Television Magazine December 2020/January 2021

December 2020 -January 2021

Shondaland’s Netflix debut Television www.rts.org.uk September 2013

1

DRAMA Heartfelt confessions and last-minute reprieves. Big reveals and characters in crisis. Discover a world of drama through music and bring your story to life. SEND US YOUR BRIEF musicsearch@audionetwork.com

DISCOVER MORE audionetwork.com/discover

Journal of The Royal Television Society December 2020/January 2021 l Volume 58/1

From the CEO Farewell, then, to 2020, a year that we will all find hard to forget. What better guide to the past 12 months than the always brilliant Sir Peter Bazalgette. His review of 2020 might make you laugh and cry, as he eloquently sums up the year of Covid-19 and Black Lives Matter. Baz also recalls a tense moment on the Central Line, where he helped create the Changing Rooms format –

and a more recent remote encounter with a mystery entrepreneur’s butler. I was delighted by the inspirational and heartfelt message from the RTS’s royal patron, HRH The Prince of Wales, to the TV sector’s production workers, delivered at last month’s RTS Craft & Design Awards. HRH’s belief that the TV workforce will rebound stronger than ever from these challenging times is one we should all take to heart. We carry a full list of all the winners and nominees. Congratulations to every one of them.

Contents 5 6 7 8 10 12 15 16 18

Kate Ward’s TV Diary

There are no noisy Christmas parties to attend but, for Kate Ward, working from home is very far from quiet

Comfort Classic: Morecambe and Wise

Steve Clarke on why the duo’s Christmas shows remain unsurpassed

Ear Candy: My Life in TV

Kate Holman hears celebrities ‘bin, binge or bring back’ shows that were important to their TV journey

Working Lives: Visual effects supervisor Russell Dodgson, the VFX supervisor behind His Dark Materials, talks to Matthew Bell

Lace and lust

Shilpa Ganatra explores how Shonda Rhimes has reinvented period drama in Bridgerton for Netflix

Goodbye to all that

A year of severe challenges has given British TV its finest hour. Peter Bazalgette looks back on 2020

Our Friend in the Midlands

Kuljinder Khaila urges broadcasters to celebrate black voices from Birmingham and beyond

Standing up for the marginalised

Matthew Bell discovers there’s a mission behind the company that brings us RuPaul’s Drag Race UK

RTS Digital Convention: Start with the story Gary Davey explains Sky Studios’ approach to commissioning hits such as Chernobyl and I Hate Suzie

Editor Steve Clarke smclarke_333@hotmail.com News editor and writer Matthew Bell bell127@btinternet.com

Production, design, advertising Gordon Jamieson gordon.jamieson.01@gmail.com Sub-editor Sarah Bancroft smbancroft@me.com

Royal Television Society 3 Dorset Rise London EC4Y 8EN T: 020 7822 2810 E: info@rts.org.uk W: www.rts.org.uk

Television www.rts.org.uk December 2020/January 2021

Do read our report of the recent “Can TV save the planet?” event and this issue’s Our Friend column, written by the new RTS Midlands Chair, Kuljinder Khaila. Both have important messages for our challenging times. Finally, a happy new year to you all. I hope you get some proper downtime after a difficult year. Take care of yourselves and your families.

Theresa Wise

Cover: Bridgerton (Netflix)

20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 42

RTS Digital Convention: Culture shock

YouTube’s Cécile Frot-Coutaz describes her journey from TV creative to Europe’s foremost player in digital video

The non-fiction Netflix?

Discovery+ is a late entrant to the global streaming market, says Kate Bulkley. Can it still punch through?

PSB: Time for a radical reset

As a Government review of public service broadcasting starts, Torin Douglas outlines the key issues

PSB: In defence of truth and impartiality

A joint RTS and Media Society panel asks if the UK public service broadcasters are facing a fight for their lives

PSB: ‘Out with the old thinking’

Media grandees assess how the UK’s public service broadcasters are responding to the streamers’ success

Can TV save the planet?

A stellar panel tells RTS Futures that television companies have a vital role in combating the climate crisis

The political interview unwrapped

An RTS Christmas special event reviews gems of the genre from the 1950s to the present day

RTS Craft & Design Awards 2020

The ceremony, presented by Mim Shaikh and Anne Mensah, was streamed on 23 November

A tribute to the television workforce

HRH The Prince of Wales praises the commitment and ingenuity of TV production workers, reports Steve Clarke

Subscription rates UK £115 Overseas (surface) £146.11 Overseas (airmail) £172.22 Enquiries: publication@rts.org.uk

Printing ISSN 0308-454X Printer: FE Burman 20 Crimscott Street London SE1 5TP

Legal notice © Royal Television Society 2020. The views expressed in Television are not necessarily those of the RTS. Registered Charity 313 728

3

TV diary There are no noisy Christmas parties to attend but, for Kate Ward, working from home is very far from quiet

T

his week heralds the final week of lockdown 2, a week that would normally be the start of the Christmas party season. But this year’s end is eerily quiet. Quiet, assuming you don’t count the dulcet tones of my WFH co-workers: a six-month-old, a three-year-old and my wonderful (but very loud) husband. So far, so 2020. The day begins with a catch-up with our team in India. I first got to know the Indian TV market over a decade ago, when I helped launch MasterChef there. Today, it is a big priority for the world’s streamers, as they compete for the attention and subscriptions of an audience of over 1 billion. I joined Vice Media Group in November 2019 and was in India before the end of that year. We have an incredible team there, with several big, ambitious shows in production. ■ Today is entirely blocked off for the pleasure of viewing. This is something I try to do monthly. I catch up on all the latest episodes that Vice Studios is distributing or producing globally. I am still a total TV addict, so this is the part of my job where I have to pinch myself that I’m paid for the pleasure. It’s very time consuming but it’s important to watch multiple episodes, not just episode 1 or a teaser. When I speak to one of our teams, I

want to be aware of the whole story. Today, I saw some fantastic reporting on extreme fans and fan culture from the Vice world news team, a satanic true-crime documentary series from Vice Studios, and While the Rest of Us Die: Secrets of America’s Shadow Government from Vice TV. Drink about 10,000 cups of tea. My toddler asks me if I “made any movies today”. No pressure… ■ A call with our distribution team and final sign-off on the renewal of our partnership with SBS in Australia. We have been working together successfully for two years, but this allows us to expand and deepen our relationship. It’s a big commitment. Today, we spend an equal amount of time on the operations and workflows as we do on the content pipeline. Early on in my career in TV sales, I was told: it’s not just what you do, but how you do it. That’s so true. ■ Over lunch, I read the inevitable article about the best high-street Christmas sandwich and fleetingly consider Deliveroo-ing Pret to my house. Come to my senses and decide against it. But only just. ■ Lockdown is over and the first Covid vaccine is approved for use. Feels like a huge moment and an opportunity to fleetingly dream about a return to normal. Meet for

Television www.rts.org.uk December 2020/January 2021

a socially distanced walk with Kelly Webb-Lamb from Channel 4 in our local park. I bring along my sleeping baby for a blast of fresh air as we trade tips on what we’re watching. The day zips by in a flurry of Zoom calls and I reflect on the fact that this is the longest period in my career that I haven’t travelled. ■ Strategic planning for next year is wrapping, and I’m presenting to my colleagues on the Vice leadership team. I present a deck that could do with some design magic (one of those “I made it myself” affairs) but which contains some exciting thoughts on how we begin to drive deeper collab­oration across the whole Vice Media Group and capitalise on our IP. We start every meeting talking about what Vice content has inspired us this week. It is a great reminder of the breadth of what we do, from our advertising agency, Virtue, through to our digital brands. I pick out i-D’s 40th anniversary issue, which I’ve been reading. We are developing a show with its editorial team. It has been an incredible experience, because they really are at the cutting edge of culture and taste forming – i-D’s motto is: “Fan, not critic”. I think that’s a great rule to live by. Kate Ward is President of Vice Studios at Vice Media Group.

5

COMFORT CLASSIC Steve Clarke on why Morecambe and Wise remain unsurpassed as popular entertainers

I

6

The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show BBC

n those far-off days, when colour TV was still something of a novelty and viewers were restricted to a trio of TV channels, the two funniest people on the box were, without question, Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise. Not for nothing was Morecambe voted the funniest person of the 20th century, ahead of such other greats as Tommy Cooper and John Cleese, in an internet poll taken in 1999. Morecambe’s double act with Wise began when the two were teenagers, in 1941. Their quick-fire routines sought to “imitate the smart cross-talk and rapid one-liners of US double acts such as Abbott and Costello,” observed Simon Blackwell, whose credits include Peep Show, The Thick of It and Veep. Thirty years later, the pair had become the pre-eminent TV entertainers of the era and, on Christmas Day, half the nation would gather round the TV set to laugh out loud at their TV special. By this time, Eric and Ernie had developed something that was unique – albeit much imitated by other, lesser double acts – by reinventing the style of comedy that had inspired them. They had honed their act in the decidedly unglamorous and unforgiving world of British post-war variety theatre. When TV emerged in the 1950s, this style of entertainment was put on notice by the magic box. Unlike many of their peers, the duo had the good fortune to find a writer who could bring out the best of them in the very different setting of the TV studio – Eddie Braben, a workaholic perfectionist who understood the deadly serious business of scripting comedy. The idea of pairing Eric and Ernie with Braben came from BBC entertainment chief Bill Cotton, who put them together after they joined the corporation in 1968 from ITV. It was Braben who wrote Morecambe

and Wise’s celebrated Christmas shows, including the 1977 edition, watched by almost 28 million viewers, a record-­ breaking audience. These Christmas spectaculars were a mix of sketches, musical routines, quick visual gags and usually a play apparently written by Wise and featuring a TV star. Wise once described their style of comedy as “naughty schoolboy humour”. Yes, Ernie was the straight

man to Eric’s tomfoolery and fast talking, but their shtick transcended the normal parameters of comedy duos. There was sexual innuendo and debunking aplenty as some of the biggest stars of screen and stage queued up to join in the fun. But there was nothing to offend granny or that you would feel uncomfortable watching with a six-year-old. Glenda Jackson, not someone apparently given to suffering fools, appeared

Ear candy

Des O’Connor with Eric and Ernie

of tens of thousands, John is delighted to be sent up by Morecambe and Wise. In the show’s big production number, a pastiche of There Is Nothin’ Like a Dame, Eric and Ernie’s supporting cast is studded with TV personalities from the era – Barry Norman, Michael Parkinson and Eddie Waring, to name three. “Broad is usually the term for bawdy, basic humour, which theirs certainly wasn’t,” Rowan Atkinson once said. “But they had broad appeal… something which all the family, from the age of six to 60, could enjoy and identify with.” In our more divided age, it is hard to imagine TV comedy that can unite the nation during the stresses and strains of a family Christmas. Morecambe and Wise did that and so much more. n The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show 1975 is on BBC Two on Christmas Day. The entire series is available on DVD.

Alison Hammond

My Life in TV

B

efore Alison Hammond starts her new gig on This Morning in January, the presenter, reporter and actor is taking listeners on a trip down memory lane with some famous faces for ITV’s first branded podcast, My Life in TV. The weekly pod invites celebrity guests to discuss their own lives on television, from favourite TV moments to their childhood on-screen inspirations. The likes of Mo Gilligan, Emily Atack and AJ Odudu choose the shows they would “bin, binge or bring back” and share their personal career journeys in television. Hammond’s own path to success started with a much-loved stint in the Big Brother house, after which she established herself as a permanent fixture on daytime TV. The ITV regular is known for

Television www.rts.org.uk December 2020/January 2021

ITV

BBC

in not one but two Morecambe and Wise Christmas specials and happily agreed to be gently humiliated by the comedians. A regular on the show was the late Des O’Connor, at the time widely regarded as British TV’s “Mr Nice Guy”. The ubiquitous and always dapper Des appeared completely comfortable as the foil for Eric’s teasing. In the 1977 Christmas special, Elton John, one of the world’s biggest stars, gets lost in the labyrinth that is Tele­ vision Centre. At one point he bumps into Dad’s Army’s Captain Mainwaring – who calls him a “stupid boy” – and only gets to perform “after the show has finished”. His audience consists of two cleaning ladies – played, of course, by Eric and Ernie, like two dejected dames from the panto. Despite being ­ a rock star used to playing to audiences

hilarious interviews with Hollywood stars such as Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling, and her enthusiastic (though unsuccessful) attempt to get Meghan Markle’s attention on her first official outing with Prince Harry. This later went viral. Emily Atack shares memories of staying up late to watch female comedians such as Kathy Burke and Victoria Wood. There’s also her career-changing stint in the jungle. While Olivia Attwood, another guest, talks about the reality TV shows that inspired Olivia Meets Her Match, and Joel Dommett discusses learning on the job and his disastrous audition for The Inbetweeners. Hammond’s infectiously positive outlook on life and comforting TV anecdotes deliver the perfect nostalgiafest to lift your spirits on a dreary Monday morning. n Kate Holman

7

His Dark Materials

Visual effects supervisor

R

ussell Dodgson won both an RTS Craft & Design Award and a Craft Bafta this year for the special effects in BBC One’s His Dark Materials. By trade, he is a VFX supervisor, but is also creative director of television at the visual effects and animation studio Framestore. What do you do as a VFX supervisor? I’m responsible for all the visual effects in a show, which comes down to two main things: helping the production get the best creative use of their money on screen; and, during filming, ensuring the correct material is acquired to allow all the brilliant VFX artists to do their job. When are you brought on board a production? Increasingly, we start right at the beginning with the script, and work through production and post-production. That sounds like a long job? One series of His Dark Materials takes

8

18 months to two years of my time – it’s a big investment, so you have to love your job and the project. How did you get into VFX? I studied editing at university – my cousin is a natural history and documentary editor, and I was amazed at how he pieced together stories from animal footage. I also loved movies as a kid. I then took a detour and became a breakdancer for five years – I’ve always been fascinated by physical movement and also spent most of my youth doing martial arts. Then, I saw a DVD extra on the visual effects in Black Hawk Down. That seemed more my thing than editing, because of its connection to movement and animation. So, I went to Bournemouth University and took a master’s in VFX. What were the first effects you produced? I took another detour, and started a company with a friend who is a director of photography (DoP) to shoot movies

for architectural developments in the Middle East. I directed the lifestyle and visual-effects parts, and supervised the effects in post-production. I then landed a job at Framestore in London to build a department based around the VFX software Nuke. What was the first big project you worked on? At Framestore, I worked on commercials for a long time. My first big non-commercials job was as one of two compositors on the storybook sequence, “The Tale of the Three Brothers”, for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Commercials, because of the range of work they offer, are such a great training ground – you have to make the effects look as good as they can, often without the resources you ideally need. Eventually, I found myself wanting to move towards longer narratives and, at the time, TV drama was really coming of age. I became creative director of Framestore’s new TV division and

BBC

WORKING LIVES

Which other people and departments do you work with closely? VFX talks to everyone. We start with the script team, advising them where to be brave with effects and where to hold back. On His Dark Materials, we put a lot of resources into animating the

Brothers” for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and the animation on His Dark Materials. The latter has film-level creatures throughout, performing alongside actors, delivering plot and emotion. His Dark Materials is a grounded fantasy and the visual effects have to serve the story – your job is not to upstage the actors. This means getting the movement and performance of the creatures to sit well with the actors’ performances,

paper can fall apart when it’s used in anger: when filming, not everyone has the desire to be bogged down by technology. It’s why we use puppets rather than more technical ways to represent creatures on set – puppets offer something for the actors to perform with. What advice would you give to someone wanting to work in VFX? You have to love creating art. Watch films actively, not passively, and think

Warner Bros Pictures

my first show was Mars, Ron Howard’s docu-drama for National Geographic. I then worked on the “USS Callister” episode of Black Mirror.

