gone at least one big revamp. DIY SOS British architecture? an intrinsic nosiness that we all have.” has knocked up 30 series. According to an RTS webinar, it’s So what about the R factor? That’s R Strictly speaking, it’s a different kind probably a mix of all these factors plus for her relationship with Phil Spencer of show to Location, Location, Location. something less tangible to do with – described as “one of the great TV As Knowles suggested, the roots of DIY escapism. relationships” by her fellow panellist SOS lie in a more innocent, less

26 consumerist age – that of TV’s first Mr Makeover, Barry Bucknell, the BBC’s DIY guru of the 1950s, when make do and mend was for many people a way of life rather than a leisure pursuit. “It’s part of the human condition that you want to make the space you live in a nicer place to be,” said Knowles. “For the past 20 years or so, we’ve become obsessed with increasing the value of our homes. Our homes have become a commodity. From early cave paintings onwards, people were painting things on their walls to make them a little bit more homely and interesting. “A show like DIY SOS evolves over time. At the end of each series, the pro- ducer and I sit down and think about where it’s going to go next – unlike, say, Changing Rooms, which never really changed.” Nick Knowles Kitty Walshe, Co-Managing Director in DIY SOS of Remarkable, the production com- BBC pany responsible for such shows as Your Home Made Perfect, The House That ­relationship with their homes and expanding their properties and filling £100k Built and Restoration Home, opined neighbourhoods: “They’ve discovered them with stuff they didn’t need and that, for a property show to last, it attractions on their doorstep that they that failed to make them happy. needed to be “useful” and, of course, weren’t previously interested in.” Knowles told the RTS how he had entertaining. “Even with DIY SOS, Knowles agreed that people were downsized to a small country cottage there’s a lot of take-out in that show. rethinking these things. In the past from a large Georgian house and, as You learn about what you may be able 20 years, UK homes had been seen too a result, become more content. “You to do in your own home,” she said. much as investments and not enough don’t always have to get bigger to be Over the years, Channel 4 has as places where people wanted to live, happier,” he said. become synonymous with shows he suggested. “My quality of life is Would people’s changing attitudes based on property. Four years ago, it about the place I live in now,” he said. towards their homes and local areas was reckoned that the network broad- “Because of the lockdown, people are affect the kind of property shows that cast no fewer than 12 programmes thinking more like this than, ‘What is Channel 4 commissioned, asked the built on the P word. my house worth if I sell it?’” webinar’s host, Boyd Hilton, entertain- “Often, these shows are more about Property as a commodity was likely ment director of Heat magazine. people than property,” acknowledged to become less important as home- Dunnett said she thought it would. Deborah Dunnett, commissioning owners became more connected to “During lockdown, a lot of our best editor for popular factual at Channel 4. their homes and local communities. programmes have said: ‘We know how “That’s what keeps them fresh and why “People are going to try and improve you’re feeling at home right now. Let every episode doesn’t feel derivative.” the space in which they live for the us be useful or transport you some- What impact would the pandemic purpose of living in it, rather than for where else.’ You really get that connec- have on this much-loved TV staple? profit,” added Knowles. tion to your audience that you didn’t As the UK experienced an economic “That hangover from the property have before.” downturn of unprecedented swiftness, boom of the 1990s is something we’re Allsopp said she was desperate to get would property shows feel the pinch? moving on from,” agreed Damion Bur- back to work, enabling would-be pur- There was consensus that audiences rows, architect and presenter, whose chasers to find their perfect home. But were likely to see more shows encour- property show credits include Grand she conceded that the coronavirus had aging homeowners to improve what Designs: House of the Year and Your Home changed everything: “Do they want they had than programmes helping Made Perfect. now what they wanted before? Have them to find new homes. In the new normal, people would they lost their job, have they changed “Perhaps it’s less about how to make need to think hard about having work- their job?… money from your property than actu- spaces at home and dedicated areas for “I’m champing at the bit to get out ally to find a home you want to live in kids. Burrows said: “How can I do more there in this new market and to get on for the long term,” said Walshe. “That is with what I’ve got, with small additions with our job, which is helping people.” n the zeitgeist. ‘I spend all this money on and cleverly reworking the space so that stamp duty, removal costs. You know I can enjoy being here more? People are Report by Steve Clarke. The RTS webinar what, I could just refigure what I’ve seeing their house in a different light ‘Why we love… property shows’ was held got, rather than move.’” – they’re seeing it [every] afternoon.” on 2 June. The producer was Sarah Booth, Allsopp said that, during lockdown, Allsopp made the point that people director of communications at Endemol many people had changed their were realising that they had been Shine UK.

Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2020 27 Lockdown winners Celebrity Gogglebox Channel 4

ifted a captive audience, older people,” said Sampson, “but there television has seen its Viewing of linear are some very encouraging growth ratings soar during the channels has surged figures in younger audiences.” coronavirus crisis. “Peo- Coronavirus has brought back ple are spending much in recent months, but younger viewers to traditional TV, an longer in front of TV audience that many media pundits sets,” Justin Sampson, CEO of ratings the biggest victors are thought had abandoned it for good. bodyG Barb, told an RTS Zoom event in Digital UK, the organisation that runs on-demand services June. During the first nine weeks of the Freeview, carried out a survey into lockdown, people spent an average of such as Netflix attitudes to broadcasting a month into five hours seven minutes in front of the lockdown. “TV is still seen as the most box, a third more than during the same broadcasters but not “unidentified important medium for information by period in 2019. viewing” – the likes of Netflix and all [age] groups,” said its CEO, Jonathan Audiences are at “the kind of levels other SVoDs, gaming, YouTube and Thompson. you’d normally see at Christmas”, added overseas satellite channels – has risen Public service broadcasting is highly Sampson, who was one of a four-strong by only 18%. valued, the survey found. “There had panel discussing TV viewing during the Unidentified viewing, however, has been this narrative emerging that any- lockdown. increased to almost 30% of all TV set one under 30 was completely disen- It is unsurprising that – confined to usage during the lockdown. “This is a gaged with PSBs, but both the viewing their homes – audiences have turned significant step change in what was an behaviour during the lockdown and the to TV for both news about the corona- increasing trend anyway,” said Sampson. attitudinal evidence we’re seeing in our virus crisis and respite from it. But, Among younger viewers, unidentified research highlight that this is not true.” delve a little deeper into the stats, and viewing accounts for more than half of Among 16- to 34-year-olds, he added, far more interesting changes in view- all their TV watching during lockdown. “two-thirds are saying that they are ing habits emerge. Sampson said the rise in unidentified relying on the PSBs for news and Traditional TV is doing well – and viewing had been “more significant information, and that they trust them perhaps better than many expected. A than I would have estimated. From the much more than other providers”. The snap poll of the RTS webinar audience data we’re starting to see, we think the same group also values universality, revealed that almost two-thirds thought SVoD services are instrumental in that.” with 90% supporting a “free TV service”. that the most surprising viewing story Given both the severity and novelty “At the start of lockdown, people to come out of lockdown was the of a global pandemic, it is scarcely sur- wanted trustworthy news sources,” said rediscovery of linear TV. prising that viewers have been glued to Martin Greenbank, head of advertising Yet, viewing of Barb-reported chan- the news. “There’s an enormous amount research and development at Chan- nels, which includes the public service of viewing of news programmes among nel 4. This view was “pretty much

