Welcome to BBC First, the home of premium, original British drama and comedy. A new global BBC brand, BBC First celebrates humanity in all its fascinating complexity, connecting audiences around the world who are hungry for stories to challenge, immerse and entertain them – with our unique British perspective. Launching to Australian audiences first, fast and uninterrupted on Foxtel this August. INTRODUCING BBC WORLDWIDE AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND AN INSIGHT INTO BBC FIRST JON PENN, MANAGING DIRECTOR NATALIE EDGAR, DIRECTOR OF TELEVISION The BBC has always been a pioneer. From the introduction entertainment formats in this country. FMA will also be With the launch of this exciting new premium channel Saunders, David Tennant, Dawn French and Richard E of television in the UK to the innovative catch up platform producing our most enduring local format, Dancing With the BBC will be bringing you the very best original British Grant – those are just some of the great actors appearing iPlayer, from the first global live broadcast to our The Stars, in this its tenth anniversary year. drama and scripted comedy, first and uninterrupted with in our programmes. revolutionary natural history programming, we have new programmes brought to Australian audiences faster Other BBC Worldwide formats confirmed for this year are We have shows from writers like Andrew Davies, Jimmy always been at the forefront of technological and than ever before. Coast Australia series 2 produced by Great Southern TV McGovern and Paula Milne who are renowned for creating programming advances. for Foxtel’s History Channel and Living With the Enemy Fuelled by original ideas and a belief that our audiences truly groundbreaking series, and there is a fantastic array The launch of BBC First is a significant move for BBC produced by Shine for SBS. will appreciate shows that are intelligent and witty, that of directors and production talent who have delivered Worldwide in Australia. Not only are we the first country take chances and offer something different, that make programmes that are visually stunning with the highest Alongside our channels business, we also have a strong to launch this global multi-platform brand, but it will be them laugh, think and feel, BBC First will offer a huge production values. TV sales arm and a growing commercial enterprises the only place in Australia where you can see all the very breadth of programmes. division. We’ve just completed a Doctor Who Symphonic Our first local commission for BBC First exemplifies our best of British drama and comedy premiere programming Spectacular tour attended by 33,000 fans and the Top From crime to period dramas; romance, action and desire to work with the very best talent, Jimmy McGovern’s in the one place. Gear Festival at Sydney Motorsport Park with UK hosts adventure to dark psychological thrillers and from features epic seven part series is loosely inspired by events in the BBC First sits alongside our existing portfolio of channels Jeremy Clarkson and James May. to sweeping series and every configuration in between. 18th century when Britain established a penal colony on on Foxtel – BBC UKTV, BBC Knowledge, CBeebies and BBC Exciting new programmes will sit alongside big returning the other side of the world and will be co-produced by In Australia, we work with partners to bring DVDs, World News – offering a breadth of quality programming series, which will move to the channel as they become award-winning RSJ Films and See-Saw Films. magazines, digital apps and consumer products to the and making Foxtel the new home of BBC TV in Australia. available. We will be able to bring audiences many brilliant local market, as well as offering advertising opportunities I am enormously proud of BBC First and I can’t wait until British single dramas that would never usually be seen Through our industry-leading TV sales team, our for the BBC’s world renowned bbc.com news site. bbc.com audiences get the chance to see it when it comes to Foxtel by Australian viewers and we’ll be giving audiences the programmes are available on most Australian platforms. We is the eighth biggest news site in Australia and the largest in August. chance to binge with stacking throughout the day. have a second window deal with the ABC, Dancing With The international news site, with plans to become the home of Stars on Seven, natural history on Ten, Da Vinci’s Demons everything we do online. British drama production has always been a rich source of on FX, Orphan Black on SBS, Doctor Who Classics on SYFY, world-renowned, award-winning talent both in front of and Our mission is to take BBC content and British creativity to titles on iTunes, Quickflix and Fetch, and many more. behind the camera. the rest of the world. This year we will be finding new ways We recently agreed a production partnership with to delight