‘The Tale of the Three Brothers’ in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows polar bear, Iorek Byrnison, who appears throughout the series – you wouldn’t throw in a high-value creature asset for just one sequence. We also work with: the camera crew, DoP and director; the riggers, who put up the green screens, and the gaffers, who light them; costume; the stunt teams; the production design and art departments; and the actors – they have to know how to interact with the digital creatures. What do you bring to work with you? The script and boxing gloves – at Wolf Studios in Cardiff, where we shoot His Dark Materials, there’s a gym next door. What makes a good visual effects supervisor? Soft skills – you have to know how to work with people, how to read a room, and when to hold back and when to jump in. Which work are you most proud of? Artistically, “The Tale of the Three

‘YOUR JOB IS NOT TO UPSTAGE THE ACTORS’ rather than feeling like a stuck-on visual effect. That’s the kind of work I’m proud of, not making big things explode. But when there’s a need for explosions – do you prefer real or digital? A real explosion, always, unless it’s unrealistic or unsafe. What are the best and worst parts of the job? The best is being around people who are brilliant at what they do; the worst is that it takes me away from my family. Are there any tricks of the trade you can share with us? Technical solutions aren’t necessarily best – what sounds bulletproof on

Television www.rts.org.uk December 2020/January 2021

about why a particular shot affects your emotions. Buy a camera, take photos and work out what you like. If you are coming from a science background, make sure the televisual or filmic output of your work justifies your science knowledge. Art or science? VFX is such a broad area, so you can be entirely artistic and not worry about the science. You can also be entirely science-driven and write VFX software. I come more from an arts background, other colleagues at Framestore are pure physicists. Personally, I love storytelling and VFX offers me a way of telling stories. What would you love to work on? Before His Dark Materials, I would have said that, because I loved the books. Now, it’s enough for me to work with talented people. n Visual effects supervisor Russell Dodgson was interviewed by Matthew Bell.

9

Netflix

Bridgerton

A

Lace and lust

s television’s great disruptor, if Netflix is to take on a Regency period drama, expect it to try and reinvent the form. Enter Bridgerton, the streaming service’s Christmas big-hitter and a fresh take on the decades-old style. For all the show’s traditional draws, such as the opulence of the debutante season, high-society scandal and growls of “I demand satisfaction”, a modern-­day sensibility has been smartly woven throughout. “I love a good period piece, but they’re often considered a little conservative. So, from the beginning, I wanted to make the period show I’ve always wanted to see,” says the series showrunner Chris Van Dusen. “The themes we’re exploring are set in the 19th century, but the stories and the characters are universal, which is how we get to explore some modern, relatable issues on the show.”

10

Shilpa Ganatra explores how Netflix has reinvented period drama in Bridgerton, the first fruit of its tie-up with Shonda Rhimes Bridgerton is inspired by Julia Quinn’s best-selling novels, which follow the courtship fortunes of eight well-to-do siblings. This series focuses on Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor), who is singled out as Queen Charlotte’s (Golda Rosheuvel) pick of the debutantes. When that doesn’t have the intended effect on her desirability, Daphne forms a pact with a steadfast bachelor, the Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page), in the hope it will attract other suitors, including Prince Friederich (Freddie Stroma). But things don’t go to plan. The set-up might sound true to its

genre, but the show delves deeper to uncover relatable stories: the frustration of illicit love, family tensions and the constraint of circumstance are all unpicked. That’s a forte of production company Shondaland, set up by Shonda Rhimes (the mastermind behind Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder). Bridgerton is the first production to emerge from Shondaland’s reported $150m (£112m) deal with ­Netflix. “With Bridgerton, you get a daring take on love and relationships in 19th-century London, but you also get everything that comes along with being a Shondaland show,” says Van Dusen. “These are smart, funny, tortured characters figuring out who they are.” Much about the show stays true to Regency history. An etiquette advisor was on set to get the details right, and location shooting included Bath, London, Hatfield House and Wilton House. But the tone and pace are atypical. There are tongue-in-cheek one-liners,

Bridgerton it. We worked with Lizzy Talbot, an incredible intimacy coordinator, and her insights were invaluable. I’m so glad that this role is becoming more and more commonplace on sets.” Certainly, the female viewpoint that runs throughout the series is bang up to date. Up until now, period pieces showed feminism through the creation of feisty ladies and strong matriarchs. But, more realistically, Bridgerton portrays the stifled ambition of the women of that era: the ones who are shunned for unfair reasons (such as the Featheringtons’ pregnant cousin, Marina Thompson), the ones who plainly see the injustice of their inequality (the academic Eloise Bridgerton), and, most painfully, the ones who try to make the best of the limited parameters that society offers them, like Daphne Bridgerton and even her rival, Cressida Cowper. “What we’re really exploring here is the female plight, and we’re seeing how women of all ages have been strategising ways to assert themselves and find their agency for generations,” says Van Dusen. “Women were literally tied into these corsets, but they still wanted to bust out of them and find their agency, just as they do today. “Underneath all the glamour, there is a modern commentary about how, in the past 200 years, everything has changed, but nothing has changed. “I think that goes for both women and men. We’re exploring things such as family, relationships and dating. Instead of Tinder and dating apps, they just swipe left and right in the most

Television www.rts.org.uk December 2020/January 2021

Netflix

and the series shows off a reimagined wardrobe (every piece was made ­specifically for the show, with Ellen Mirojnick leading the costume depart­ ment). The soundtrack includes classical versions of hit songs from Ariana Grande and Shawn Mendes, among others, because, “when Daphne Bridgerton walks into a big ballroom and hears a song and is filled with excitement and spirit, I wanted whoever’s watching to feel the very same thing”. A key update to the genre is the diversity of the cast, most visually in its ethnic make-up. Following on from films such as The Personal History of David Copperfield, Bridgerton has progressed from the idea that period pieces require an all-white cast. “We knew we wanted to make the show reflect the world that we live in today,” says Van Dusen. “We wanted modern audiences to see themselves reflected on screen, no matter who they are. “Having worked in Shondaland ever since Grey’s Anatomy, it’s what we do there. But I don’t refer to the casting as colour-blind – that would imply that colour and race aren’t considered. They’re a part of the conversation, just like class and gender. “This is a reimagined world. It’s not a history lesson, and there weren’t any actual real Bridgertons in 1813. But I became aware of a Queen Charlotte being England’s first queen of mixed race, and many historians firmly believe there’s evidence for that today. “It made me wonder, what could that play out like? What could have happened? Could she have elevated other people of colour in society and given them titles and lands? The idea of the Duke of Hastings was born out of that.” Another update is an unapologetic attitude to sex. While Downton Abbey was largely a family-friendly watch, and the 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice proved steamy as Colin Firth exits a lake in fine style, neither can prepare us for Daphne’s sexual awakening midway through Bridgerton. “With the intimate scenes, we approached them from the female gaze first and foremost,” says the showrunner. “Then, it was much like an action sequence: the scenes were heavily choreographed, heavily rehearsed, and involved lots of conversations. “It was about making sure actors felt comfortable and leaving it up to them with however far they wanted to take

glamorous ballrooms imaginable until the early-morning hours. “Also, the power of the written word is something we explore through Lady Whistledown (the anonymous newsletter writer, narrated by Julie Andrews). She’s our one-woman Regency tabloid, and we see how she shifts public opinion and affects people with her stories, just like tabloids and social media do today.” Reinventing the genre didn’t come without its challenges, as each traditional element of TV period pieces was singled out, interrogated and reinterpreted, if needed, with precision and subtlety. It took three years from the moment Shonda Rhimes first turned Van Dusen on to Quinn’s stories, to Bridgerton’s release, and “there was nothing easy about the show”, he says. But airing it on Christmas Day makes a bold statement about how much of a disruptor Netflix is, since the day is normally reserved for failsafe linear shows such as EastEnders, Britain’s Got Talent, Strictly and, indeed, The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast. “I think it was a very smart move on Netflix’s part,” says Van Dusen. The Shondaland partnership will continue to bear fruit in 2021 with Inventing Anna, a 10-part series about the Russian con artist who duped high-flyers in New York. And while it’s yet to be confirmed, it’s a sure bet that another of the Bridgerton books will turn into a series 2 in due course. Someone please pass the smelling salts. n

11

Shutterstock

Goodbye to all that March: ‘Go home. Stay home’

JANUARY

“Great fears of the Sicknesse here in the City, it being said that two or three houses are already shut up. God preserve us all.” The very first mention of the plague in The Diary of Samuel Pepys, on 30 April 1665. Fast forward 355 years and there’s this on 11 January on the ITV News site: “Health authorities in the central Chinese city of Wuhan are reporting the first death from a new type of coronavirus.” Pepys had a sense of foreboding, but we’re gloriously blithe about this. Another Sars or Ebola, something that happens to folk elsewhere. It’ll be another six weeks before the truth begins to dawn, even though the virus is already silently among us. The greatest disruption to our lives since the Second World War will severely challenge the broadcast sector. But also give rise to our finest hour.

FEBRUARY

The Government conducts its post-­ election reshuffle. The Kremlinologists seek clues as to future policy direction. Nicky Morgan retires from DCMS (a loss) and, alarmingly, gives the reason that female politicians are trolled so viciously online that they fear for their families.

12

Covid-19 and the murder of George Floyd presented the TV sector with severe challenges but led to its finest hour. Peter Bazalgette looks back on 2020 Sajid Javid remains as Chancellor, which is a plus since he understands media. But only for five minutes, as he refuses to let Dominic Cummings choose his Spad. At DCMS, Oliver Dowden is made Secretary of State. Does he watch Emmerdale, Fleabag, Gogglebox, The Yorkshire Vet and Chernobyl? We have no idea, but many politicians only watch the news… when they’re on it. The interesting appointment is Whitto, back as media minister. A man who really does watch TV and understands PSB. They say he has a pipe dream of privatising Channel 4 and taking away the BBC’s exclusive use of the licence fee. What can it all mean?

MARCH

Things begin to move fast. At ITV, Caro­lyn McCall recommends home working on 12 March and makes it mandatory on 17 March. We’re being told advertising may fall by 40% in April (and it does). The worst ever monthly fall up to then had been 17%, at one point in 2009. This is a national shock. But as we work through these doomsday scenarios, we have a much greater concern, along with our PSB colleagues. Can we keep our news and daytime shows on air? Can we ration our soap transmissions to maintain them in the schedule for as long as possible? (Yes and yes.) Then, on 23 March, Britain’s total lockdown is announced. We have to promote essential public messages. We must continue to scrutinise an, at times, faltering government performance. And perhaps most important of all, we need to give the nation the shot in the arm it is expecting from our drama and entertainment. We manage all of this. And Clap for Carers starts on 26 March, becoming a recurring live event for TV. Memo to Westminster: programmes made by us, about us and for us. It’s called public service broadcasting

and it turns out that it’s a distinctly 21st-century concept.

APRIL

Everyone’s at home and the gentle erosion of live viewing speeds up in a matter of days. Good for Netflix but also for iPlayer, ITV Hub and All 4. For instance, it’s in April that the BBC’s Normal People is streamed 22 million times in a week. But “live” also shows some resilience: ITV gets almost 5 million viewers for a Virtual Grand National. And we learn Zoom one-upmanship. A cacophony of cats, dogs, Hoovers and kids are paraded. Some folk, it is said, are suddenly buying books by the yard to furnish their intellectual credentials. But my prize for effortless insouciance goes to the entrepreneur I’m on a video call with, whose butler silently prepares his lunch in the background, entirely unacknowledged. We’re all front-of-camera now.

Britain Get Talking is one of ITV’s social-action campaigns, aimed at promoting mental health. We’ve long been planning a drive to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week. But our special advertisements, spearheaded by Ant and Dec, encouraging us all to reach out to people outside our inner circles, take on a whole new significance. Britain is locked down. Will you overcome your natural reserve and talk to that neighbour who lives on their own? Has that pensioner, too frightened to go to the shops, got anyone delivering food for them? Britain does indeed get talking. And then, on 25 May, in a far away American town, a man is killed by the police. The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis turns out to be the second unheralded event of the year that affects us all…

JUNE

Black Lives Matter protests take off in the UK. There are flashpoints, such as the pulling down of Edward Colston’s statue in Bristol. But something more profound occurs in all workplaces. People of colour are empowered to say how they feel about years of casual discrimination. And perhaps we listen properly for the first time. This is more acute for broadcasters. We say our programmes reflect the nation. But do we really, from top to

May: Black Lives Matter in the UK bottom of our organisations? We know the answer is no. ITV shortly responds by being the first FTSE 100 company to put someone on the management board specifically charged with access and diversity policy. And all broadcasters will celebrate Black History Month imaginatively later in the year. But we have a long way to go.

a day per person. Yet this could take more than £250m out of TV advertising. This is money that ITV and others invest in news and entertain­ment. We have campaigns for healthy eating, we promote the message in our daytime shows and soaps. We believe we’re part of the answer, not part of the problem. Sigh.

JULY

AUGUST

The death toll from Covid rises, month by month. It becomes clear that people who are obese are particularly vulnerable. The Prime Minister’s prior admission to St Thomas’s underlines this. He’s emerged admirably determined to increase Government efforts to combat obesity. Unfortunately, this soon descends to gesture politics and the Government announces its intention to ban so-­called HFSS ads (for food and drink high in fat, salt or sugar) from TV before 9:00pm. Multiple studies, some carried out by Ofcom, have demonstrated that banning ads won’t move the dial (lengthy and determined intervention with deprived families is the answer, but has always been on the too-difficult shelf). The Government’s own “evidence”, such as it is, suggests that a ban will only deliver a reduction of about 1.7 calories

Television www.rts.org.uk December 2020/January 2021

PA

MAY

This is the month that the BBC bites the bullet and ends free TV licences for the over-75s. There’s a chorus of disapproval from politicians, though they know full well that George Osborne, then Chancellor, specifically gave the BBC the latitude to decide this. It becomes open season on the BBC’s funding generally, a full seven years before the current Charter expires. It may be that the licence-fee system is out of place in the streaming digisphere. Other possibilities are a household media levy or monies directly from taxation. But, whatever we finally settle on, let’s ensure that the BBC receives hypothecated funding: voluntary ­subscription will diminish it. Surely, it would be a positive thing for our society to commit to such a confident investment in critical social content? �

13

SEPTEMBER

� I learn about an augmented-reality app for children being developed by the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum, which they plan to launch the following month. The kids can care for dinosaurs, and even create their own robots to do the work. The museums are continuing to serve their audiences, even as they’re forced to remain closed. The project has funding from UK Research and Innovation (on whose board I sit), overseen by Andrew Chitty, formerly of Granada and the BBC. And the app is produced by Factory 42, run by John Cassy, late of Sky. Thus two expats from tellyland are helping the screen industries define their future. The funding comes from the Creative Industries Sector Deal. It’s good to be reminded that the reimagining of our wider sector is full of rich possibilities.