28 popularity of co-viewing was judged the least likely. Looking to the post-lockdown broadcasting landscape, Barb’s Samp- son hoped that young audiences would continue “relying on public service broadcasters for news”. “For us, it’s a massive opportunity,” said Shaw. “Young people are coming back to the BBC in enormous numbers. It’s beholden on us to… offer them content that is meaningful to them.” Channel 4’s Greenbank predicted a “period of consolidation” for SVoDs, arguing that consumers would not sign up for the all the new streamers com- ing on to the market. He predicted that they were more likely to “follow the content”, buying subscriptions to “dip into content” and cancelling them when they’ve watched it. “Businesses such as Netflix, that were built on a debt mountain, rely on the debt being ser- viceable in the longer term. I’m not sure the global economics of this are going to support some of these businesses.” Digital UK’s Thompson added: “SVoD is not going away – it’s going to Netflix’s Tiger King

Netflix become a permanent feature of the market, but that was the case before uniform” in a survey of some 1,200 peo- the coronavirus crisis. It’s probably ple carried out by the broadcaster. ‘AUDIENCES ARE been nudged forward.” However, he Greenbank revealed that “90% of the argued that PSBs had natural advan- adult sample put TV as their number-­ AT THE KIND OF tages, such as offering live TV. “Linear one [source]. Newspapers were also LEVELS YOU’D is absolutely vital to its health, because important, but, way down the list, were [live TV] is the thing that Netflix Facebook and the social platforms.” NORMALLY SEE doesn’t have. More than 50% of the young people “I hope all the PSBs remind them- surveyed said they “were aware of fake AT CHRISTMAS’ selves of the importance of their news stories circulating, predominately organisations to viewers.… One of the on social platforms. That is one of the things they’ve done brilliantly is to reasons they [come back] to the PSBs.” People are watching TV in groups respond quickly to events, to feel live Greenbank said that Channel 4 News during the lockdown, said Shaw; previ- and connected and part of the com- had “gone pretty much through the ously, “co-viewing” was the preserve of munity, which is very hard for a Netflix roof for all audiences”. In the 16-34 age big sporting events and entertainment to do as a global broadcaster.” group, he said, “it has doubled its reach”. show finales. Now, this extends to pro- But it was easy to get carried away “Established” shows, he added, were grammes “across the board”, including by the notion of a connected nation, doing particularly well: “Gogglebox is The Repair Shop and Normal People. keeping in touch via Zoom and binge- doing the biggest numbers it’s ever As with most industries, when the ing on Netflix during the lockdown. done, both on overnight and consoli- UK went into lockdown, TV production Thompson pointed out that “20% of dated [figures].” Other programmes ground to a halt. With new program- this country barely use the internet. proving popular during the lockdown ming at a premium, the number of For them, the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 include The Great Celebrity Bake Off and repeats has grown steadily. The danger are their main means of communica- Friday Night Dinner. for the linear broadcasters is that, faced tion with the outside world, particu- “At the BBC, we’re seeing record with reruns of shows they may not larly at a time like this.” audiences in linear and across iPlayer,” have much liked the first time around, The notion of “universality”, of “free, said Rachel Shaw, the corporation’s viewers may switch off. The BBC’s equal access” to television, he added, head of content portfolio and audi- Shaw admitted that scheduling was had “never been more important”. n ences. “Since lockdown, we’ve seen “going to be a tricky balancing act”. 1 billion iPlayer requests,” she added. A second poll of the RTS webinar Report by Matthew Bell. The RTS online Initially, this was driven by people’s audience asked which of the lockdown event ‘Lockdown viewing’, held on 4 June, thirst for news; now drama is the spur, viewing trends would persist. The rise was chaired by the media commentator with Killing Eve and Normal People the of the SVoD companies was thought Kate Bulkley. The producers were Liz most popular series. most likely to continue, while the Reynolds and Keith Underwood.

Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2020 29 OUR FRIEND IN LEEDS

John Whiston hails have had a few cool titles in that our actors didn’t look like they my time – head of youth, a TV doctor like no were properly two metres apart. The head of the north, the pope other – and still social-distance poles helped. Some of soap. But none quite com- people are born to wield a two-metre pare with that of Dr Paul finds time to dance pole. In another age, they would have Litchfield, formerly titled been a samurai warrior or a merry surgeon commander, in the coronavirus man of Sherwood. These days, they charge of Royal Navy nuclear, biolog- two-step are called cohort managers and they Iical and chemical defence. ward off evil spirits. He’s now an independent medical When you are used to making adviser to ITV and a great guy to have nearly two feature films’ worth of on your side – or, indeed, on a Zoom drama a week on both soaps (Corona- call during a pandemic. That’s exactly tion Street and Emmerdale), you would what the discussions needed: level-­ expect us to have a well-oiled and headed rationality to chart a way adaptive production machine. through all the lockdown fear caused Which is why the toughest chal- by the nightly news beat and to get lenge was overcoming our collective the soap teams back to work. anxiety about going back. This was In a way, the infrastructure changes early May and that invisible, deadly were the easy bit. Once ITV’s health enemy was very much out there. And and safety gurus had plotted out a in here, lurking in our minds as much set of guidelines, together with other as in the air. broadcasters,­ Pact, the unions and the That’s where Dr Litchfield came in. Government, we just had to apply In Zoom call after Zoom call, he lis-

them. Hampartsoumian Paul tened patiently to the concerns of Luckily, we are good at making over 500 soap cast and crew, all in things. We have amazing construction scripts that crackled with the usual different places on their Covid jour- shops, which can whip up a court- levels of high tension was hard work. ney. And, like the GPs of your TV room or a hotel bar if we need one. But achievable with the application youth, Dr Finlay or Dr Cameron, Making a few Perspex screens and of some serious creative thought. calmly and sensibly talked through inventing a see-through camera shield It was satisfying to be getting on the risks and the mitigations. and separating our buildings into with stuff when, all around, the coun- We may all have worked on medi- colour-co-ordinated zones was a try seemed to be moribund with cal dramas, but it turns out that we breeze. Our gallery partition screens despond. We knew that, once in the aren’t actually doctors. Having one of are now much in demand all over ITV, studio, our directors and crews would those to deliver impartial reassurance not least for their clean, aesthetically throw themselves into plotting out and hard-and-fast advice is a pro- pleasing lines – Covid cool, if you will. scenes where the characters could do ducer’s secret weapon against both We also have brilliant editorial the two-­metre anti-mating dance fear and complacency. Get yourself teams and writers. Adapting our around each other – the coronavirus one before you start up again. The story­lines to take out all our clinically two-step – without it seeming weird longer the title, the better. n vulnerable cast (the over-seventies) or unnatural. and the kids (too many add-ons, such With such clever staging and crafty John Whiston is managing director, as chaperones and tutors), and all the lens work, my real fear was that we’d continuing drama, and head of ITV snogs and slaps, and yet still have get complaints from the audience in the north, ITV Studios.