audiences, break new ground and in our proud Emma Thompson, Daniel Radcliffe, Helena Bonham FremantleMedia Australia to produce BBC Worldwide tradition, to be the very first to do something new. Carter, Cillian Murphy, Stephen Fry, Steve Coogan, Jennifer ACTION, ADVENTURE, ROMANCE THE MUSKETEERS A THRILLING WORLD OF ACTION, unto death and committed to upholding justice. Together, face a continuing struggle to maintain order and protect values this cinematic blockbuster has already been ADVENTURE AND ROMANCE INSPIRED BY this crack team of highly trained soldiers fight for honour, the King and Queen, while outwitting the machinations of commissioned for a second series. for valour, for love, and just for the pure thrill of it. When the shadowy Cardinal Richelieu as he ruthlessly strives to DUMAS’ LEGENDARY CHARACTERS. STARRING Luke Pasqualino, Tom Burke, Santiago Cabrera, d’Artagnan arrives in Paris to avenge his father’s death achieve his vision of a modern France along with his hired Howard Charles and Peter Capaldi. On the streets of 17th century Paris, law and order is he soon impresses the three Musketeers with his bravery assassin, the beautiful but mysterious Milady de Winter. more a fledgling idea than reality, and the Musketeers, and skill, and quickly discovers kindred spirits in these The Musketeers was the highest rating drama launch on Athos, Aramis and Porthos, are far more than merely royal boisterous soldiers. In a series all about passion, loyalty, the BBC since Call the Midwife. With witty, action-packed bodyguards for King Louis XIII; they are inseparable, loyal heroism and brotherhood, d’Artagnan and the Musketeers stories, breathtaking adventure and stunning production EPIC GANGSTER PEAKY BLINDERS PEAKY BLINDERS IS AN EPIC GANGSTER revolutionaries and criminal gangs all fight for survival in the streets, and when a crate of guns goes missing from an With a soundtrack featuring music from Nick Cave and FAMILY SAGA SET IN THE LAWLESS an industrial landscape gripped by economic upheaval. arms factory, he recognises an opportunity to move up in The White Stripes, Peaky Blinders is a vibrant evocation of the world. Crime pays, but business pays better. a hedonistic age. A second series is currently being filmed. STREETS OF POST-WAR BIRMINGHAM ON Thomas Shelby and his family run the most feared and THE CUSP OF THE 1920s. powerful local gang, the Peaky Blinders. Named for their As rival gangs, Communist revolutionaries and IRA Fenians STARRING Cillian Murphy, Sam Neill, Helen McCrory and practice of sewing razor blades into the peaks of their caps, descend on Small Heath in pursuit of the weapons, Annabelle Wallis. Britain in 1919 is a tumultuous mix of despair and they make money from illegal betting, protection and the Winston Churchill dispatches a ruthless police chief from hedonism, a nation cleaned out by the extravagances black market. But Tommy’s ambitions go beyond running Belfast to impose order on an increasingly lawless city and of the Great War. Returning soldiers, newly minted recover the guns. CAPTIVATING DRAMA MOCKUMENTARY ALAN PARTRIDGE: WELCOME TO THE PLACES OF MY LIFE BURTON AND TAYLOR THE ALAN BEHIND THE EGO In this special one-off documentary, Alan treats viewers to a guided tour of his beloved Norfolk. From the offices of North Norfolk Digital, Norwich City Hall and his local THE LOVE THAT NEVER DIED… Hollywood’s most glamorous couple as they acted together newsagent to the luscious expanse of Thetford Forest, for the last time in Noel Coward’s play, Private Lives, in This captivating drama tells the tale of Hollywood’s original Alan explores the key landmarks and natural beauty spots 1983. During the tour public speculation grew about the ‘it’ couple in the twilight of their star-crossed relationship. that have shaped the man he is today. Made by Alan’s own possibility of another marriage, but in private old frictions When Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton met on the set production company, Pear Tree Productions, this is Alan’s played out once again. Beyond the alcohol, pills and the of Cleopatra, the attraction was immediate. The public take on the whole celebrity travelogue genre. But it also trappings of fame, was love the ultimate crutch that allowed was enthralled by their illicit romance, two tempestuous inadvertently pulls back the curtain and gives us a glimpse them to escape the realities of their extraordinary lives? marriages, frequent break-ups and extravagant reunions. into the life of Norwich’s finest broadcaster. Burton and Taylor tells the nostalgic, bittersweet tale of STARRING Helena Bonham Carter and Dominic West. STARRING Steve Coogan. POWER AND POLITICS THE POLITICIAN’S HUSBAND A GRIPPING DRAMA ABOUT THE own career ambitions on hold for the sake of Aiden’s encourages her to take it and together they work out a plan career at the expense of Freya and their marriage.