OCTOBER

Channel 4 announces that it is reviving Changing Rooms. This is not my first “drowning-man-flashback” experience, as formats that I had a hand in long ago, in the pre-Covid 1990s, get pulled out of cold storage. Ready Steady Cook and Food & Drink have already risen from the grave. It’s more and more difficult to launch new formats (hats off to The Repair Shop, a notable exception). So, recognised brands are much in demand.

14

If we want to find more new formats we need shrewd briefs from commissioners, willing creative teams and scary deadlines. In 1995, Michael Jackson (the controller of BBC Two) challenged me to do for interiors what we’d done for food with Ready Steady Cook. I and Ann Booth-Clibborn then got on the Tube with an idea to pitch at the BBC. I asked: “Does this format suck?” She said, “Er, actually, yes.” I said: “We have eight stops to think of something else.” At Holland Park, out of sheer panic, I asked her, “What would it be like if we got neighbours to swap houses to do up a room next door?” I wonder whether I’ve imagined all this. But Ann and I are still in touch and she tells me those febrile exchanges on the Central Line really did happen.

NOVEMBER

I love a general election (I’ll even watch reruns of the 1955 election in black and white on iPlayer… all 12 hours of it). So I’m glued to American media on 3 November. It’s distressing how the crooked enterprise that is the Trump presidency, ably amplified by Fox News, has lured CNN and The New York Times into being just as polemical against Donald Trump. Then, when Fox tries to go straight by calling Arizona (correctly) for Biden, Trump’s cult followers peel off

to hitherto obscure cable channels Newsmax and One America News Network. There, Trump has always “won” the election. And they also desert Twitter and Facebook where, albeit belatedly and ineffectively, they are qualifying Trump’s baseless assertions of electoral fraud. They find a home at Parler and Rumble, sites with no such scruples. Welcome to confirmation bias in the internet age. Trusted and reliable public service news, anyone? The next front is anti-vaxxers…

DECEMBER

And so we come to the end of this plague year. Charmingly, the House of Commons holds an adjournment debate to mark the 60th anniversary of Coronation Street. So they do watch the soaps! Production of drama and other location-based shows had completely ceased for many months. But 85% are now back shooting. Advertisers return, too – the soothsayers in the City and media gulch are currently predicting a decline of around 10% to 12% for the year. Unprecedented, but a recovery from that 40% figure in the spring. A happy Christmas bubble to you all. And let’s hope for a post-vaccination economy in 2021. n Peter Bazalgette is Chair of ITV and a UKRI board member.

Reuters

Thursday evenings: clapping for carers

OUR FRIEND IN THE

MIDLANDS

B

Kuljinder Khaila urges broadcasters to celebrate black voices from Birmingham and beyond

Kuljinder Khaila

arring an unexpec­ ted – but probably unsurprising – large asteroid impact, the most tumultuous year in living mem­ ory is finally limping to its end. At this time of year, we would normally compile a review or two but who wants to relive 2020? It seems the biblical equestrian quartet has been riding roughshod for months; countless losses and the unending upheaval of the pandemic; acts of violent racism; raging wild­ fires, floods and even a locust plague in East Africa. As a result, we’ve all changed this past year. In our impatience to get back to the world we left, we shouldn’t forget those events that forced us to rethink, re-evaluate and, at times, reset. I was fortunate enough to be able to make time during lockdowns to explore how we work, the missed opportunities and note which impor­ tant issues have been overlooked. As the incoming Chair of RTS Mid­ lands, I have a renewed sense of pur­ pose. My inbox already has pressing questions to answer: n How do we help the generation of future storytellers who have seen their opportunities washed away while singing happy birthday twice? n How do we ensure black voices from the region are not only heard but highlighted and celebrated? n Why are working-class stories in the Midlands passed by as we march towards the old red wall in the North? n How can we become more robust, so that our good intentions are not lost in talk? The RTS Midlands Committee is an erudite and vibrant bunch, which reflects a wide range of views from a very diverse region.

The team has already begun work on a new-entrants-to-the-screen initiative. The aim is to help young people navigate a much-changed landscape. We are fortunate to have a sister school to Birmingham Ormiston Academy, the BOA Stage & Screen, opening in 2021. It will be the latest of several measures addressing the region’s screen-skills gap. Building bridges with tomorrow’s talent via regional colleges, universi­ ties and – just as importantly – youth groups, has become an RTS priority. It is pointless to collectively embrace rhetoric concerning race and class without a plan to make a real differ­ ence. Working with the BBC’s director of creative diversity, June Sarpong, is the first step towards addressing the concerns raised in the region.

Television www.rts.org.uk December 2020/January 2021

The BBC wants a better representa­ tion of diversity in its productions. The Midlands can offer meaningful solutions. Steve McQueen’s Small Axe was partly filmed in Wolverhampton. Tiger Aspect’s Man Like Mobeen was shot in Birmingham. Both benefited from initiatives to find diverse crews, but much more work in this area is necessary. Forging partnerships between the production sector and broadcasters around oppor­ tunities for greater diversity will begin in early 2021. Throughout the past year, the Mid­ lands screen sector has been stub­ bornly growing. RTS Midlands will renew its support for fledgling, but ambitious, new independent produc­ tion companies such as Leicester­ shire-based Matriarch Productions, founded by Hannah Walters and Ste­ phen Graham; or Adil Ray’s new pro­ duction outfit in Birmingham that will be working on new perspectives in unexpected genres. Like many independents in the region, they want to tell stories that are often overlooked and made by talent who need a spotlight to shine. Their ambitions define the Midlands. And I haven’t even mentioned two of the most impactful recent develop­ ments in the Midlands: Create Central, the collective voice of the screen sec­ tor, which aims to drive investment in the region, and the exciting, Steven Knight-led studio development that could prove to be a game changer. As we bid a profanity-laden farewell to the past year, we begin to look forward with an invigorating level of optimism. Bring on 2021. n Kuljinder Khaila is executive producer of the BBC Young Reporter journalism and media project and incoming Chair of RTS Midlands.

15

Standing up for the marginalised Matthew Bell discovers there’s a mission behind the company that brings us RuPaul’s Drag Race UK

16

RuPaul

VH1

T

elevision glitter should lift many spirits brought low by this year’s Christ­ mas comedown as RuPaul’s Drag Race UK returns for a second series in January. Good news for fans of the raucous and rude BBC Three show – and for the people that make it. Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey met at NYU film school in the mid1980s, performed as a gloriously camp electro-pop duo, The Fantastic Pop Tarts, and went on to found World of Wonder Productions in 1991. Many of its early productions, such as Channel 4’s fondly remembered The Adam and Joe Show, were made from its offices in Brixton, south London. But World of Wonder began to focus on the American market and its success has been built on the back of the phenom­ enal – and multiple Emmy Award-­ winning – RuPaul’s Drag Race in the US. Are TV and drag the perfect match? Bailey thinks so. At an RTS event in London late last year, he persuasively argued that drag queens and the telly go together “like peanut butter and jelly”. A year later, from his Los Angeles base, he says: “The thing about the small screen is that you want to make a big impact. That is definitional to drag; it is about walking into a crowded room and turning heads. It is about compel­ ling people to watch you.” Judged by the longevity of RuPaul’s Drag Race, which completed its 12th series in the US earlier this year and is growing overseas, Bailey is clearly on to something. The reality competition show has brought glam and glitter to

Television www.rts.org.uk December 2020/January 2021

“We try to make what we want to watch in the hope that enough people will want to watch it. And, because of that, we are freed of the nightmarish pursuit of trying to be all things to all people.” WOW Presents Plus, he continues, “is our way of creating an extended family of like-minded souls. It’s also been a place where we can experiment and incubate things.” As befits a company whose origins lie in managing Bailey and Barba­ to’s 1980s band, World of Won­ der’s portfolio extends beyond TV. Earlier this year, it launched a theatrical extravaganza, RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! Las Vegas, at the city’s Flamingo hotel and casino; this month, it releases the first album from The Frock Destroyers, who are Divina de Campo, Blu Hydrangea and Baga Chipz from the first series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. “We like to experiment,” says Barbato. “There’s always the chance of falling flat on our faces, but it does make life interesting.” Next up, after a coronavirus-in­ duced delay, is the return of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. With the same team of regular judges, Michelle Visage, Alan Carr and Graham Norton – and more queens and episodes – World of Won­ der is hoping to repeat the runaway critical and ratings success of the first series. The BBC is clearly optimistic, having already ordered a third series. Shooting on the second series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK was suspended during the spring lockdown, “With closed borders, international quaran­ tines and national lockdowns, it was an interesting challenge, spanning the better part of eight months,” recalls Bailey. “I think this period has been difficult for everyone and we hope season 2 will make everyone feel ‘much betta’ as Baga would say.” Summing up the secret of the show’s success, Bailey adds: “From Shakespeare to the pantomime, drag has always had a strong tradition in the UK. But, of course, it’s not just in the UK. We have found that, all over the world, there are armies of queens ready to bewitch and bedazzle audiences with their talents. “It’s about the courage, perseverance, and conviction of the queens, and that appeals to everyone’s capacity for empathy and compassion. Well, almost everyone [except] the loser of the recent US election.” n Movi/World of Wonder

Thailand, Canada and the Netherlands, cruel indifference to the Aids epidemic,” and will shortly add Spain. says Barbato. “Now that we [have RuPaul’s Drag Race began life on a US been] in the same situation again with gay pay-channel, before graduating to Trump and Covid, Wojnarowicz’s voice entertainment channel VH1 – and then and work deserves amplification.” to other mainstream channels world­ Despite the success of its SVoD plat­ wide. “While you can never predict form, World of Wonder remains com­ what will connect with an audience, mitted to linear-TV. “We love that we we always hoped it would, because we can work with broadcasters alongside firmly believe that the appeal of drag is our own offering – with many viewers universal – young and old, gay and finding their way to WOW Presents Plus straight,” says Barbato. through discovering our shows on their “We have been thrilled to see the [show] grow both in the US and internationally, and shine a light on the culture of drag that exists in every country.” But there is much more to World of Wonder than RuPaul’s Drag Race. The SVoD service WOW Presents Plus, which launched in November 2017, offers Drag Race and its spinoff shows, UNHhhh, Fashion Photo RuView, Werq the World and God Shave the Queens. The latter, a doc­ umentary series about the tour that followed the first outing of Randy Barbato (left) RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, began its first and Fenton Bailey run on BBC Three last month. WOW Presents Plus, which claims to be the world’s leading regular, go-to broadcasters in their LGBTQ+ streaming platform, “is going respective countries, and then expand­ gangbusters”, says Bailey. “We have ing their World of Wonder journey doubled our subscribers year on year. through the platform,” says Bailey. [It] enables us to have a creative space, If they were prepared to sell, World as well as housing all our shows in of Wonder would presumably make one place.” Bailey and Barbato a heap of dollars, Beyond its drag output, World of but the duo are not tempted to cash in. Wonder makes documentaries about “What we love most of all is being able serious subjects. Out of Iraq tells how to do exactly what we want to do. We a US Marines translator and an Iraqi like being able to roll the dice and take soldier found love during war, while risks. It’s really what keeps things Stonewall Outloud recounts the story interesting, so I don’t think we would of the 1969 riots when patrons of a sell,” says Bailey. Manhattan gay bar, the Stonewall Where do they see World of Wonder Inn, fought back against the New in 10 years’ time? Peering into his York police. crystal ball, Barbato says: “One of Ru’s Barbato rejects my suggestion that favourite words is ‘stick-with-it-ness’, its documentary output is somehow and that ability to keep going and more worthy than its drag shows: refuse to go away is what gets us out “Please don’t misunderstand: drag is of bed in the morning. So, in 2030, we serious. Fun, yes, but serious fun. It hope people will be watching Drag Race attacks prejudice and raises up the Uranus, assuming that humanity hasn’t marginalised. And that’s very much succeeded in wiping itself out – which our mission in life.” is, admittedly, a big assumption.” World of Wonder’s most recent doc­ More seriously, Barbato believes that umentary, produced by Barbato and World of Wonder’s independence gives Bailey and directed by Chris McKim, it an edge in a TV landscape increasingly chronicles the life of New York artist dominated by big producers. “While David Wojnarowicz. “Less well-known algorithms are great for the ‘McDonald­ than Warhol or Mapplethorpe, artists sification’ of content, the more things whom we have also made documenta­ become the same, the more people ries about, Wojnarowicz was an out­ crave something different – and that’s spoken critic of the US government’s why we’re here.