30 Undergraduate Animation Margin of Terror Kieran McLister, University of Edinburgh ‘Strong acting and performances… and an amazing attention to detail. Lots of in-jokes and strong, rich touches.’ Nominees: ◗ Ctrl + Alt + Z, Holly Keating, Conor Leech, Ciara O’Shaughnessy and Kai Munoa, Ballyfermot College of Further Education ◗ You’re Fit, Lydia Reid, Kingston University Postgraduate Animation Heatwave Fokion Xenos, Priya K Dosanjh, Brendan Freedman, Stella Heath Keir, Kevin Langhamer and Team, National Film and Television School ‘Very accomplished and hugely enjoyable. Very playful and colourful, with brilliant production design. The ambitious crowd shot view blew us all away.’ Nominees: ◗ Almost There, Nelly Michenaud, Tim Dees, Nathanael Baring, Kate Phibbs and Team, National Film and Television School ◗ In Her Boots, Kathrin Steinbacher, Royal College of Art Undergraduate Comedy and RTS Student Entertainment Biggy Henry Oliver, Jordi Estapé Montser- rat and Liam Morgan, Ravensbourne University Television ‘Brilliantly shot, with impeccable detail throughout, and a first-class edit. The song is a hit and Biggy is a star.’ Nominees: Awards 2020 ◗ FLIT, Jack Allen, Elías Nader, Ina Morken, Laurence Jenkins and Carey Sponsored by Melanie Osborne, University of Edinburgh ◗ Holiday!, Toby Matthews, Amy Lindley and Charles Power, Falmouth University Postgraduate Comedy and Matt Richardson and Siobhan Greene Entertainment hosted a virtual ceremony that was Lucy Menghan Zhu, Gwennaëlle Counson, streamed on 26 June Lia Monguzzi, Ziyu Qiu, Elliot Barker and Ruojing Yang, Goldsmiths, Univer- sity of London ‘A very unusual concept. A work that wasn’t afraid to be bold.’ Nominee: ◗ Go for Alanya, Anna Castelaz, Arianne Smith, Madeleine Quarm, Daniela Velasco, Olga Lagun and Jessica Halee, Biggy, Undergraduate Comedy and Entertainment Goldsmiths, University of London

Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2020 31 Margin of Terror, Undergraduate Animation Undergraduate Drama Starry Night Emma Smith, Caoilinn Handley, Rachel Moloney, Lori Stacey, Anna Heisterkamp and Team, IADT Dún Laoghaire ‘Wonderful playfulness, strong perfor- mances, with a compelling non-linear narrative that really stood out.’ Nominees: ◗ A Dead Canary, James Davis, Elle Ralph, Charlotte Murphy, Rachel Neill and David Richards, University of Gloucestershire Kieran McLister ◗ Sealskin, Anna Venuto, Lara Karam and Daisy Leigh Phippard, Arts University Bournemouth Postgraduate Drama Ufo Harvey Gardner, Reece Steel and Luca Michelli, University of the West of Scotland ‘A moving and poignant story, told with real visual boldness and wit.’ Nominees: ◗ Azaar, Myriam Raja, Nathanael Baring and Team, National Film and Television School ◗ November 1st, Charlie Manton, Teodora Shaleva, Molly Manning-Walker, Theo Boswell, Celina Øier and Team, National Film and Television School Lucy, Undergraduate Factual Postgraduate Building Bridges Comedy and Josephine Cressy, Guillermo Quintanilla- Entertainment Ufo, Postgraduate Drama Pinto, Maximilian Wilson, Pierre Niyon- gira and Luke Denton (University of the West of England, Bristol) ‘Very moving, honest [and] brave [with] the storyline cleverly woven throughout the story.’ Nominees: ◗ The Curiosity of Edward Pratt, Thomas Sandler, Oscar Godfrey and Alex Gordon, University of York ◗ Women Uprooted, Dominique de Wei Han Villiers, Fran Brotherton-Cottrell, Ellie Price, Grace Mosley and Andrea Stensholm Klæboe, Falmouth University Postgraduate Factual Separation Wei Han, UCL ‘Perfectly told, [with] lyrical power worthy of a feature film. It left you car- Separation, ing deeply for the young girl at its heart.’ Postgraduate Nominees: Factual and ◗ Carrying Myself, Matea Petrović, Postgraduate University of Salford Editing ◗ Green and Grey, Lucia Amoroso, UCL

32 Henry Oliver Undergraduate News It Takes All Sorts Katya Fowler, University of Leeds ‘Consumer journalism [that] was clev- erly storyboarded and creatively filmed and edited.’ Biggy, Undergraduate Comedy and Entertainment Nominees: A Roof Over Our Heads, Pien Meulen­ steen, University of Salford Inked, Alex Bridgewood, University of Derby Postgraduate News Host or Hostile? Issa Farfour, Cardiff University) ‘A powerful story packed with suspense and drama. A stand-out piece of first- person journalism.’ Nominees: ◗ Tarred by the Brush of Modern Slavery, Huong Nguyen, Nottingham Trent University ◗ The Decline of the Great British Bee, Adam Smith, University of Sheffield It Takes All Sorts, Undergraduate News Undergraduate Short Form Night Hopper Lauren Burnham, Staffordshire University ‘With some beautiful shots… this film felt visceral and inventive and was very accomplished.’ Nominees: ◗ Looking For, Cian Desmond, Caoilinn Handley, Jack Desmond and Lori Stacey, Issa Farfour IADT Dún Laoghaire ◗ Tia, Jamie Walsh, University of Central Lancashire Postgraduate Short Form Host or Hostile?, Postgraduate News Rough Hands Fabio Mota, Lily Grimes, Francesco Cibati, Beatriz Honório, Malika Ruzmetova and Team, National Film and Television School The RTS Student Television Awards Centre, along with all postgraduate ‘Had a great story at its heart… looked 2020 reward outstanding work entries, were then judged nationally great and [was] very well executed.’ ­produced during the 2018/19 aca- in April 2020. Nominees: demic year. ◗ Hungry Mobsters, Francis Corby Undergraduate entries were first You can see a selection of the Ceschin, Paola Gonzalez Camarero, Said judged at a regional level by their local students’ films at rts.org.uk/ Englund, Ava Isak, Fabio Mota and Team, RTS Centre in the winter of 2019. article/watch-films-rts-student- National Film and Television School The winning films from each RTS television-awards-2020 ◗ Timing is Everything, Michele Vicenti, Twan Peeters and Team, National Film and Television School

Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2020 33 Undergraduate Camerawork Starry Night Anna Heisterkamp, IADT Dún Laoghaire ‘Nice lighting, good camerawork and good story. It flowed well.’ Nominees: ◗ Looking For, Jack Desmond, IADT Dún Laoghaire ◗ Biggy, Liam Morgan, Ravensbourne University London Postgraduate Camerawork Azaar Michael Filocamo, National Film and Television School Women Uprooted, Undergraduate Editing ‘Beautifully shot… to create a brilliant atmosphere. Simple but effective.’ Nominees: ◗ Heatwave, Brendan Freedman, National Film and Television School ◗ November 1st, Molly Manning-Walker, National Film and Television School