17

RTS DIGITAL CONVENTION 2020

18

Gary Davey

Sky

T

his is my perfect job.” During more than 40 years in television, Gary Davey has worked across the board – from taking charge of all content and creative services at Sky Germany, to being the CEO of Hong Kong-based Star TV. But it is only now, as CEO of Sky Studios, that he feels like he is in his dream role: as “the gamekeeper turned poacher – having been a broadcaster all my life and now being a supplier”. Davey was in conversation with journalist Kirsty Wark as part of the RTS Digital Convention 2020. Wark had provoked his admission by asking if his current role appealed to him because “you get to work with small companies, vision stuff, but you also get to be that small-time creator who looks at a script”. Davey agreed that his remit was ideal, but he also noted the unique and unforeseen situation: “I couldn’t have picked a more challenging year to do it in!” The Covid-19 lockdowns have seen many people turn to on-screen entertainment to pass their time stuck inside, with a surge in both linear-TV and streaming compared with last year. Davey admitted a few of the guilty pleasures he had discovered during lockdown, including some from competitors, such as Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit. “And of course, the one show that everybody’s currently obsessed about, HBO’s The Undoing.” Reflecting on some of Sky’s newer programmes, including the comedy Brassic and drama Gangs of London, Davey acknowledged some hesitation following the success of the award-­ winning series Chernobyl. It was, he said, such a “tough act to follow. I mean, I remember trying to pitch the idea to my bosses. It was like – you want to make a drama out of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster? Really? But, having read the script, I mean, Craig Mazin just created a masterpiece with that script.” Wark wondered if he had shared her early concern about how viewers would find anything on the streaming services that have taken the world by storm: “I remember when this was kicking off, and it was, ‘Oh, people will never be able to find their way between Amazon, Netflix, Peacock and Sky.’” Davey said he welcomed the competition: “We present Netflix shows in our user interface, alongside BBC, ITV

It all starts with the story Gary Davey, CEO of Sky Studios, outlines his approach to commissioning standout shows such as Chernobyl, Gangs of London and I Hate Suzie and Sky shows, because it’s all about the customer experience, right? And so, Sky shows have to compete… and the customer decides. “It’s the most incredible, powerful, dangerous democracy that God ever created and it’s brutal. Our customers will abandon shows quickly if they don’t like them. So, it really keeps us on our toes, both in what we’re choosing to make and how we make it.” However, predicting the popularity of a show is far from easy. Big names can help attract audiences. Wark pointed

out that “Net­flix has signed Harry and Meghan [Markle], and we have Amazon and Phoebe [Waller-Bridge].” Davey said that Sky Studios had not done any deals with on-camera talent at all – out of choice, because he believed that “the idea of a talent deal is dangerous”. “What matters first is the story,” Davey insisted. “Then, finding the right people – the writers, producers, directors, cinematographers and [only then] on-camera talent to fit the story. It might be an old-­fashioned approach,

Sky

I Hate Suzie

but I think it’s the one that works best.” He continued: “We much prefer an organic approach to development, where we start with the story outline and spend an enormous amount of time getting scripts right, working closely with great writing teams.” Davey enthused about actor Billie Piper being a “perfect match” for I Hate Suzie writer Lucy Prebble’s vision for her show, but said he would not have wanted to start from a position of “having to find a project for Billie – it just doesn’t make sense to me”. He said he would rather find the right actor for a brilliant story. Davey explained his view on “the really tricky balance” of creative freedom: Sky might have many conversations at the script development phase, but, once production had started, “you have to have enormous trust in your director and the rest of the team.… I very rarely visit sets – I don’t think it is constructive.” While Sky did not do talent deals, Wark noted that it had taken stakes in independent producers, such as Bad Wolf, maker of His Dark Materials. Davey explained that Sky Studios “took a very, very small equity piece” alongside HBO

‘THE IDEA OF A TALENT DEAL IS DANGEROUS’ in Bad Wolf. “We had a very simple motivation. It’s called proximity. Sky [does not have] the right to stop them from doing what they think makes sense for their company. However, we have a proximity to the Bad Wolf team that is really helpful to both of us.” Wark asked if Sky had a first-look deal with Bad Wolf or other indies. “Only in a very vague, soft way.… They are independent companies that need to make shows for everyone. And we want to encourage them to be successful.” Davey clarified that Sky Studios was not actively seeking more such relation­ships, “but never say never. We are highly opportunistic”. Which is not a word that could be used to describe its commitment to build a 11-hectare studio complex in Elstree, Hertfordshire. The 12 sound stages will open in 2022 and support some 1,500 production jobs. Davey said that Sky and its owner, Comcast, had

Television www.rts.org.uk December 2020/January 2021

both been getting nervous about the supply of sound stages for their growing needs – and, indeed, about the availability of craft skills in general. “We think that there’s going to be a significant deficit in all of the crafts, all the way from painters, carpenters, electricians, grips… So, we will be investing in full-time employment and… to make sure that we’ve got a pipeline of young people coming through in all of the crafts – it’s really important.” Wark said that this had been a really tough year for freelancers and Davey agreed. When the coronavirus crisis struck, Sky Studios suspended 29 productions. “If you take that 29 and ­multiply it by the hundreds of people who are typically attached to a series production, it’s an enormous number of people.” Some shooting recommenced in June. “We’re back in full flight,” said Davey. He expected the very detailed production planning that made that possible to remain a strong feature of the way that TV was made from now on. He accepted that “there may be some negative by-products of that, because, sometimes, the true genius of production comes out of thinking or seeing something [on set] that you might not have done in a planning meeting.” He also expected technology to continue transforming production, with “studio walls of LED screens showing backgrounds generated by a games engine. You will be able to have mobility inside a virtual world, which opens up almost infinite creative opportunities for spatial creation.” But Davey brought the focus back to the human element in production – and particularly the mental health challenges that many currently face. “We will have a rethink about how we deal with our freelance community,” he said. “When you say to a young person, look, you need to go home and self-isolate for 14 days, because someone you were working with has had a positive test – what happens to them? Who’s taking care of them? That is still a gap that we have yet to address.” n Report by Omar Mehtab. Gary Davey, who is retiring as CEO of Sky Studios in summer 2021, was in conversation with Kirsty Wark. The event was part of the RTS Digital Convention 2020, sponsored by YouTube. The producer was Helen Scott.

19

RTS DIGITAL CONVENTION 2020

20

Cécile Frot-Coutaz

RTS

C

écile Frot-Coutaz, head of YouTube, EMEA, has urged broadcasters to form more partnerships with the Google-­owned platform, which this summer was revealed to be the third most-watched video service in the UK after the BBC and ITV. Speaking at the RTS Digital Convention, the former Fremantle CEO emphasised that her company had plenty of evidence to show that legacy platforms seeking young audiences would be smart to cement their ties with the video-sharing platform. She recalled the challenge of relaunching American Idol in the US on ABC in 2017, when she was at Fremantle, which also makes The X Factor. “We had a 360-degree social media strategy, which led to more young people than ever watching the show,” Frot-Coutaz said. Her interviewer, Jane Turton, CEO of All3Media, posed the question: should ITV and the BBC embrace the platform and work with YouTube? Most definitely, Frot-Coutaz replied, referencing data that showed an unnamed French broadcaster boosting its audience by around 6 million 18- to 24-year-olds thanks to its presence on YouTube. “These young people don’t watch the service’s TV channel,” she explained. “Those numbers are not about to change.” She added: “There are markets, not the mature ones, where YouTube is used very much as a VoD service for long-form content. “I’d encourage broadcasters to experiment by launching series on YouTube and examine the data so they understand what works.” Sixty per cent of the audience that watched the Eifel Grand Prix in October, when it was streamed live by YouTube in seven European countries, were young people, she said, adding: “My message to broadcasters is, ‘See what works for you on YouTube. Try it out.’” Over this fascinating session, FrotCoutaz, who left Fremantle in 2018 to

Culture shock YouTube’s Cécile Frot-Coutaz describes her journey from TV creative to Europe’s foremost player in digital video join the Google-owned platform, made it clear how, after leading a TV production company, being employed by YouTube came as something of a culture shock. “In a vast number of ways, it’s very different to working in TV.… YouTube speaks a different language.… The first thing that hits you are the acronyms.… “What strikes most people when they come in from outside is how collaborative the culture is. Collaboration is almost hardwired into the structure, but also the tools.… For any given initiative, you can’t make any

progress if you haven’t aligned cross-­ functionality.” Within any Google-owned company, teams containing experts from different disciplines collaborate. Frot-Coutaz said this approach delivered a high level of creativity because it was essential to listen to colleagues’ viewpoints: “It’s quite tough when you come in from outside, because those structures are not necessarily visible immediately. It takes a little while to understand how to operate in what is quite a fluid and ambiguous environment.” She said it took her 18 months to

Jane Turton make that connection as rich and interactive as possible.” She praised the platform’s young content creators, such as the UK’s beauty influencer Patricia Bright, for “the richness of their creativity”, emphasising the high levels of engagement between them and their followers. “They are digital-first creators, and they might do something for TV, but it is not their goal. Broadcasters still try to be a big tent whereas YouTube creators are a bit niche,” noted Frot-Coutaz. Seventy per cent of YouTube views come from mobile devices. However, the platform was evolving as, increasingly, YouTube was being watched on big screens. “For us, the implications of that are interesting,” she said. What kind of material was being seen on TV sets – content produced by PSBs or all sorts of things? “It’s a combination.… During lockdown, we’re finding there’s a lot of family viewing.” Regarding news and information, not surprisingly, health had come to the fore – fitness and well-being videos in addition to films providing information on serious illnesses such as cancer and, inevitably, Covid-19. “We want to ensure that people find authoritative information on YouTube, whether it’s working with the NHS in the UK or government health authorities overseas,” she said. “There’s an opportunity to link influencers with

Television www.rts.org.uk December 2020/January 2021

RTS

feel she was no longer a newbie, partly because of the company’s size and complexity: “You can become a little impatient. ‘Do we really need to have another meeting with 10 people to discuss this?’ It can take longer to get to a decision, but I believe you get to a better outcome.” On the other hand, during a crisis, YouTube can move quickly, she explained. And, unlike TV, where it’s not unusual for shows to launch before they are fully completed in order to gauge how audiences will respond to them, YouTube operates in “a culture of constant iteration” driven by data. Moreover, the workforce is significantly younger than in TV and a lot of transparency is required from YouTube’s leaders. “There is also a different lens on what ‘good’ looks like,” Frot-Coutaz added. “In traditional media, there is some growth, but they are mature businesses. However, these are startups.… The bar is very different.” She said the best way to describe YouTube to those unfamiliar with the platform was as “a giant video library”, searchable from any digital device. “If you use it a lot, it’s going to get to know what you like,” said Frot-Coutaz. “If you watch X, the algorithm will offer more of X but it might also offer Y because somebody who watched Y also watched X.” It is estimated that 500 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute and that we watch over 1 billion hours of YouTube videos a day, more than Netflix and Facebook combined. Was YouTube a competitor to TV? “It competes with anything that competes for your attention… newspapers, gaming platforms, TV and radio. “It’s both an education and entertain­ ment platform. But, in lots of ways, it’s very different to TV because it’s a hosting platform. At its core, YouTube is there to enable the connection between the content creator in the widest sense of the word and an audience. And to

these authorities and to get health messages to a younger group of users. “During Covid, we’ve played a big role in relaying the messages of governments using creators, including musicians and artists.” Few would deny the benefits that YouTube has brought users since the platform launched 15 years ago but concerns remain that the website is still not vigilant enough in removing harmful material. “Safety is one of our biggest priorities,” stressed Frot-Coutaz. “It’s where we’ve probably invested most heavily, in machine learning [to detect potentially harmful videos] and in people. “You invest a lot [in safety] but it’s never going to be perfect. It’s super important but, if you quantify it, it’s actually a small problem. The content that you would describe as bad is less than a fraction of 1% of what’s on YouTube.” Decisions over which videos to remove were not always straightforward. The AI that analyses the material cannot, for example, distinguish between a piece of neo-Nazi propaganda and an educational film about the Holocaust. “That’s why we need people to review potentially harmful material,” she said. “Also, there is misinformation that is completely harmless and misinformation that is harmful. “It’s complicated further by different cultural attitudes in different countries. To the extent that it is possible, a global approach is essential because, if it is too fragmented, you risk making mistakes. “The more bespoke the content and the more nuanced it is, the harder it is even for the reviewers to do their job at scale.… It’s important not to make arbitrary decisions.” n Report by Steve Clarke. Cécile Frot-Coutaz, Head of YouTube, EMEA, was in conversation with Jane Turton, CEO of All3Media, on 18 November, as part of the RTS Digital Convention 2020, sponsored by YouTube.

21

Iconic Discovery fare: Chasing Ocean Giants

Discovery is finally entering the global streaming market. Kate Bulkley asks if Discovery+ can succeed in such a crowded space

V

ictory is not always achieved by the first out of the blocks or the fastest car into the opening corner. Sometimes, steadiness of purpose and coming from behind is more effective. That sums up the strategy that Discovery has adopted in the uber-competitive streaming wars.

22

Discovery

The non-fiction Netflix? Having watched Netflix, Amazon Prime and, more recently, Disney+ and others enter the global streaming market, Discovery+ will launch its own service in the US only in January. Some observers have argued that it might be too little, too late. However, a closer look at Discovery’s success in the US and the global payand free-TV markets, and at what it

has learnt from its Dplay and Eurosport streaming services, suggests that the reverse might be true. The broadcaster behind lifestyle channel HGTV and the Oprah Winfrey Network is betting that subscribers will be attracted to Discovery+ because it will give them the ability to binge on the entire back catalogues of shows such as Gold Rush, Wheeler Dealers and 90 Day Fiancé. Subscribers will also find new, exclusive content, including the latest series from DIY stars Chip and Joanna Gaines. With typical bullishness, Discovery CEO David Zaslav told analysts earlier this month that Discovery+ could be “the non-fiction Netflix”. Internationally, Discovery’s sports rights will also find a home on the new venture. In the UK, where Discovery+ launched on 12 November, Eurosport will be folded into the service sometime next year. Discovery owns the global digital rights to the Olympics to 2024, and the TV and digital rights to PGA Tour golf outside the US until 2030. In some Asian markets, Discovery+ will also have additional PGA Tour content, said Zaslav. The USP for Discovery+ is clearly that it packages both sport and entertainment in one subscription. “We have been holding back content from [non-Discovery] platforms for several years now,” Zaslav told investors in November. “We think that, if we can get the right distribution behind us and we can get this to a global audience, we will be a very different company.” Discovery will use its linear channels and pay-TV relationships as leverage to build up the new streamer. Unlike Disney, which cannibalised some of its existing revenues by pulling its channel brands from pay platforms such as Sky to launch Disney+, Discovery intends to continue working with pay providers. “This is a big moment for our company,” said Zaslav. “This year, we will roll out Discovery+ in 25 countries but eventually it will be everywhere.… We have a good relationship with Roku and Amazon and we are confident that we’ll be able to get deals done with them.” In the UK, where Discovery operates six free-to-air and seven pay-TV channels, Discovery+ launched at £4.99 per month. Its exclusives included: Faking It: Jimmy Savile; Prince Andrew, Maxwell & Epstein; and Joe Exotic: Before He Was King. On 19 November, the service debuted on Sky; Sky Q subscribers get it free for the first 12 months.

Gold Rush There are also plans to add personalisation tools, including artificial intelligence-driven recommendations to Discovery+ and targeted ads in those markets where the service will be funded by advertisements. “The value of having linear channels to use as promotion tools is also beginning to be recognised,” said Zaslav in November. “Netflix bought a linear channel in France not so long ago. Well, we already own 12 to 15 channels in every country around the world.” Discovery is betting that the new streaming business will generate a 20% profit margin, which is only half the margin of its traditional pay-TV business. Importantly, however, the company is convinced that this 20% will be incremental income rather than replacing money lost from its traditional business. Discovery believes that the potential market for Discovery+ is big enough to give it the flexibility to retain both its traditional subscribers and grow its new, direct-to-consumer business. The company estimates the number of potential subscribers at 400 million internationally, plus a further 70 million in the US, before factoring in potential subscribers from mobile and connected devices. But media analyst Michael Nathanson at MoffettNathanson worries that cannibalisation of Discovery’s

Television www.rts.org.uk December 2020/January 2021

Discovery

“People have strong feelings about how they consume media,” says James Gibbons, Discovery’s general manager for the UK and Nordics. “Our business is not trying to change that – instead, we are trying to give them optionality.” Discovery’s annual spend on UK content – reportedly worth some £100m – will increase, with “a significant incremental budget for Discovery+ originals”, says Gibbons. Indeed, Discovery+ will be building on a strong base: lockdown viewing in the UK drove up both its audience share and share of commercial impacts (SOCI). SOCI increased from 3.5% in 2017 to 8.5% today across Discovery’s 13-channel portfolio. Most of Discovery’s 5.2 million webstreamed subscriptions are in non-US markets. This number is 225% up on 2018, when US research group Moffett­ Nathanson calculated that Discovery had 1.6 million streaming subscriptions. This suggests that, even with what might be described as a patchwork-­ quilt approach to streaming, Discovery has been growing the business. “Most of the streaming subscribers we have gained [over the past several years] have come from offering windows for content before it premieres [on linear channels],” explains JB Perrette, President and CEO of Discovery International. “Therefore, the incremental content cost is zero. Plus, we have seen no cannibalisation attributable to those [streaming] subscribers. “Of course, we see churn in the entire ecosystem… but we can’t point to evidence that [streaming] subscribers are driving cannibalisation.” The streaming wars were further complicated in early December when WarnerMedia announced that it would release its entire roster of 2021 films on its HBO Max streaming service at the same time as they debut in US cinemas. This is another new business model for TV broadcasters (not to mention cinema owners) to consider when designing their own tactics. Disney+ has proved to be a juggernaut, picking more than 73 million subscribers worldwide since its US launch in autumn 2019. Zaslav has taken some pages out of the Disney playbook, including signing a US distribution deal with the telco Verizon. The Discovery+ user interface highlights super-fan brands across food, DIY and motoring, echoing how Disney highlights its Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars brands.

traditional pay-TV business is potentially the plan’s Achilles heel, particularly in markets outside the US. “Depending on the market, Discovery+ will include live feeds of its cable networks and freeto-air channels,” said Nathanson. “So, how many subscribers within the [potential market of] 400 million internationally will cut the cord, especially with Discovery+ including the Olympics and other sports programming?” The proof, as they say, will be in the pudding but, outside the US, where Discovery has local-language services and known brands, it has a decent shot at being the number two or number three streaming brand behind Netflix and Disney+. What could be decisive is top-notch sport. “Once the Olympics comes back to Europe in 2024, for the first time in 12 years, that will be a huge deal,” says Perrette. He adds: “We are in a distinct lane because, in the [direct-to-consumer] market, there are 15-plus scripted-­ series services and probably the same number of scripted movie services – where the cost of entry seems to be an unlimited chequebook. “We have a much more tailored and clearer proposition. “We don’t need to compete on a chequebook or scale level to have a hope of ever making any money. So, we feel pretty good about our hand.” n

23

Rt Hon Oliver Dowden MP

G

oogle the words “public service broadcasting” and you’ll see that the first few links relate to a well-known band that has played at Glastonbury, the Royal Albert Hall and Brixton. Its first album was called Inform – Educate – Entertain. Only after that will you find links to Ofcom’s page on public service broadcasting and the Government’s new Public Service Broadcasting Advisory Panel. As the DCMS opened its review into the future of PSB, an intriguing thought occurred. In years to come, might Public Service Broadcasting – the band – be better remembered than the original concept of PSB and Lord Reith’s pithy summary of the BBC’s purpose? Already, key players who will be involved in the review are distancing themselves from PSB’s traditional terminology. Sir Peter Bazalgette, the Chair of ITV, wants to ditch the name PSB, “to match the age we are living in”. Giving this year’s Charles Wheeler Lecture, he said: “Even the name public service broadcasting… seems otiose. Why would you define it by its method of distribution? And how relevant is that

24

As a Government review of public service broadcasting starts, Torin Douglas weighs the key issues that will be debated word ‘broadcast’ anyway, when much is now narrowcast, one-to-one?” Clare Sumner, the BBC’s director of policy, has called for a “change of mindset” towards public service broad­ casting and warned against using “anachronistic” language when selling the vision to the public. And Lord Grade, former Chair of the BBC and ITV and CEO of Channel 4, told Freeview’s “Outside the box” event in November: “We start with a blank sheet of paper… you can’t preserve the old definition of public service broadcasting in aspic. It’s a relic of the days of spectrum scarcity, when you had a BBC-ITV duopoly, and it’s absolutely due for a review.” Grade is one of 10 “broadcasting and tech heavyweights” announced by the culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, to

advise the Government on the future of PSB and what it should contribute to the UK’s economic, cultural and democratic life. They will explore: whether current funding and governance models are fit for purpose; the impact of technology on audience habits; the financial sustainability of broadcasters; and the structure of the TV market, including video streaming. This month’s Ofcom report, the latest in its ongoing review of PSB, will feed into their work. Panel members include Sophie Turner Laing, whose experience embraces big jobs at the BBC and BSkyB and running Shine Endemol, and Jane Turton, the CEO of All3Media, who previously worked in senior roles at ITV. Also on the panel are John Hardie, the former CEO of ITN, and Samir Shah, ex-LWT and BBC head of current affairs and political journalism, who set up Juniper Productions (which makes documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4, among others). All are known to be supporters of the PSB environment. Intriguingly, another member of the panel is Facebook vice-president Nicola Mendelsohn CBE. However, the former Labour minister

Matt Writtle/Evening Standard

Time for a radical reset

Sophie Turner Laing we should not have a Daily Mail news channel with its point of view, or that of the FT.” Grade is also worried about Channel 4, which he ran for nine years, as ministers put privatisation back on the table. So, too, is Mark Thompson, another former C4 CEO, who says it faces real difficulties unless it can harness its “potentially ground-breaking global digital brand”. David Elstein, former Thames TV and Sky TV head of programming and Channel 5 CEO, is a long-term proponent of subscription for the BBC. He favours a much more radical approach and says “PSB is not just about UK content, but the provision of specific types of output that the market cannot supply, either at all or in the desired volume. It needs a strategic authority, guaranteed funding, and a three- to

‘THE PRINCIPLE OF PROMINENCE FOR PSB CHANNELS NEEDS TO BE MODERNISED’

Television www.rts.org.uk December 2020/January 2021

Endemol Shine

Lord Blunkett strongly criticised the panel’s make-up in a letter to the Financial Times: “Two of the panel had senior jobs as advisers to previous Conservative prime ministers. Baroness Bertin, a senior adviser at BT, was press secretary to David Cameron. Robbie Gibb was a former director of communications at No 10 for Theresa May. Andrew Griffith, another panel member, is a sitting Tory MP and a former chief operating officer at Sky Group.” Lord Grade, himself a Conservative peer, defends the selections: “Along with Oliver Dowden and [culture minister] John Whittingdale, we’ve got a seriously qualified panel and, hopefully, we will come up with pragmatic and long-lasting solutions and redefinitions.” On the political front, some in broad­ casting have taken comfort from the departure of Dominic Cummings, who has led “the war against the BBC”, according to Patrick Barwise of London Business School and social analyst Peter York in a new book of that name. And those outside the PSBs “club” maintain that you don’t have to hold a PSB licence to be of service to the public. Sky says it produces original British drama, comedy, entertainment, documentaries and children’s programmes and claims the scale of its contribution is comparable to some PSBs. Sky News and Sky Arts are both free to air and, in 2020, it won 12 Baftas including for Chernboyl, the most awarded show, in a single year. The panel of experts will not advise on the level of the licence fee, but it is expected to discuss the sustainability of the licence and what, if anything, might replace it – as well as the BBC’s size and scope. Grade said last month that the BBC’s expansionist tendencies must be curbed and it should redefine its basic purpose and think how it can reduce the range of its activities. For Grade, the key PSB issue is “the supply of British programmes made by British producers with the British audience in mind – that is absolutely essential to keeping us in the forefront of exporters of British content”. Another is the funding and regulation of trusted news, and who should provide it, in an age of unlimited channels and “fake news”. At the Freeview event, he said that the licensing of news providers “seems a relic of a bygone patrician age – I don’t see why

five-year plan. It needs all content providers to be invited into the ring, to optimise the outcomes.” Two other issues are “existential” for the PSBs, according to Peter Bazalgette. He says: “For the BBC to continue to do what it does, it needs hypothecated funding. By all means, debate its size and responsibilities and the method of funding – a licence fee, a household levy, general taxation… all [are] possibilities. But, without a dedicated funding stream, it will wither and die.” The second affects all PSB organisations, he says: “In the future, the internet will be the main means of TV distribution, via a small number of dominant, foreign-owned platforms. From their home screen, how far will you have to dig to find any mention of BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub or All 4? “The principle of prominence for PSB channels needs to be modernised to apply to all the new gatekeepers. They should have to carry the PSB services, give them prominence and pay fair value for all the viewers the PSBs attract to their platforms.” This argument was amplified in an article in The Times co-written by the BBC’s Director-General, Tim Davie; the chief executives of ITV and Channel 4, Carolyn McCall and Alex Mahon; and Maria Kyriacou, President of Channel 5’s owner, ViacomCBS UK. “It is fundamental to public service broadcasting that it should be available to everyone, however they choose to consume TV content in the digital age” they wrote. “Prominence” and “universality” are also two of Voice of the Listener and Viewer’s top concerns – but these terms highlight the need to update the “anachronistic” language of PSB. Sally Osman, who led communications at the BBC, Sky, Channel 5 and Buckingham Palace, says: “‘Universality’ doesn’t mean anything to most people. We need a new language to talk about the BBC and PSB, which actually resonates not just with us in the business but with everyone who pays the licence fee and loves programmes.” Peter Bazalgette says: “The best replacement I’ve come up with for PSB is ‘critical social content’, or CSC. You can probably do better, but we do need a rebrand here.” If you can do better, please let him know – the future of PSB is in the balance. n

25

Steve Hewlett Scholarship Event 2020

Royal wedding 2018

In defence of truth and impartiality

O

n the eve of the publication of Ofcom’s much-­ anticipated review of public service broadcasting (PSB), big names from the BBC and Channel 4, past and present, discussed whether British broadcasting was in crisis. Ofcom warned that PSB is unlikely to survive in the online world without an overhaul of broadcasting regulation. It said that the public service broadcas­ ters – the BBC, ITV, STV, Channel 4, S4C and Channel 5 – could also fulfil their obligations online, and that the public service remit could be extended to the big streamers. Ex-controller of Radio 4 Mark Damazer, however, argued that PSB “is alive and kicking and attempts to write it out of the script in favour of either the ideology of pure market forces or [because] it’s ‘out of touch with the people’ have been thoroughly disproved this year.” Damazer was speaking at the first of

26

two Steve Hewlett Scholarship events, hosted by the RTS and the Media Society in early December, and chaired by former BBC and ITV journalist John Stapleton. In November, culture secretary Oliver Dowden said it was time to “ask really profound questions” about the role of public service broadcasters in the digital age, adding: “And, indeed, whether we need them at all.” This sounded “ominous”, suggested Stapleton. Damazer responded: “PSB matters for what it’s producing now, what it means for Britain’s cultural industries now, what it means for bringing the nation together on big occasions: Olympics, royal weddings, commemorations of the world wars, local radio, information, news, drama, the lot. “So, when [Dowden] asks these ‘profound questions’, and it’s quite right that he asks them, if he’s open-minded about the evidence that he’s examining and doesn’t let any ideological predisposition contaminate the results, I’m

perfectly confident that all aspects of PSB, not just the BBC, have a pretty good story to tell.” Looking back over a year dominated by the coronavirus pandemic, Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon said: “It’s been a truly shocking and horrendous year on every front, but what is great is that the public have relied on, valued and cared about public service broadcasters, perhaps more than they have done in decades. “They’ve realised that they need us for informing, connecting and entertaining them in this dreadful time.” Mahon argued that Channel 4’s model of being publicly owned but commercially funded had worked in 2020 – and that privatisation, “on the table”, according to culture secretary Oliver Dowden, was unnecessary. “We had ratings up through the roof and revenues down through the floor, but we made all our cuts, we made them really fast, and we’re on track to book the highest surplus in the history of the

BBC

Are the UK public service broadcasters facing a fight for their lives? A joint RTS and Media Society panel scrutinises the evidence

Channel 4

PSB: An upbeat assessment

Channel 4 News organisation,” she said. “And we’re up on ratings, share and digital.… The flexibility of the model could not be more proven than it has been this year.” Former BBC Director-General Greg Dyke argued that “the disappearance of Dominic Cummings” was “good news for public service broadcasting and the BBC. If you read the stuff he’s written and said over the years, he was pretty hostile.” But he also sounded a warning: “The decline in advertising revenue for the commercially funded PSBs could be a bigger [problem]. It won’t happen overnight but it could happen over 10 to 15 years. “It gets harder and harder to sustain the roots of public service broadcasting if your advertising revenue is in gradual decline.” Stapleton pointed to Ofcom’s recently released “Annual report on the BBC”, which revealed that only 54% of adults see its news as impartial. Were the panellists worried? “At times of crisis, impartiality is difficult,” pointed out Dyke. “We’ve just been through one crisis with Brexit and I think Brexit did divide the population. I think it was John Simpson who said years ago that, when Britain is divided that much, the BBC tends to get it in the neck. I’ll be interested to see what the figures look like in a year’s time.” Damazer said: “I have all kinds of beefs with the BBC news machine and I scream at Channel 4 News virtually every night for one reason or another, but I recognise that I’m getting a quality product from people who really care about accuracy, truth and impartiality.”

Mahon admitted: “We’re living in a kind of post-truth world, our shared identity is being challenged.” Nonetheless, “the growth in the BBC and Channel 4’s news this year has been off the charts…. People want impartial, properly sourced, regulated news – and that’s what all the PSBs here are brilliant at.” Dyke noted: “If you go anywhere in the world, they think the BBC is the most wonderful [thing] and that every good programme that ever comes out of Britain came from the BBC… they all wish they had it. We’ve got it and we have a Government that, half their time, seems to want to get rid of it. I think it’s time they started valuing it for what it does and what it is.” Stapleton asked whether licence-fee funding was sustainable. “If anyone invented the licence fee today – to have a television receiver in your home, you’ve got to pay 150-odd pounds – we’d all laugh, but it has survived… significant attempts to get rid of it. I personally wouldn’t die in the ditch for it; I would die in the ditch for public funding for the BBC,” said Dyke. “I agree with Greg that, if you were inventing it from scratch, you wouldn’t come up with such a bonkers, peculiarly British scheme,” said Mahon. “You’ve got to have something better if you replace [the licence fee], and I haven’t seen something better yet.” n Report by Matthew Bell. ‘British broadcasting in crisis? The public service broadcasters’ was held on 7 December and produced by Phil Barnes, Rachel Crellin, John Mair and Jo Sampson.

Television www.rts.org.uk December 2020/January 2021

Audiences may be turning away from the PSB channels in favour of global streaming and online services, but Enders Analysis founder Claire Enders found cause for optimism. PSB, she said, ‘remains very significant. The share of audience is still extremely large. [It] remains, by far, the largest destination for most people in this country.’ Although broadcast TV viewing ‘has inexorably declined’ thanks to the growth of YouTube and the launch of streamers such as Netflix and Disney+, Enders maintained that PSB viewing has remained ‘pretty robust’ for the over-35s in the face of growing competition. The Covid-19 outbreak led to an ‘incredible revival and interest in news’ and PSB news services: ‘We know that PSB fulfils an essential mission of information.’ Enders ended her brief presentation on an upbeat note: ‘A year of unprecedented crisis, [and an] existential crisis for PSB has been replaced by a situation in which we can see… some hope that we will all get through this well.’