Undergraduate Editing Women Uprooted Grace Mosley, Falmouth University Starry Night, ‘Good sound design and a great edit. Undergraduate Drama, A well-told piece.’ Undergraduate Camerawork, Nominees: Undergraduate Writing ◗ The Curiosity of Edward Pratt, Clockwise: Hazel Clifford, Thomas Sandler, University of York Caoilinn Handley, Lori Stacey, ◗ Biggy, Henry Oliver and Justin Grange- Anna Heisterkamp, Emma Bennett, Ravensbourne University Smith and Rachel Moloney London Postgraduate Editing Separation Wei Han, UCL ‘Exceptional film-making. The way the narrative unfolds is captivating and thought provoking.’ Nominees: ◗ November 1st, Celina Øier, National Film and Television School ◗ Heatwave, Stella Heath Keir, National Film and Television School Undergraduate Production Design FLIT Ina Morken and Jack Allen, University of Edinburgh ‘Great production design and art department; good colours and lighting [and] great detail in the set.’ Nominees: ◗ Margin of Terror, Kieran McLister, University of Edinburgh ◗ , Rachel Neill, A Dead Canary FLIT, Undergraduate Production Design November 1st, Postgraduate Writing University of Gloucestershire

34 Postgraduate Production Design Azaar Lauren Taylor, National Film and Televi- sion School ‘The strong use of the red elements in the costumes, curtains, doors and blood… brought everything together.’ Nominees: ◗ Heatwave, Antonio Niculae, National Film and Television School ◗ November 1st, Theo Boswell, National Film and Television School Undergraduate Sound Ctrl + Alt + Z Rose Connolly, Ballyfermot College of Further Education ‘Very good animation, well told, [with] good, stylish use of foley and a good soundtrack.’ Nominees: ◗ Building Bridges, Luke Denton, University of the West of England, Bristol ◗ , Kieran McLister and Azaar, Postgraduate Camerawork and Postgraduate Production Design Margin of Terror Mike Meurs, University of Edinburgh Postgraduate Sound Heatwave Kevin Langhamer, National Film and Television School ‘An excellent-sounding animation. We loved the bouzouki strum for toe-testing the sea’s temperature.’ Nominees: ◗ Almost There, Ioannis Spanos, National Film and Television School ◗ November 1st, Edward Guy, National Film and Television School Heatwave, Postgraduate Animation and Undergraduate Writing Postgraduate Starry Night Rachel Moloney, IADT Dún Laoghaire Sound ‘A well-thought-out script that allowed you to feel the story.’ Nominees: ◗ Building Bridges, Josephine Cressy, University of the West of England, Bristol ◗ Biggy, Henry Oliver, Ravensbourne University London Postgraduate Writing November 1st Charlie Manton, National Film and Tele- vision School ‘Great dialogue. Powerful subject mat- ter dealt with expertly. Brilliantly written.’ Nominees: ◗ Azaar, Myriam Raja, National Film and Television School Ctrl + Alt + Z, Undergraduate Sound ◗ Separation, Wei Han, UCL n

Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2020 35 RTS NEWS “The media sector has “There are challenges but not done enough,” said we’ve adapted and we feel far Grant Mansfield, dis- more fleet of foot. There’s lots

RTS West of England cussing its attempts to to be excited about, particu- improve diversity. “[It] is larly in the West and Wales. changing for the better, but “What’s on the shelf is we are where we are because pretty bare. Broadcasters are lots of people have talked going to need programmes to about stuff and not enough be made.… I know it’s tough… people have done anything.” but we can look forward to The Plimsoll Productions some exciting times ahead.” CEO added: “We’re trying to Natural history specialist appeal to broad audiences. True to Nature continued to How on earth can we do that shoot in the UK, although, if it’s all being seen through with overseas travel coming the prism of a bunch of mid- to a standstill, filming on the The Shadow of Slavery dle-class white people? They second series of Expedition with should be part of the group, Steve Backshall was suspended. not the whole bloody group.” The indie hopes to film Mansfield was part of a abroad in the autumn. “We’re panel assembled for an RTS Diversity: more looking, where possible, to West of England webinar, work with camera people chaired by the centre’s Chair, who live… where we want to Lynn Barlow, in late June to film,” said CEO Wendy Darke. discuss the health of the action, less talk Mansfield added: “We need region’s TV production. to be able to get on planes and Coronavirus has hit the get into other countries. The South West hard, as it has the really started to pick up” for the indie to make The Shadow response and competence of whole country. The Creative the new black-owned indie. of Slavery for its series of our Government is pretty Industries Federation fore- Jenkins filmed the Bristol short films in response to the significant [here]: there are casts that the region could protest, which saw the statue killing of George Floyd, Take certain countries where we lose almost a third of its of slave owner Edward Your Knee Off My Neck. want to film at the moment, creative jobs, 43,000 in total. Colston thrown into the har- “We’ve battled through. I where we’ve been told expli­ Mike Jenkins, co-founder bour: “We managed to cap- think we’ve done some posi- citly… that, if you form a of Blak Wave Productions, ture history. We were in the tive commissioning during queue of people that they had his first commission right place at the right time.” Covid, with fast-turnaround want in the country after cancelled when lockdown He approached Sacha shows that have been coronavirus, the Brits would came. With the Black Lives Mirzoeff, head of Channel 4 extraordinarily reflective of be at the back.” Matter protests, “things have in Bristol, who commissioned the nation,” said Mirzoeff. Matthew Bell

Johns added that virtual reality will give the consumer Looking forward to better pictures something different: “It’s not mass market but it is some- A panel of experts Simon Gauntlett, director of not really worth watching in thing that people can dip discussed current and imaging standards and tech- my humble opinion,” said their toes into.” future TV technology nology at Dolby Laboratories. Chris Johns, chief engineer, DTG strategic technologist

RTS London at a joint RTS London/ HDR improves both contrast broadcast strategy at Sky. Yvonne Thomas agreed HDR Digital Television Group and colour, giving brighter “I think UHD [ultra-high would prosper, because it (DTG) event in June. colours and greater depth. definition] will be very similar. offered a “great image qual- Looking forward over the “A wider adoption of HDR At the moment, it’s very niche ity at a lower bandwidth than next decade, the panellists in more content genres is the and there’s a very limited you would have with a high highlighted the technologies thing that people will notice amount of content available. resolution or high frame rate”. that would most improve the at home.” As people start to produce this RTS Fellow and DTG Chair TV-watching experience. “HD [adoption] was very content, especially in a cost- Simon Fell chaired the event, “Mass-market adoption of patchy initially, then it burst effective way, and incorporate and Phil Barnes and Georgina high dynamic range [HDR]” forward. Now, if you don’t the HDR element in it, that Wilks-Wiffen produced it. would be the big thing, said watch a channel in HD, it’s will become the norm.” Matthew Bell

36 e’re all bored of Zoom and ready for some gloss and high ‘Wproduction values,” Lindsay Bradbury told an RTS Mid- lands webinar in June. The BBC daytime and early peak commissioning editor was one of a panel of three factual TV experts discussing production as it emerges from its coronavirus-­ imposed hibernation. During the lockdown, Bradbury has enjoyed watch- Great British ing the Sally Rooney adapta- Menu

tion Normal People, and CBBC’s BBC Malory Towers, which “took me to a happy place, pretend- ing I was 12 again”, and Chan- nel 4’s First Dates Hotel. Gloss it, don’t Zoom it “I haven’t enjoyed any of the specific lockdown stuff. If lots of commissioners had Matthew Bell hears how the industry is getting ready for their time again, they wouldn’t have commis- RTS Midlands the return of television production in the Midlands sioned half as much of the Zoom-related content as “In Great British Menu, we taste to change. Freelancers have jobs. There’s no way I’m they did,” said Optomen TV the food and that normally been worst hit, said Eglin: going to wait to help those executive producer Sarah involves everybody crowd- “So many colleagues have people pay their mortgage.” Eglin. She argued that much ing around a plate – clearly, not benefited from govern- “People are chomping at of the programming that we can’t do that,” said Eglin. ment schemes at all and the bit to get out there and “reflected people being stuck “What will probably happen have had to live on savings [film],” added Bradbury. “You in their houses” wasn’t “very is that the chefs will plate up… or take breaks from paying can work around the two- watchable”. and, through the magic of their mortgages. metre rule if you are cre- Production executive television, it will [appear] on “One of the things that ative.” Using two cameras, Sabrina Ferro found the separate plates to taste, scat- really motivates me at the she explained, “you can cut Zoom programmes “so awk- tered around the kitchen. moment to get my produc- between them so you don’t ward”. They “have not been “There’s so tions back up notice there’s a huge gap funny when they have sup- much practical and filming is [between people]”. posed to have been funny. stuff that the ‘PEOPLE ARE to give work to Ferro has experience of This is a time when everyone audience won’t people. working during the lockdown has wanted to escape because see that we will CHOMPING “The sooner on Channel 4’s Coronavirus: – speaking on my own behalf be doing, like AT THE BIT we get out How Clean Is Your House “We’ve – we have become obsessed full cleans filming, the learned a lot from the last with checking the news. We twice a day.” TO GET OUT better. Who 10 to 12 weeks. It can be have… to give everyone Bradbury knows if there’s done sensibly. something entertaining and said: “People THERE AND a second wave “The world is opening up positive.” in TV don’t FILM’ coming? If we again and we’re more Eglin is planning to start take no for an all sit around informed now,” she said. filming the new series of answer – they waiting to see “Best foot forward and let’s BBC Two’s Great British Menu want to carry on working what happens, then we risk crack on.” n in September. “I’m hoping to and there’s lots of creative being in a worse position. do [it] without coronavirus ways of working within gov- “I remember having to ring ‘Emerging out of lockdown and being too much in your face.” ernment guidelines.” [people] and tell them that beyond’, was held on 10 June, But filming will be more Production budgets have we were going into lock- and produced by Becky Jones- complicated and time-­ been under pressure during down, abandoning filming Owen and Perjeet Aujla, who consuming than usual. lockdown and this is unlikely and that they didn’t have also chaired the event.

Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2020 37 RTS FUTURES NEWS

Steve Clarke, Matthew Bell

RTS Futures & Imani Cottrell report on another busy month of webinars for TV newcomers

eople from BAME backgrounds who feel “they don’t fit in” should “keep on Pbanging on the door” if they want to work in TV, recom- mended Ade Adepitan, the BBC and Channel 4 presenter. The disabled basketball Paralympic medallist said he had got into TV by luck: “I didn’t go to uni, I went to the university of life.” His first Africa with Ade Adepitan

job in TV was working for a BBC cable station, which, in the early 1990s, was looking for a wheelchair-using basketball player to appear on screen. On-screen stardust Initially he declined their invitation but, when the station offered him £250 for TV should remain true to said an essential quality for zone. I was there for three the gig, he seized the chance. themselves – and to avoid being a successful journalist months. Listening to all that The presenter said it was doing what she did at the was the ability to spot a story. tragedy and grief was trau- easier today for newbies to start of her career. “Don’t feel “Stories are everywhere – matic. “I’m still in touch with acquire the skills to become a grateful for the opportunities your friends and neighbours the contacts I made at Gren- TV presenter thanks to smart- you are given,” advised Long. have them,” said O’Neill, fell. It’s important to keep phones: “You can practise “Don’t try to be someone else. whose first degree was in your contacts close to you.” your skills on social media Be proud of who you are.” Italian and Arabic. “You can Rani said she would never and live-stream, as I’ve been All the contributors agreed have all the technical skills, forget reporting from India, doing during lockdown.” that successful presenters but you still need to be able to where she had met some of Adepitan has never looked had an authentic voice and spot a story, tell a case history.” the poorest people on earth. “I back. Forging a life as a pre- were themselves in front of She emphasised the impor­ can’t express how that makes senter, as he and his fellow the camera. tance of tenacity – and told you feel,” she said. “It alters panellists made clear, requires Anita Rani, a regular pre- the RTS how she got her first your perspective on life.” resilience and determination. senter of BBC One’s Country- break as a student journalist For Adepitan, encountering “There’s no set path to getting file, said she had begun her on Radio 4’s You and Yours. war victims in Vietnam poi- into TV,” he said. “The main career as a 14-year-old by This was despite the pro- soned as children by the US thing today is passion.” His working part-time for a local gramme’s reluctance to agree use of chemical agents, and BBC Two series Africa with Ade radio station. “I was there at to work with her on a story meeting gay and transgender Adepitan took almost two weekends and school holi- she’d found involving the people in Jamaica forced to decades to get on air. Com- days,” she recalled. “Find your loss of hundreds of passports. live in a storm drain, have missioners were reluctant to own voice, your own tone “At first, they said, ‘We’ll give both left lasting impressions order a series that defied the and make it look effortless, you £50 for your contacts and on him. “I think about that stereotypes of a continent too even though you’ve done we’ll do the rest.’” Persis- every day,” he said. n often defined by poverty, loads of preparation and tence paid off and she did corruption and conflict. are dependent on a team.” the story for You and Yours. Report by Steve Clarke. ‘The life Jackie Long, Channel 4’s Radio presenter Anna The Grenfell fire was the of a presenter’, was held on social affairs editor, said that O’Neill, who works as a most powerful story she had 9 June, and chaired and pro- those considering working in reporter for BBC London, covered: “It was like a war duced by Jasmine Dotiwala.