PSB: The need for prominence Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon called for ‘an updated set of regulations’ covering the ‘prominence’ of public service broadcasters. ‘The way content appears on your television is ruled by the 2003 Communications Act and the belief that everything would be reached through an electronic programme guide – that’s not how people find programmes now,’ she said. ‘If we don’t do anything in regulation, it will be too late, because on all those smartphones and flat-screen TV… it’s whoever pays Amazon or LG the most that works out where things appear. We need protection for public service content.’

27

‘Out with the old thinking’

Queer Eye, which ITV produces for Netflix

Netflix

Steve Hewlett Scholarship Event 2020

Media grandees assess how the UK’s public service broadcasters are responding to the streamers’ success

A

t first glance, the outlook looks less than sunny for traditional broadcasters faced with competition from Netflix and the other streamers. Dig a little deeper and the situation looks a lot more nuanced. That was the main takeaway from the second of two Steve Hewlett Scholarship debates, “British broadcasting in crisis?”, organised jointly by the RTS and Media Society. A panel of heavy hitters – ITV Chair Peter Bazalgette, ex-BBC and The New York Times supremo Mark Thompson, and Janine Gibson, assistant editor at the FT – responded to an introduction by the analysts’ analyst, Claire Enders. She set out some potentially alarming statistics for the old guard who are all attempting to up their digital game. Enders said that, so far during the pandemic, aggregate UK viewing of online services had increased by almost 100%. The stampede to the D2C (direct

28

to consumer) players was most pronounced in the under-40s. “The launch of Disney+ in the spring was the most successful the UK has ever seen,” she noted. The “insatiable demand for high-­ quality drama” had put Netflix in the driving seat and “overwhelmed” the ability of UK PSBs to match the streamers’ investment in shows such as The Crown and The Queen’s Gambit. “PSBs were [already] struggling to meet audience demand for fresh material,” continued Enders. “For the past decade, it had been a race to the top for drama.” Netflix recently announced that it would invest $1bn in the UK next year. This avalanche of funding was making life difficult for the PSBs, as “every part of the production chain” was affected by global inflation, not least talent and screenwriters. Drama budgets had risen to as much as an astonishing $10m an hour. Thank­ fully for the PSBs, drama accounted for

only 20% of their aggregate viewing, concluded Enders. Bazalgette described the streamers as “frenemies”. They were important customers for UK producers – including ITV Studios. Netflix was ITV Studios’ second biggest customer after ITV itself. The ITV Chair noted that it was important to draw a distinction between Netflix and Amazon; the former was a service, he said, while the latter was a platform. He continued: “The real threat to British broadcasters is the supra­ national monopolies that own platforms that, in the future, wish to be aggregators of content. We need to get our signal and programmes distributed on a fair basis with reasonable returns.” While the streamers were clearly outspending companies such as ITV, it was important to remember that British broadcasters produced far more hours of content than Netflix and other D2C companies. Thompson made the point that,

thanks to the streamers, “money was pouring into the UK”. This was boosting British talent and production in a way that would have seemed impossible a decade ago. The problem for UK broadcasters was that they lacked both the capital and the algorithms controlled by the American companies. But, despite these advantages, the shows that the streamers commissioned tended to contain a narrow focus, claimed the ex-BBC Director-­ General. He said: “Someone looking at the UK from outside could be forgiven for thinking that everything happens either in Buckingham Place or Hogwarts.” This romanticised view of Britain, long perpetuated by Hollywood, excluded the reality of lives of most British people. “Who’s going to tell the stories of the people who actually live in the UK?” asked Thompson, who answered his own question: British broadcasters could be relied up to tell British stories. Turning to policy-makers and regulators, Thompson said it was important that they gave UK TV companies the right regulatory framework to maximise the chances of them becoming players with global scale. Returning to the debate’s main theme, session chair John Stapleton, a former BBC and ITV journalist, asked Gibson if the streamers posed an existential threat to British PSBs. She replied: “Netflix, Amazon and, to a certain extent, Disney are going to face tech-company problems. It wasn’t plain sailing for Netflix, which was

BBC

The BBC’s Years and Years asked where we are headed starting to plateau – and that’s during a year where we were all locked in, watching box sets.” Gibson added: “We see the same thing over and over and it doesn’t really speak to us.” She reminded the audience that four of the most successful shows this autumn came from PSBs: Bake Off, Gogglebox, I’m a Celebrity… and Newscast, screened, respectively, by Channel 4, ITV and the BBC. Turning to the grim economic landscape brought about by Covid-19, Bazalgette said that ITV was on track to have its worst year financially since the broadcaster began in 1955. “But the advertising market is coming back quite strongly,” he noted. Live, linear viewing now accounted for 58% of ITV’s total audience, a trend that the crisis had accelerated as more viewers watched online. On the upside, coronavirus had reminded everyone of the value of “broadcasting with a public purpose – not only trusted news but also the PSBs’ ability to communicate key Government messages in emergencies [using the terrestrial transmitter network]. The next world war will be digital,” warned the ITV Chair. “It is important that we have more than one form of content distribution, because the internet could be compromised.” The crisis had underlined the importance of storytelling that reflects people’s lives, noticeably in soaps, he added, picking up Thompson’s earlier point. “These things are important but undervalued in government.” The pandemic had “sharpened up the debate about PSB,” he suggested.

Television www.rts.org.uk December 2020/January 2021

Thompson called for policy-makers to be more imaginative. He thought it was retrogressive that so much of the policy agenda was set by the “old thinking” of British newspapers, themselves challenged by digital disruption. “Today’s politics are more about fighting the last war on public service broadcasting… rather than seeing that the totality of British broadcasting is part of a competitive global market. Everyone in the UK, including the BBC, is a minnow. The BBC is the only global media brand with global potential,” insisted the former BBC chief. Thompson was optimistic about the Government’s intentions towards the BBC. The real problem, he emphasised, was that its PSB review was too restrictive: “We’re dealing with global, three-dimensional chess and they’re getting out the noughts and crosses board yet again. They’re asking themselves questions about a lost world, where UK broadcasting could be looked at discretely.” As for broadcast news, with so much “confirmation bias” available on the internet, it was vital that PSB news services routinely explained to audiences, particularly younger audiences, why their news programmes were trustworthy, said Bazalgette. Turning to ITV’s falling share price and diminished market value, Stapleton was blunt. He asked the ITV Chair if the broadcaster could survive disruption. “ITV is a remarkably resilient company that remains profitable, with very-well-controlled debt,” responded Bazalgette. “We didn’t ask for any government money this year.” He continued: “Both ITV and the BBC are late modernisers. We have a lot of ground to make up. It’s not all about paid streaming services. Of course, we should have a Spotify model, where people can either have free content, ad-supported or pay. “We have ITV Hub+, where you can watch the schedule without the ads and we have BritBox. Our ad-supported streaming services are where we have to put most of our resources in the future. It’s a huge opportunity and it shows there’s life in the old dog yet.” n Report by Steve Clarke. ‘British broadcasting in crisis? The commercial channels and the rise of VoD’ was held on 8 December. It was produced by Phil Barnes, Rachel Crellin, John Mair and Jo Sampson.

29

A stellar panel tells RTS Futures that television companies have a vital role in combating the climate crisis

T

elevision soap operas have an important role to play in communicating environmental messages. That was one of the conclusions of an RTS Futures session, “Can TV save the planet?”, which discussed how it is not only the likes of David Attenborough and Chris Packham who can alert audiences to the impact of climate change and other environmental challenges. Tom McDonald, director of BBC Studios Factual, whose commissions have included Blue Planet II and Drowning in Plastic, said that, as shows such as Coronation Street and EastEnders had influenced attitudes to sexuality, they could similarly heighten awareness of ways to live more sustainably. “Soaps take things that might be considered minority interest and put them into the heart of the mainstream,” he said. “My mum and my granny are more likely to be affected by something they see in EastEnders than in a David Attenborough film.” He noted that the café in EastEnders no longer served bacon sandwiches. He also suggested that Top Gear had an opportunity to feature more electric cars – not only as worthy modes of transport but in an exciting and fun way. “On the other hand, I don’t want to watch Bake Off and be told what the cake’s ingredients are and what they’re doing for the environment,” added McDonald. He hoped that environmental messages would become so common in TV programmes that they no longer stood out. Philip Holdgate, senior project manager at ITV Studios, said that soaps not only reached a different audience to natural history and current affairs

30

Can TV save the planet?

programmes, but that they were also watched by up to 7 million viewers five nights a week. Emmerdale had been at the forefront of embedding environmental themes by banning plastic straws from the Woolpack bar and featuring a corner shop selling locally grown, organic produce delivered by an electric van. “You don’t have to ram it down

people’s throats. It can be quite subtle,” he said. “Audiences can be shown that you can do things differently and it’s not that scary. Soaps are at the forefront of that. They’re a window into someone else’s life. If you show this life being lived in a way that doesn’t damage the planet, it’s a powerful tool.” Broadcaster Liz Bonnin, a presenter of Blue Planet Live, agreed that soaps

were important to TV, effecting real change in people’s behaviour, but urged broadcasters and platforms to continue to commission hard-hitting films that didn’t “sugar the pill”. She lauded the recent Extinction: The Facts, presented by Attenborough. “We shouldn’t be apologetic about communicating the cold, hard facts,” she insisted, adding: “The pandemic is connected to how we extract natural resources and degrade forests. Viruses have more of a chance to emerge and affect us when there is environmental degradation.” Frozen Planet II, to be broadcast next year by the BBC, would contain material that even experienced natural history film-makers were likely to find alarming, said McDonald. “The evidence is frightening. I predict it will have a massive impact,” he said. He agreed that natural history films had changed from the days when TV drew “people in through awe and wonder, incredible storytelling and then you hit them with the strong environmental message”. But should broadcasters be campaigners, asked Gaby Hornsby, BBC assistant commissioner for seasons and campaigns, factual, and TV sustainability lead, who chaired the discussion. This was something of a minefield, noted McDonald: “It gets complicated because, unfortunately, the solutions are political with a small P. People dispute what are the right ways to behave.” Both Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver had made programmes infused with “a campaigning spirit”, but the BBC executive stressed that it was “not our job to say, ‘You must do this’. But it is our job to show change-makers. They inspire people to bring that change into their own lives.” He continued: “The interesting bit is when you engage heart and head, and galvanise people to act in a way that feels like they’re not being told off.” In other words, getting the tone right and avoiding being didactic. In the Netherlands, a TV drama, shown by a public service broadcaster,

brought about policy changes after it highlighted the dangers of rising sea levels. A telenovela shown in Brazil illustrated the deleterious effects of deforestation on a local family. McDonald quoted a recent survey which had shown that, despite the pandemic, for young people, climate change remained the single most important issue facing society. “I was worried that climate change was falling down the agenda but that doesn’t seem

‘TV SHOULD CONTINUE TO COMMISSION HARD-HITTING FILMS THAT DON’T SUGAR THE PILL’ to have happened,” he said. The climate crisis was of such urgency that it was vital to commission and broadcast films that said: “Wake up and listen.” One problem was that, in common with other media, TV was guilty of promoting mixed messages. Cookery shows tended to feature a lot of beef eating while, in other shows, viewers were encouraged to eat more plantbased diets. The panel noted, however, that people would need to cut their meat consumption by only 20% to help reduce carbon emissions by significant levels. The way flying was portrayed across TV sent out a mixed message on flying’s environmental harm. Celebrities needed to play their part, too, everyone agreed. It was all very well having Attenborough and Packham bang the drum on environmental messages, but Bonnin suggested that entertainment stars such as Ant and Dec occupied a potentially powerful position to promote action on sustainability. As for encouraging production teams to work in a more environmentally conscious way, Aaron Matthews, head of industry sustainability at Bafta, said

Television www.rts.org.uk December 2020/January 2021

that big strides were being made. The Albert certification scheme had been in place for around five years. He described it as a practical checklist. Fulfilling Albert criteria involves such things as ensuring that productions use electric generators, limit their travel by hiring crews locally and offsetting carbon when carbon footprints can’t be reduced. “On scripted shows, people are now using zero-carbon generators,” Matthews explained. “It’s also important to ensure that supply chains are sustainable.” Studios are encouraged to use renewable energy suppliers. “These are things that, over time, create change,” he said. A recent Albert report, “A screen new deal – a route map to sustainable film production”, aims to inspire scripted producers to move towards zero-­ carbon filming. Holdgate said that, at ITV, there had been a view that working in a more sustainable way would be more expensive. However, this attitude had begun to change. “We’re asking people to be more efficient and to avoid waste,” he said. “When you’re not wasting electricity or costumes, you’re potentially saving money. People should think less about cost and more about value.” ITV is discussing using low-energy lighting on sets for Coronation Street and Emmerdale, daytime and news. This could save 90% of current energy use, a massive impact, suggested Holdgate. “It’s not a quick or cheap thing to do but it’s on our road map.” He added: “On using low-energy tariffs, we’ve made huge progress in a relatively short period. I’m interested to see if that leads to progress with on-site renewables and storage.” Despite the evidence that the planet was heating at an alarming rate, all the panellists were optimistic that real and lasting change was possible. For all our sakes, let’s hope that they are right. n Report by Steve Clarke. ‘Can TV save the planet?’ was an RTS Futures event held on 3 December. The producers were Gaby Hornsby and Ali Laurie.

31

An RTS Christmas special event reviews gems of the genre from the 1950s to the present day

The political interview unwrapped

A

s this RTS exploration of powerful moments in TV political interviews unfolded, it quickly became clear just how extraordinary 2020 has been, even in an era of jawdropping statements from politicians and startling TV encounters. Our host, ITN’s Tom Bradby, was quick to note that the word “unprecedented” had been bandied about rather

32

too freely in news reports and political briefings, but his three panellists agreed that, for once, this year’s events justified its ubiquity. Both media and ministers have faced fresh challenges in dealing with each other as they have laboured to address the coronavirus crisis. John Whittingdale MP, Minister of State for Media and Data, was quick to point out that media organisations faced the same organisational problems and obstacles as any other business.

ITV

Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher interviewed by ITN’s Michael Brunson in 1991

But, he added, the audience ratings told the big story: “We’ve seen huge numbers – figures we haven’t seen for decades – of people watching news bulletins.” Former Labour advisor and broadcaster Ayesha Hazarika saw both the good and bad in this: “What people thirsted for was the return of a more traditional way of consuming news and the desire for trusted narrators, particularly on broadcast.” She added: “[We saw] how politicians [recognised] TV as such an important medium… with the Downing Street press conferences, and people were absolutely glued to them. This was the year that broadcast, be it TV or radio news, was back.” Writer Jed Mercurio, whose hugely popular Bodyguard told the story of a relationship between a fictional Home Secretary and her protector, saw nothing surprising in any of this. For him, the twin problems of accountability on the part of politicians, and of reliability on the part of the media, were already present before the stakes became so high with the pandemic. “The fact that we were in the middle of a public health crisis only accentuated public desire for straight answers, with frustrations sometimes being taken out on journalists,” he said. “The public blamed journalists for failing to get a straight response from a politician in one of their coronavirus briefings.” Bradby then took his panel down memory lane to watch some of the most striking political moments of previous years – a mixture of long-­ rehearsed speeches, well-prepared interviews, unforeseeable events and, most delightfully for viewers, ministers’ memorable mishaps. Back in the 1980s, Whittingdale was one of Margaret Thatcher’s speech-­ writing aides. He doffed his cap to her defiant message the morning after the 1984 bombing of the Tory party’s Brighton conference hotel. At other times, though, he made the case for using humour and memorable lines in speeches. He cited Thatcher’s 1980 message to her doubters, written for her by playwright Ronald Millar: “To those waiting with bated breath for that favourite media catchphrase, the U-turn, I have only one thing to say: you turn if you want to. The lady’s not for turning!”

interesting response from her. Sometimes, with political interviews, less can be more. With sofa interviews, a question can come out of nowhere, the politician’s guard can be down, something can come out that wasn’t intended.” For Mercurio, both this intimate encounter and the forensic style typical of that past master Robin Day contrast bleakly with the current confrontational style of political interviews.