38 rom drafting to mak- directors, their assistants, set ing models to dressing decorators and builders, buy- sets, the TV art depart- ers and a draughtsperson. ment offers a wealth Ruby Asare is at the start Fof opportunity to the creative of her career. After studying person. For an RTS Futures interior design, she secured webinar in June, a panel of art a place on the ScreenSkills directors and assistants talked Trainee Finder entry-level art and design. All had gradu- placement scheme, which ated from university with a matches trainees with pro- range of arts degrees, but they ductions. She worked as an also stressed the need for art department trainee on the more practical skills. movie Supernova, which stars “The most basic skill is to Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci. be able to cut in a straight “A lot of my job entailed line,” said art director Maddie picking things up from sup- Flint, who studied perfor- pliers or sourcing things,” she mance design. “You don’t recalled. “I also helped the art have to have a TV course directors with measuring and Britain’s Got Talent

background but something ITV drafting on location.” creative definitely helps.” The basic requirement of “If you want to be a set an art assistant, said Olivia dresser… then you don’t nec- Hodder, who studied fine art essarily have to have techni- and works with Maddie Flint, cal skills, [but] it helps,” A job for TV’s “is to always be on time and added art director Lizzie do what your art director tells Chambers. She studied inte- you”. The job is unpredictable. rior design at university and true artists On Britain’s Got Talent, she said: has worked on ITV2’s Love “We have a general plan at Island for the past five years. the beginning of the day but… The panellists discussed “Generally speaking, art director studied TV and by 4:00pm, everything has the make-up of the art you’ve either got a dressing film design, before landing a turned on its head. We could department. On ITV’s Brit- job where it’s just you and job storyboarding a crash be [hurriedly] making mas- ain’s Got Talent, Flint’s team maybe a runner or an assis- scene in ITV soap Emmerdale. sive foam bubbles that need includes two assistants and tant, or a bigger job such as She has since worked on to float in the air.” n two runners, a buyer, and a Love Island… with three or Netflix drama Sex Education. crew to build and decorate four art directors,” added On a big movie, the art Report by Matthew Bell. ‘Work- sets. “It’s a huge show, with Chambers. department can grow to ing in the TV art department’ was lots of cogs, but on other In drama, said Emma 100 people but, on a TV held on 16 June, chaired by Alex shows it could just be me, or Ryder, budget dictates the drama, it typically includes a Wootten, and produced by Alex me and an assistant,” she said. size of the team. The assistant supervising art director, art Wootten and Jude Winstanley.

– it raises the quality of your More freedom to film footage.’ And filming is not the only skill video journalists require. ‘Learn n With so many people having He added that interviewing Sadler, whose outlets include both filming and editing – the access to a smartphone, creat- people with a big camera could ITV News, said filming with two skills reinforce each other,’ ing high-quality TV reports and be intimidating, whereas a a phone allowed him to be said Shaw, who recommended packages has never been easier. smartphone felt more natural. ‘immediate and spontaneous’. Final Cut Pro for editing. For BBC News video jour- Reporter Vivien Morgan, who He offered tips: ensure you have Mobile journalism, said Mor- nalist Dougal Shaw, capturing has worked on BBC current a spare battery and enough gan, is ‘a wonderful, creative stories alone is a lot easier with affairs programme Panorama, phone storage; make shots long process and you’ll get better as just a phone: ‘You’re not very said it was important to plan enough so they can be edited; you repeat it’. nimble with a normal camera a script: ‘Storytelling is about and don’t use the zoom facility and all the equipment… and, getting things right. because the image will pixelate. Report by Imani Cottrell. with news output, people don’t ‘Your story needs to be He suggested using a variety ‘An introduction to mobile know the difference between watertight… think about how the of shots ‘to make a sequence phone journalism’ was held footage filmed on a phone and words and pictures go together.’ more interesting.… You can on 4 June, and chaired and on a camera.’ Freelance journalist Toby do so much with LED lighting produced by Ed Gove.

Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2020 39 RTS NEWS Huw Rossiter listens in as

RTS Cymru Cymru RTS Wales TV chiefs in Wales discuss the effect of Covid-19 on broadcasting

he coronavirus pan- demic has demon- strated the value of public service broad- Tcasting at a time of unprece- dented national crisis. But the economic fallout from the lockdown leaves PSBs facing a fight to sustain high-quality programmes and services. This stark message was delivered during an RTS Cymru Wales webinar featur­ ing a panel of the heads of Clockwise from top left: Phil Henfrey, the country’s broadcasting Rhodri Talfan Davies, Sian Morgan organisations. Lloyd and Owen Evans

Taking part, were: Rhodri Zoom vis RTS Talfan Davies, director of BBC Cymru Wales; Phil Hen- frey, head of news and pro- grammes at ITV Cymru PSBs come to the fore Wales; and Owen Evans, CEO of S4C. The session was hosted by Sian Morgan Lloyd a fight to sustain the breadth saw viewing of S4C’s daily pulled up the drawbridge.” from Cardiff University’s and richness of what we news programme Newyddion Evans said a priority for School of Journalism, Media currently have.” (made by BBC Wales) rise by S4C was to bring security to and Culture. Henfrey described the 40%, with a 130% jump in Wales’s independents: “One of Davies said the logistical pandemic as one of the most consumption of its digital the first things we did was to challenge of moving some challenging news stories ITV services. “On top of what the have commissioning rounds, 240 journalists out of their News Wales had covered. “But BBC and ITV are making for so that we could keep things offices into a home-working on another level, it’s among us in news and current affairs, going. But I’m concerned environment within 48 hours our proudest achievements,” we developed a daily digital about what will happen when was “a tribute to the level of he said. “Our first priority service around Covid. We the furlough period finishes.” focus and the clarity of think- was to keep also moved our Henfrey said that, as a ing” in the newsroom and the people safe.… current affairs global producer, ITV would technical and operational That was coun- ‘WE FACE programmes learn from other countries in teams at BBC Wales. terbalanced by into peak-time terms of restarting production. Looking to the future, he the need to stay A FIGHT TO slots,” he said. A significant aspect of the warned that current pres- on air and that SUSTAIN The partici- crisis has been the divergent sures on BBC funding and was a huge pants said that approaches adopted by gov- the prospect of an economic challenge. BREADTH current­ com- ernments in the devolved recession meant that all “We were able missions were nations and the role of the public service broadcasters to keep a com- AND “on pause” broadcasters in explaining would “inevitably need to prehensive news RICHNESS’ rather than those differences. “This will look at their cost base”, with and current cancelled. “It’s be seen as one of the defin- implications for jobs. affairs service on all about cash ing moments in the develop- “It’s fantastic that audi- the air, as well as upscaling flow and maintaining the ment of devolution in Wales,” ences have seen the value of the amount of content pro- development and commis- said Davies. n public service media in all its duced online – underscoring sioning process,” said Davies. forms in recent months,” he the value of PSB in Wales.” “The key thing is that the The webinar was held on 15 June said. “But we’re going to face Evans said the pandemic Welsh broadcasters have not and produced by Edward Russell.