Miliband’s election-­ending sarnie came on Hazarika’s watch as his press officer, something to make her put her head in her hands at the time, but which can make her laugh now. She reflected: “You plan so hard as a press officer: never have your minister stand under a sign that says exit – but, if the wind is against you politically, then any opportunity to make you look like an absolute plonker is going to be taken. Sadly, it’s part of the job.”

Clockwise from top left: Tom Bradby, Rt Hon John Whittingdale MP, Ayesha Hazarika and Jed Mercurio “[Then], it was a conversation,” is how he put it. “What we have now is the real frustration of watching two people speaking at cross purposes a lot of the time. “When ministers were being asked direct questions about PPE and testing, I was sick of hearing politicians talking of ‘ramping up’, [instead of] dealing with what was going on in the present.” Finally, Bradby ran an entertaining cross-party montage of political gaffs caught on camera. The highlight was, inevitably, Neil Kinnock being knocked over by shallow waves on Brighton beach in 1983, but we were also reminded of John Gummer forcing his daughter to eat a beefburger at the height of the BSE crisis in 1990, John Prescott’s one-two punch in 2001, and, more recently, Ed Miliband’s bacon sandwich, Gordon Brown’s “bigot” moment, Theresa May dancing, and David Cameron tootling a tune on his way back to the front door of No 10 Downing Street.

Television www.rts.org.uk December 2020/January 2021

RTS

The contrast between Thatcher’s gravitas and our current Prime Minister’s reliance on his natural bonhomie was pounced on by Hazarika. She said: “Boris [Johnson] functions quite like a stand-up comedian. I think he’s very good when he’s in his comfort zone, being his mischievous, playful persona. That’s what he likes doing, that’s what we’ve seen from his conference speeches. “Since he became leader of the Conservative Party and [then] Prime Minister of this country, I think his oratory has struggled, because he’s not in his comfort zone any more. He’s trying to be two people: sometimes the clown and being funny, but he’s also been plunged into this very difficult situation with a lot of responsibility – and I think that he has sometimes struggled with the more sober prime ministerial voice that’s had to come out.” For her, Johnson’s challenge lay in channelling his own zest and love of language when he is supplied with other people’s words, as is the norm for Prime Ministers. “He performs best when he’s performing his own words and he’s let off the leash,” she thought. Whittingdale agreed that Johnson relied on humour, and noted how this was difficult to do with something as serious as Covid-19. However, he said, “Boris still uses very typical Boris lines to deliver his message. ‘’Tis the season to be jolly, but ’tis also the season to be jolly careful’ is a very Boris line.” Bradby shifted the focus back to 1991, to Thatcher’s first sit-down interview after she was ousted from power by her own party in November 1990. Responding to ITN journalist Michael Brunson’s questions about her final day as Prime Minister, a very emotional Thatcher told him about the awkward Cabinet meeting she faced that last morning: “You don’t take a decision like that without it being difficult, without heartbreak.” For Hazarika, this was a rare insight into a much softer side of Thatcher than viewers were used to seeing, for which she credited the perceptiveness and soft-pedalling of Brunson, who was familiar with the former premier. “That’s a collision of a trusting relationship but he also judged it well,” she said. “There was no need to go in hard. His approach elicited a very raw,

On the other hand, as Johnson proved the day he got stuck in mid-air on a zip wire, it is not only possible to recover from such an embarrassing spectacle, but to emerge stronger from it. For Mercurio, this capacity comes down to power of personality. “It depends what character trait it reveals,” he suggested. “If a politician can weather one of those moments, particularly with a sense of self-­ deprecation, and they’re prepared to laugh and humanise the moment, it can sometimes enhance their reputation with the public.” Let’s face it, as 2020 draws to a close, viewers will take their laughs wherever they can find them, even from the world of politics. n Report by Caroline Frost. ‘Television’s most memorable political moments’ was an RTS event held on 16 December. The host was Tom Bradby and the producer was Lisa Campbell, ITN’s director of corporate communications.

33

His Dark Materials, Design – Titles; Effects and Production Design – Drama

RTS Craft & Design Awards 2020 Supported by

Casting

Yoko Narahashi, Shaheen Baig and Layla Merrick-Wolf – Giri/Haji (Duty/ Shame) Sister for BBC Two and Netflix ‘The Japanese and British casting complemented each other beautifully. The artful approach to the casting created some standout performances that managed to be truly authentic.’ Nominees: ◗ Kelly Valentine-Hendry – Gangs of London, Pulse Films/Sister and Sky Studios for Sky Atlantic in association with Cinemax ◗ Amy Hubbard – White House Farm, New Pictures for ITV

34

Costume Design – Drama

Lynsey Moore – I May Destroy You Various Artists and Falkna for BBC One and HBO ‘The look of the show was genuinely ground-breaking and created styles for the characters that will set trends for the future. And all on an impressively tight budget.’ Nominees: ◗ Dihantus Engelbrecht – Noughts + Crosses, Mammoth Screen/Participant Media and Roc Nation for BBC One ◗ Arjun Bhasin – A Suitable Boy, A Lookout Point Production for BBC One

BBC

Mim Shaikh and Anne Mensah presented a ceremony streamed on 23 November Costume Design – Entertainment and Non Drama

Tim Simpson, Derek McLean, Daniel Nettleton and Claire Horton – The Masked Singer (Series 1) Bandicoot Scotland and Plunge Creations for ITV ‘To create such distinctive characters with costumes that fully concealed the performers’ identity, without compromising sound quality, was an [outstanding] technical achievement.’ Nominees: ◗ Roberto Surace – The Goes Wrong Show (Series 1), Mischief Screen and Big Talk Productions for BBC One ◗ Amanda Monk – In the Long Run, Green Door Pictures/Sprout Pictures and Sky Studios for Sky One �

I May Destroy You, Costume Design –Drama and RTS Special Award

RTS Special Award

BBC

Michaela Coel – I May Destroy You Various Artists and Falkna for BBC One and HBO ‘I May Destroy You unpacked a breathtaking exploration of sexual assault, race, and millennial life over 12 stunning episodes. ‘Just four years ago, Michaela Coel won the Breakthrough Award at the RTS Programme Awards for her work on her groundbreaking Channel 4 series Chewing Gum. In the short time since then she’s established herself as perhaps Britain’s most exciting up-and-coming writer, producer, director and actor. ‘In creating I May Destroy You, she drew on her personal experience of sexual assault, giving the story’s lead character, Arabella, a deep hinterland of complexity. Arabella navigates a bewildering world of social-media addiction, recreational drug use, generational conflict, cultural misunderstanding and the seemingly shifting boundaries around sexual consent. ‘In writing I May Destroy You, Michaela wrote almost 200 drafts, exhausting herself into a virtually trance-like state in the process, the intensity of the task almost overwhelming at times. In codirecting I May Destroy You, she developed a style unique to this show – an immediacy and vitality that put the viewer right into the chaos of Arabella’s life. And by starring as Arabella, Michaela Coel showed us again that she’s an actor whose incredible potential is still revealing itself with each new project. ‘It is a truly distinctive, highly creative and exemplary piece of work.’

Design – Programme Content Sequences

Made in Colour – My World: Dadaab Refugee Camp BBC World ‘An intimate and emotive piece of animation, with a story so beautifully told.… Even more impressive [considering the] tight time frame, small budget and intimate team size behind it.’ Nominees: ◗ Richard Norley, Wajahut Shah and Sancha Worthington, Jump – The Supervet (Series 15 and Christmas ­Special), Blast! Films for Channel 4 ◗ Martin Johnson, Fleur Bone, Rob Harvey and Paul Crosby – Mars: One Day on the Red Planet, The Garden Productions for National Geographic

Design – Titles

Titles Team – His Dark Materials Bad Wolf for BBC One and HBO ‘A visually sumptuous opening sequence that really lifts and transports viewers into this world. These titles convey the epic, cinematic scale of the show.’ Nominees: ◗ Titles Team – Brassic, Calamity Films and Sky Studios for Sky One ◗ Rob Roberts-Facey, Lucy Adams, Dominic Robson-Smith and Alastair McIntyre – World Athletics Championships 2019, BBC Sport

Television www.rts.org.uk December 2020/January 2021

Director – Comedy Drama/ Situation Comedy

Ella Jones – Enterprice (Series 2) Fudge Park Productions for BBC Three ‘The director achieved an infectious dynamism and intimacy in the storytelling and made the viewer feel like they were an extra character in the show, which made the experience funnier, sadder and more inclusive.’ Nominees: ◗ Simon Hynd – There She Goes (Series 2), Merman Television for BBC Two ◗ Tom George – This Country (Series 3), BBC Studios for BBC Three �

35

Director – Documentary/Factual and Non Drama

Enterprice, Director – Comedy Drama/ Situation Comedy

Director – Multicamera

Editing – Documentary/Factual

BBC

Abraham Teweldebrhan – Tyson Fury: The Gypsy King Optomen Television for ITV ‘A captivating story, told with bold choices that completely transcended the genre of sports documentary.’ Nominees: ◗ Chloë Lambourne and Simon McMahon – For Sama, ITN Productions for Channel 4 and PBS ◗ Justin Badger and Christopher Swayne – Barrymore: The Body in the Pool, Keo Films for Channel 4 �

For Sama, Director – Documentary/ Factual and Non Drama and Music – Original Score

Channel 4

Bridget Caldwell – The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance BBC Studios for BBC One ‘A masterclass in multi-camera directing. The choreography is 10 out of 10. A tour de force and a real director’s piece.’ Nominees: ◗ Simon Staffurth – VE Day 75: The People’s Celebration, BBC Studios for BBC One ◗ Julia Knowles – VJ Day 75: The Nation Remembers, BBC Studios for BBC One

36

BBC

Lenny Abrahamson – Normal People Element Pictures for BBC and Hulu ‘Beautiful, stylish and confident. The work of an elite director, skillfully providing the space for his actors to shine and their chemistry to transmit through the lens.’ Nominees: ◗ Sam Miller and Michaela Coel – I May Destroy You, Various Artists and Falkna for BBC One and HBO ◗ Destiny Ekaragha – The End of the F***ing World 2, Clerkenwell Films and Dominic Buchanan Productions for Channel 4 and Netflix

Giri/Haji, Casting

BBC

Director – Drama

ITV

Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts – For Sama ITN Productions for Channel 4 and PBS ‘A searing and cinematic film, which captured attention and hearts with its beautifully human angle and brave directing skills.’ Nominees: ◗ James Bluemel – Once Upon a Time in Iraq, Keo Films for BBC Two ◗ Paddy Wivell – Prison, Spring Films for Channel 4

BBC

The Masked Singer, Costume Design – Entertainment and Non Drama

His Dark Materials, Design – Titles; Effects and Production Design – Drama

The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance, Director – Multicamera

Editing – Drama

Pia Di Ciaula – Quiz Left Bank Pictures for ITV ‘With multiple storylines and the viewer charged to make a decision about the guilt of [Charles Ingram], the editing was required to be consistently smart, confident and cleverly balanced.’ Nominees: ◗ Izabella Curry – I Hate Suzie, Bad Wolf and Sky Studios for Sky Atlantic ◗ Nathan Nugent – Normal People, ­Element Pictures for BBC and Hulu

Editing – Entertainment and Comedy

BBC

Normal People, Director – Drama and Photography – Drama and Comedy

Dan Gage – Staged Infinity Hill and GCB Productions for BBC One ‘Witty, joyous and clever use of technology, this pushed the boundaries of what great editing can achieve.’ Nominees: ◗ Edit Team – Britain’s Got Talent (Series 14), Thames and Syco for ITV ◗ William Webb – Feel Good, Objective Fiction and Objective Media Group Scotland for Netflix and Channel 4

Staged, Editing – Entertainment and Comedy

Television www.rts.org.uk December 2020/January 2021

BBC

Tyson Fury: The Gypsy King, Editing – Documentary/Factual

ITV

Quiz, Editing – Drama

ITV

Editing – Sport

Joe Snell, Kevin Evans and Paul Roberts – Time for a New Season; BT Sport Europa League final and BT Sport Champions League final BT Sport ‘Brilliantly put together, with the feel and quality of a high-end music video. A remarkable and emotive piece of work, expertly crafted from inception.’ Nominees: ◗ Nicholas Perry, Rob Roberts-Facey and Stephen Lyle – One Day: Sport’s Super Sunday, BBC Sport ◗ Nicholas Perry, Tom Mallion, Sonja McLaughlan and Richard Hughes – Six Nations 2020: Eddie Jones interview, BBC Sport

Effects

Framestore, Russell Dodgson, Dan May and Danny Hargreaves – His Dark Materials Bad Wolf for BBC One and HBO ‘Just glorious! Impressive collaboration between the numerous teams delivered truly excellent creatures and rich FX work across the series.’ Nominees: ◗ Vine FX – War of the Worlds, Urban Myth Films and Canal+ for Fox ◗ DNEG, Rowley SFX, Flash SFX and Goldcrest – World on Fire, Mammoth Screen co-produced with Masterpiece for BBC One �

37

Lighting for Multicamera

Make-Up Design – Entertainment and Non Drama

BT Sport

Shabana Latif and Avan Contractor – A Suitable Boy A Lookout Point Production for BBC One ‘The hair and make-up achieved a hugely wide-ranging spectrum of looks, with an extraordinary eye for detail, and contributed hugely to the storytelling.’ Nominees: ◗ Bethany Swan – I May Destroy You, Various Artists and Falkna for BBC One and HBO ◗ Julie Kendrick – Quiz, Left Bank Pictures for ITV

VJ Day 75: The Nation’s Tribute, Lighting for Multicamera

BBC

Make-Up Design – Drama

Time for a New Season; BT Sport Europa League final and BT Sport Champions League final, Editing – Sport

BBC

A Suitable Boy, Make-Up Design – Drama

Nigel Catmur – VJ Day 75: The Nation’s Tribute BBC Studios for BBC One ‘A high-quality production of a hugely creative response to the restrictions suddenly placed on the event. Every detail was clear and no light was in sight. Stunning and brilliant, a programme that will live long in the memory.’ Nominees: ◗ Gurdip Mahal, Ross Williams and Rob Bradley – Crazy Delicious, Optomen for Channel 4 and Netflix ◗ Paul Burton – Coronation Street, ITV Studios for ITV