40 RTS NEWS Picture perfect

Matthew Bell hears how

RTS London Sky Arts has tuned into people’s creativity during the lockdown

ky Arts reinvented Portrait Artist of the Year as a global, live, paint- along show for a Slockdown audience, streamed free on its Facebook page. Celebrity sitters, including Artist Kimberly Klauss painting Noel Fielding

comedian Noel Fielding, Sky posed in their homes for each four-hour Sunday episode. and you just listen to their studio manager Ben Burdon Portrait Artist of the Week During an RTS London conversation.” explained how, once the proved a hit. Audiences built webinar, the show’s produc- Regular presenter Joan lockdown had started, he was steadily, week by week, said ers and talent explained how Bakewell hosts Portrait Artist of still able to facilitate pro- director of Sky Arts Phil they created Portrait Artist of the Week: “Because of my age, gramme-making, “and not Edgar-Jones – episode 1 gen- the Week. Sam Richards, an I’m in an isolated group, so just put out archive material. erated 70,000 views; episode 6 executive producer at Story­ I welcomed anything that We tried to work out a plat- passed 210,000. “With most vault Films, which makes would challenge me to use my form at home that would be TV,” he said, “a lot of people both series, describes the wits and keep my spirits up. accessible to all of the con- come to episode 1 and then it parent show as “the Bake-Off “I thought it was a great tributors, our technical teams tails off quite dramatically.” of art – it’s not a niche art idea. Of course, [I thought] it and our content-makers,” The show’s run was programme”. would be impossible, but I he explained. It would have extended from four to eight “It’s warm, inclusive and decided to give it a go – I like taken too long to configure episodes, with TV historian multi-generational, but it can a new challenge and a new broadcast equipment, so he Mary Beard as the final sitter. also be ‘shout at the telly’. It’s format. Throughout my came up with a solution, “Blue “There was a lot of love very competitive and people career, I’ve followed all the Peter fashion”, to grab bits of for it,” said Graham. “We root for artists.” different forms that television kit around the house – “iPads, realised that, unlike Portrait Richards’ fellow Storyvault has taken and, it seems to me, laptops, tablets – and, remark­ Artist of the Year, this was Films exec Danielle Graham that this is a form that won’t ably, make television”. more about community explained the thinking behind go away – we’ve discovered Sky Production Services than competition. More and the new weekly programme: something rather special director Adam Noble said more people were saying, “It became clear that lots of here. We can speak across Portrait Artist of the Week threw ‘It’s keeping me going’. With- people were being creative. nations to each other and, up “lots of issues you wouldn’t out wanting to sound too I realised our programme was immediately, get a response.” get in a traditional gallery”. grandiose, it was really help- made for lockdown – we’re The artists featured in the And it made huge demands ing people’s mental health. all at home with more time series include Portrait Artist of on the portrait painters, who “It felt like we were doing on our hands.” the Year semi-finalistKimberly had to set up their studios for something really lovely for Making the show, she Klauss, who joined the RTS filming and work with alien people at an awful time.” n added, “was the steepest webinar from Munich. “It was technology. Noble added: learning curve ever but it has both exhilarating and com- “They had to take all of that The webinar ‘Production focus: been incredibly rewarding. pletely petrifying,” recalled on board, and then paint and Portrait Artist of the Week’ “I don’t know any other Klauss, who painted Fielding. talk. My biggest challenge was was held on 11 June, chaired by format that puts two creative “My stomach was in knots.” making them feel comfort- Aradhna Tayal and produced by people together for four hours Sky Production Services able with the technology.” Phil Barnes.

Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2020 41 RTS NEWS

Schofield first came across TV Centre as a child, when he TV Centre was given a Ladybird Book, How It Works – Television, which celebrates contained an illustration of the BBC’s home. “I studied that map – I knew it better 60 years than the inside of my house,” he recalled. Years later, working as a BBC Television Centre BBC children’s presenter, is the “perfect TV Schofield found himself

RTS London building”. So said TV “working in the building that presenter Phillip Schofield I’d studied”. In 2013, when during a special RTS London the BBC closed TV Centre, programme marking the Schofield appeared in a show 60th anniversary of the offi- celebrating its history, Good- cial opening of the BBC’s bye Television Centre. White City HQ. But that was not the end of The architect, Graham the story. In 2018, he BBC Television Centre

Dawbarn, based his design on Gillespies returned to a renovated, but a question mark he’d doodled smaller, TV Centre, when it on the back of an envelope, people and, around the back, cameraman Roger Bunce: “If became home to ITV’s This revealed head of BBC history a panoply of different access Dan Dare had a headquarters, Morning. “It was such a per- Robert Seatter. “He realised, points for all the paraphernalia I’m almost certain it would fect full circle… going back in a eureka moment, that he of television, the cameramen, look exactly like TV Centre. was sublime.” had found the perfect shape the engineers, the scenery “It’s a lovely piece of archi- TVC 60: Birthday of a Building for Television Centre. builders and the talent.” tecture and the public got to premiered on 29 June. Watch “It [has] a circuit in the mid- “It was a vision of the know it because it appeared it at: rts.org.uk/event/tvc-60. dle for offices and managerial future,” said former studio in so many programmes.” Matthew Bell

general manager of inventory and partnerships at global tech company The Trade Newbies offer advice Desk, talked to students. He said there was value in The flourishing RTS connections in the north and multimedia journalism specialism – honing one’s bursary scheme held observed that media compa- and now works for the East knowledge in a particular three webinars in June nies were moving north, Lothian Courier. field – but also in bridging

RTS bursaryRTS scheme for young people set on including Channel 4 to Leeds. MacRae left Edinburgh the gap between the creative a career in television. She now has a full-time Napier University in 2018 and technical sides of TV. Paula Ugochukwu and job in learning and develop- with a degree in television. “Don’t view the role of a Richard Walker have both ment, and is also a freelance He then completed a masters runner as simply being a started to climb the TV lad- digital content creator, hosts in film-making at the Uni- runner,” he said. “Think of all der. Walker left the University her own podcast, creates versity of the West of Scot- the experience and conversa- of Gloucestershire in 2017 content for brands on social land. His documentary tions you can have – assisting with a degree in TV produc- media and makes videos for Walking in My Shoes won an that exec producer, talking to tion. During his final year, he her YouTube channel. award at Ukraine’s Kaniv that camera operator.” attended the RTS Futures The next stop on the RTS International Film Festival. Castell advised students to Careers Fair and introduced Bursary virtual tour was The pair offered some talk to people working in roles himself to production com- further north, with alumni practical advice. “Do as they aspire to and work their panies. Having moved to Emma Duncan and Colin many work experiences and hardest to get there: “It’s all London, he got a job as a MacRae selling the Scottish placements as you can while about having courage, opti- runner for RDF and is now dream. Both said Scotland at uni,” said Duncan. mism and little bit of creative a shooting researcher. had a lot to offer, from BBC MacRae seconded her, licence.” He put a positive Ugochukwu, originally Scotland to STV to the wealth recalling paid work experi- spin on the pandemic, arguing from London, graduated with of production houses based ence as a location marshal, that now was the time to a degree in journalism stud- in Film City Glasgow. extra, runner and assistant explore opportunities: “Read ies from the University of Duncan graduated from on blockbuster films while those books. Do that research. Sheffield in 2019 and chose Glasgow Caledonian Univer- he was at university. Start that podcast.” to stay put. She had made sity in 2018 with a degree in Earlier in June, Dave Castell, Megan Fellows

42 Tony Orme tunes in to

RTS ThamesRTS Valley two webinars looking at new ways of making TV

ocial-distancing restrictions have had an enormous impact on productions with Sstudio audiences, explained an RTS Thames Valley Zoom event in late June. The audience is an integral part of hit ITV quiz Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? “The pro- duction has to be so sharp now without the audience Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? giving it that extra lift,” said ITV comedy and entertainment producer Adeel Amini, who has worked on the show. “Sometimes, the studio can TV without an audience feel a bit cavernous without the audience.” “There are few art forms lockdown versions and, Hindhaugh said the broad- “What I observe [with] our that rely on that live audience mostly, to my mind, quite caster had completely decon- technology is that, before, it aspect as much as comedy,” successfully.” structed its studio operations was niche, very complex and said Mark O’Sullivan, who TV psychologist Honey so that people could work expensive. But it is suddenly co-wrote and starred in Chan- Langcaster-James, who has from home: “The gallery becoming more mainstream nel 4 comedy series Lee and worked on the Channel 4 operations are driven from and a more affordable way of Dean. “What this has demon- version of Big Brother, said: people’s homes – the gallery adding virtual and augmen­ strated is how adaptable and “What we have to think is still there, but the physical ted reality elements to flexible the existing comedy about is that the audience interfaces are all across the images.” n formats are and just how hasn’t gone away; they’re still UK in people’s houses.” much innovation there is. there, just not in the room. Michael Geissler, founder Report by Tony Orme. The “It’s been fascinating “What is key is that the of Mo-Sys Engineering, webinar ‘The future of the TV watching shows such as The relationship between the which specialises in camera studio audience’ was held on Last Leg, The Mash Report, The production and the audience robotics and virtual technol- 25 June and chaired by Profes- Ranganation and Have I Got is going to change.” ogy, argued: “It’s a creative sor Lyndsay Duthie from the News For You making these BT Sport COO Jamie and exciting time. University for the Creative Arts. How to make news with your phone

n The BBC Academy’s Marc have enough memory space or quality and clarity are greatly iPhone or you can have many Settle showed the RTS how to battery capacity. Filming is one improved when lapel mics different apps. Or, as I recom- turn a smartphone into a com- of the most battery-draining with windshields are used. One mend, have a few apps, learn plete newsgathering solution. things you can do, so always other tip – keep the lens clean! how to use them and get good Mobile phones are designed make sure you have your bat- Settle reviewed apps to edit at those.’ largely for the consumer mar- teries charged or take a battery video and audio, as well as ket, so they don’t have some pack with you.’ teleprompters, and automated Report by Tony Orme. The RTS of the features professionals He demonstrated the differ- subtitle and graphics genera- Thames Valley webinar ‘Get take for granted on broadcast ence between using external tors: ‘You can stay simple and your mojo working!’ was held kit. Settle said: ‘You can never and built-in microphones. Both use the apps installed on your on 28 May.

Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2020 43 RTS NEWS How to create sound for drama

BBC One’s adaptation location. There was no bad

of Sally Rooney’s book acoustics in the room – [it Normal People was a was] carpeted and warm.”

Republic of Ireland huge hit during lock- Fanagan’s job was to “fol- down. In a late-June webinar, low the picture. The closeness RTS Republic of Ireland put and intimacy established by the spotlight on the sound of the performances, direction, the drama, made by Dublin shooting and editing all sug- indie Element Pictures. gest that we’re in that room Niall O’Sullivan recorded with them. The sound had to the location sound, which reflect that we feel we’re right Steve Fanagan mixed in post- up close with them.” production – along with added A clip of a party offered a dialogue, Foley sounds, music contrasting challenge. “Part Normal People: Connell and Marianne

and sound effects – to create BBC of my job was to build up the the final sound. Fanagan sound,” recalled Fanagan. This described his task as one of The first – Marianne and life to this scene – it’s really involved using the chatter of “creating a world, soundwise, Connell’s first romantic beautiful,” he said. “My job is the extras recorded on set, that feels truthful to the encounter in the former’s to capture the acoustic integ- crowd sounds recorded by world portrayed on screen”. family home – was recorded rity of a performance. This is actors at a later date and Two clips illustrated the by O’Sullivan with two boom the perfect example. sound from an effects library. work of the sound specialists. microphones. “There’s such “It was such a lovely Matthew Bell

And for a real belly laugh, industry in a Covid-19 world’, don’t miss Michael McIntyre’s panellist Pact CEO John McVay’s Indie shoots The YouTube fortune teller: bit.ly/ Zoom feed started misbehaving. YT-McIntyre We’re used to freezes and doc in a day UPSIDE audio delays but, in mid-session, John’s Zoom link unaccounta- n “We made it on Zoom and The lads give their bly started playing funk classic WhatsApp – we were never Zoom it again, but all at lawn footie Dream On Dreamer by the Brand in the same room as a pro- New Heavies in his earphones. duction team, thinking and with more feeling Premier League football is very Another unexpected benefit talking about what we were For most of us, the lockdown much back with us, thanks to of working from home, perhaps going to do.” Candour Produc- may be easing but the inven- Project Restart. But there is – though the Upside prefers tions creative director Anna tiveness of TV to respond to consensus that the action is Steely Dan to the Brand New Hall was talking about making those long days of quarantine better watched augmented by Heavies. Channel 4 film A Day in the Life continues to delight audiences. pre-recorded crowd noise than of Coronavirus Britain at an RTS The standout iPlayer comedy-­ with no crowd noise at all. Yorkshire webinar in June. drama Staged, starring Michael It’s an odd experience minus Graphics say it The team planned the doc Sheen and David Tennant, is the sound of fans – however louder than words in two and a half weeks – and innovative and hilarious. The two fake – as audiences hear the shot and edited it in just three actors play inflated and occa- real, though muffled, voices of The Upside is no stranger to days. It was a “flying by the sionally exasperated versions players and their managers. lengthy acceptance speeches seat of your pants experience”, of themselves as they try to Indeed, play in deserted sta- given at awards ceremonies. recalled Hall. “We had nine rehearse a stage play via Zoom. diums sounds more like a tennis But at the live-streamed people shooting across the The six episodes of Staged match than a game of football. RTS Student Television Awards, country and… people sitting in are short – between 15 and the winners not only kept their pyjamas at their kitchen 20 minutes long – but the script their thank yous crisp and to tables producing.” fizzes as the two actors struggle Video conference the point, two of the students There was an army watch- with domestic interruptions. in your dreams enhanced their gratitude by ing the footage sent in by the If you enjoyed Sky One’s The adding some very creative public and six editors piecing Trip, starring Rob Brydon and Back to Zoom. During a recent on-screen graphics. it together: “It was an incred- Steve Coogan, Staged is certain RTS webinar, ‘Back in production Once again, lockdown is the ible collaborative experience.” to bring a smile to your face. – unlocking the TV production mother of invention. Matthew Bell

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