Sheldon Wade – Frayed Merman Television in association with Guesswork Television for Sky One ‘The delightfully distinctive period aesthetic was created with subtlety and nuance, perfectly in keeping with the comic tone of the show.’ Nominees: ◗ Kate Roberts and Team – In My Skin, Expectation Entertainment for BBC One ◗ Marcos Gurgel – Dancing on Ice, ITV Studios Entertainment for ITV Suri Krishnamma and Camera Team – Performance Live: The Way Out Battersea Arts Centre for BBC Four ‘A properly original production in which the camera gained an identity and presence all of its own. An astonishing technical feat.’ Nominees: ◗ Camera Team – VJ Day 75: The Nation’s Tribute, BBC Studios for BBC One ◗ Andrew Slater, Annie Tetchner, Sophie Oliver and Katie Collis – 24 Hours in Police Custody – Murder in the Woods – Two-Part Special, The Garden Productions for Channel 4 �

38

Sky

Multicamera Work

Frayed, Make-Up Design – Entertainment and Non Drama

Multicamera Work – Sport

BBC

Performance Live: The Way Out, Multicamera Work

IGBS Camera Team – The Rugby World Cup Semi Final 2019 England vs New Zealand IGBS (JV between IMG and HBS) for ITV ‘An amazing piece of storytelling. Everything from the haka onwards was shot in a dramatic narrative style. One of those moments when sport becomes truly epic.’ Nominees: ◗ Matt Roberts – SailGP: Season 1 Finale and Season 2 Launch, Whisper and Timeline TV for BT Sport and Sky Sports ◗ Ken Burton – FA Cup: Shrewsbury Town vs Liverpool, BBC Sport

Music – Original Score

Nainita Desai – For Sama ITN Productions for Channel 4 and PBS ‘A painfully moving film enhanced by an equally emotional soundtrack, which was subtle and spare and enhanced the dignity of the overall piece.’ Nominees: ◗ Natalie Holt – Deadwater Fell, Kudos for Channel 4 ◗ Mark ‘Happi’ Babatunde and Duriel ‘Komenz’ Mensah – Enterprice (Series 2), Fudge Park Productions for BBC Three

Music – Original Title ITV

The Rugby World Cup Semi-Final 2019 England vs New Zealand, Multicamera Work – Sport

On the President’s Orders, Photography – Documentary/ Factual and Non Drama

Television www.rts.org.uk December 2020/January 2021

Channel 4 BBC

Anne Mensah, Chair of the Awards

Tom Pilston

Baghdad Central, Music – Original Title and Sound – Drama

H Scott Salinas – Baghdad Central Euston Films for Channel 4 ‘An instantly recognisable theme, which was suitably haunting, dynamic and original – you understood exactly where you were in the world as soon as you heard the opening bars.’ Nominees: ◗ Lorne Balfe – His Dark Materials, Bad Wolf for BBC One and HBO ◗ Alex Heffes and Anoushka Shankar – A Suitable Boy, A Lookout Point Production for BBC One

Photography – Documentary/ Factual and Non Drama

Olivier Sarbil – On the President’s Orders Mongoose Pictures for BBC Storyville ‘Every bit of the photography was beautifully and brilliantly constructed. The framing and lighting was extraordinary, giving a cinematic effect that completely drew the viewer into a haunting, sinister and menacing world.’ Nominees: ◗ Drone Filming Crew – The Great Mountain Sheep Gather, Windfall Films for BBC Four ◗ Camera Team – Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, Minnow Films for Channel 4 �

39

Outstanding Achievement Award

Nina Gold ‘One newspaper recently called her “the most influential casting director working today”. She has almost 200 screen casting credits to her name – Game of Thrones, The Crown, Patrick Melrose, Chernobyl, Top of the Lake, Harlots, Daniel Deronda, Tipping the Velvet, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, Secret State, John Adams, Wolf Hall… the list goes on and on. ‘Nina’s casting journey began while she was still at university, working on student productions. One day in the mid-1980s, she helped a friend out by casting extras in an AC/DC music video.

Photography – Drama and Comedy

Suzie Lavelle – Normal People Element Pictures for BBC and Hulu ‘The cinematography displayed an elegant simplicity, delivered with utter confidence and strength. The framing was subtle but incredibly powerful… a very human piece of work, beautifully lit, always well motivated, and it felt very real while retaining a very ­romantic tone.’ Nominees: ◗ Ed Rutherford – Little Birds, Warp Films and Sky Studios for Sky Atlantic ◗ David Odd – Giri/Haji (Duty/Shame), Sister for BBC Two and Netflix

40

One pop video led to another and, before long, Nina was also casting TV commercials. In 1992, she cast a McDonald’s ad directed by Mike Leigh. He spotted her obvious flair and, later in the decade, asked Nina to cast her first feature film, Topsy-Turvy. Her subsequent work in cinema has gone on to cover the range of movie making from Hollywood blockbusters such as Star Wars, Jurassic World and Mamma Mia!, to modestly budgeted British films like Sunshine on Leith. ‘On television, Nina’s skills in the nuanced alchemy of casting have created a generation of stars who are now familiar faces but were given their early breaks by her. Every year, she scours drama schools and acting workshops in

Picture Enhancement

Adam Dolniak – Rise of the Nazis 72 Films for BBC Two ‘The creative results of this grade were striking, especially given the time and budget constraints. It was original, creative, supported the photography and made a notable difference to the story and subject matter.’ Nominees: ◗ Asa Shoul – Devs, FX Networks and DNA Films for BBC Two ◗ Aidan Farrell, Catherine the Great, New Pictures and Origin Pictures for HBO and Sky

her relentless search for new talent. She’s acknowledged to have the best antennae in the business, but she combines this with a gift for surprise – she often casts unexpected actors into roles that they then somehow end up appearing born to play. ‘Nina’s a risk taker, but one with exceptional judgement and great taste. The writer and showrunner of The Crown, Peter Morgan, said, “She’s like a benevolent pickpocket. You walk in to meet her with a pocketful of what you think are brilliant casting ideas. By the time you leave, you’ve none of those ideas any more, but your pockets have been filled with others, which you then find out are all inevitably better.”

Production Design – Drama

Joel Collins – His Dark Materials Bad Wolf for BBC One and HBO ‘An epic, detailed and exciting design, giving life to a fantasy world while still being rooted in reality.’ Nominees: ◗ Tom Burton – Catherine the Great, New Pictures and Origin Pictures for Sky Atlantic in association with HBO ◗ Matthew Gant and Megan Bosaw – Gangs of London, Pulse Films/Sister and Sky Studios for Sky Atlantic in association with Cinemax �

BBC/Netflix/Channel 4

Nina Gold

Production Design – Entertainment and Non Drama

The Goes Wrong Show, Production Design – Entertainment and Non Drama

BBC

Dennis De Groot – The Goes Wrong Show (Series 1) Mischief Screen and Big Talk Productions for BBC One ‘Such a unique show, where the design of the sets and props is so integral to creating the comedy. Sketches relied on well-thought-out design, both practically and aesthetically, to create humour.’ Nominees: ◗ James Dillon – Taskmaster, Avalon Television for Dave ◗ Catherine Land and Patrick Doherty – Strictly Come Dancing, BBC Studios for BBC One

Sound – Drama

Howard Bargroff, Tim Barker, Steve Browell and Marc Specter – Baghdad Central Euston Films for Channel 4 ‘The action-scene dialogue was allowed to breathe within the artillery, explosions and music, providing a well-designed and balanced soundscape.’ Nominees: ◗ Paul Davies, Chris Durfy, Nick Cox and Ian Morgan – The Salisbury Poisonings, Dancing Ledge Productions for BBC One ◗ Sound Team – The Crown (Series 3), Left Bank Pictures for Netflix

Rise of the Nazis, Picture Enhancement

BBC

Sound – Entertainment and Non Drama

Television www.rts.org.uk December 2020/January 2021

Mim Shaikh, Host

RTS

BBC

The Last Igloo, Sound – Entertainment and Non Drama

Nick Fry, Mick Duffield and James Evans – The Last Igloo Swan Films for BBC Four ‘Very well-crafted audio in extreme weather conditions and a delicate underscore woven into the bitter winds for the sense of isolation and remoteness.’ Nominees: ◗ Kevin Duff and Andy Deacon – VJ Day 75: The Nation’s Tribute, BBC Studios for BBC One ◗ Steve Speed, Nick Fry, James Evans and Hugh Dwan – Formula 1: Drive to Survive (Series 2), Box to Box Films for Netflix n

Watch the full video of the RTS Craft & Design Awards 2020, including speeches by the Chair of the Awards, Anne Mensah, and the RTS’s Patron, HRH The Prince of Wales, at: bit.ly/RTS-CandD

41

RTS NEWS The Society’s royal patron praises the ingenuity and commitment of production workers, reports Steve Clarke

H

42

HRH The Prince of Wales

RTS

RH The Prince of Wales, patron of the Royal Television Society, has paid tribute to the cultural and economic contribution made by TV production teams in the UK. In an inspirational message, delivered at the RTS Craft & Design Awards 2020, Prince Charles said that lockdown had given him “renewed admiration” for the skills of all types of programme-makers. This was based on personal experience. To keep in touch during the early days of the pandemic, he said that he had been forced to shoot and edit short films in order to maintain contact with the outside world. He congratulated all the winners and nominees, for whom he expressed “my warmest appreciation and admiration. Your devotion to your craft has made British television production a truly outstanding success story.” The RTS Craft & Design Awards, which were streamed on 23 November, were “a testament to the quality of the technical skills and expertise we see in British television production in all its many genres”. The spring lockdown had reminded us all of TV’s vital role: “For many of our most vulnerable people shielding at home, television was a valuable source of company – in many cases, their only source of company.

Prince Charles pays tribute to TV workforce “Whether through documentaries, drama, news and current affairs, entertainment or natural history program­ mes, the nation was kept informed, engaged and entertained throughout those trying months by television in all its rich variety.” Noting that the UK TV production industry was worth more than £3bn, with almost a third coming from international revenues, “the sector is a hugely significant part of the nation’s economic life. That figure alone is a wonderful tribute to the people who work behind the camera – the highly skilled technicians and crews whose creativity and professionalism have made British

programmes so admired around the world.” Recalling how he had met some of the recipients of RTS Television Production and Broadcast Journalism bursaries three years ago at a cele­ bration to the mark the Society’s 90th birthday, HRH stressed the importance of nurturing the next generation of production personnel. “Developing new talent, valuing and strengthening these essential crafts and creating new opportunities is more important now than ever,” he said. “I know that the coronavirus pandemic has brought incredibly difficult times to people working in TV production and to freelancers in particular.

“When production closed down, many were left without work yet still with families to provide for and bills to pay. “As with so many of our industries, it was a devastating period. “But, now that production is beginning to re-establish itself, I do hope you’ll be encouraged by the knowledge that the contribution that you make to our national cultural and economic life is truly valued. “The ingenuity and resourcefulness of crafts people in British television production is revered around the world and it is my belief that you will rebound from these challenging days stronger than ever.” n

Dance floor dates

Flirty Dancing Banjo as the show’s choreographer. He was keen; in fact, said Jackson, Banjo had “met his wife on the dance floor”. The indie shot a pilot, heavily influenced by the Hollywood musical La La Land. “We wanted to create this heightened world and give the [dancers] their

Channel 4

RTS London

TV presenter and super fan Gaby Roslin talked to some of the key figures behind Flirty Dancing at an RTS London event in November. Second Star Productions’ dating show – in which two strangers learn a dance with Ashley Banjo and then dance together – has enjoyed two series on Channel 4. Second Star chief creative officer and dance lover Deb­ orah Sargeant came up with an idea for a series that combined dancing and dating. The indie’s development team, looking at pre-internet dating, discovered that “75% of [couples] in the 1950s met on the dance floor”, recalled series producer Ami Jackson. Second Star pitched to Channel 4, which suggested

rom-com moment,” she said. Channel 4 commissioned the series on the back of the pilot. Laetitia Nneke cast Flirty Dancing: “The people we were looking for were quite different, they were not necessarily the people who would appear on other dating shows. Yes, they were

Sport: the ‘ultimate unscripted drama’ RTS Thames Valley

In March, Sunset+Vine was “firing on all cylinders” – but, with the Covid-19 lockdown, “we went from that to nothing”, said Jeff Foulser. The Executive Chair of the worldwide sports producer, who was talking at a November RTS Thames Valley event, added: “The last eight months have probably been the most challenging of my career.… We are really thankful for BT Sport, our biggest client, who basically said, ‘We want you

to be here after this is over and we’re going to keep paying you.’ We’ve come through it now and we’re fine.” During a wide-ranging conversation with Thames Valley’s Tim Marshall, a former BBC head of events, Foulser looked back at his career, which began as a tea boy at LWT in the 1970s and took him, via ITV’s The Big Match and the World Cup, to running Sunset+Vine. Discussing sports rights, Foulser said that rights

Television www.rts.org.uk December 2020/January 2021

holders were “always looking over their shoulder.… Sport is the ultimate unscripted drama; it delivers huge ratings and that’s why it costs so much money.” Amazon, he noted, had “dipped its toes into” Premier League football and international rugby. “Sky and BT will be thinking, ‘I wonder where Amazon is going next and who else might come in?’ “We all know where sports go if they get offered the biggest cheque.”

single, but they also had to have a passion for dance.” She went to studios and events, and even tea dances, as well as the usual dating sources, to cast the series. Couples had to be matched romantically, and by dancing ability and style. One key consideration, said Nneke, was, “How much can dance bring out their attraction for each other?” Flirty Dancing is known for its visually arresting locations, which have included roof-top bars, galleries, seaside resorts and train stations. “You’ve got to find a location that ties in with the couple… and it’s got to work for the dancing and the filming,” said director Nik Warner. “We use big lenses so we can get right in close and capture those [intimate] moments.” Jackson added: “We wanted to showcase some of the UK’s incredible landmarks.… Locations had to feel cinematic.” Fox has taken the format to the US and Second Star is talking to Channel 4 about a third series in the UK. Lettija Lee produced the RTS London event. Matthew Bell

But Foulser argued that sport loses out by ignoring terrestrial TV. In 2005, he recalled, more than 8 million watched the nail-biting final day of the Test series against Australia on Channel 4, which Sunset+Vine produced. Since then, no Test cricket has been shown live on free-to-air TV. “This is no criticism of Sky, but not everyone can afford to have a subscription,” he said. “Cricket has suffered in the intervening years because it wasn’t available to as many eyeballs as possible. “All sport needs terrestrial television.” Matthew Bell

43

RTS CENTRE AWARDS

NEWS TV content to become personal

44

Jim Corr Photography

RTS London

Personalisation of TV content was identified as a major trend over the next five years by key figures from the Digital Production Partnership (DPP) at an RTS London event in early November. “There’s so much content and it’s in so many places. Finding a way of navigating, aggregating and personalising that content for the consumer is going to be key,” said Helen Stevens, ITV’s operations officer, content supply and distribution, and Chair of the DPP. Rowan de Pomerai, the DPP’s chief technology officer, added that “voice search and aggregated watch lists will start to become really important”. He called on content and technology companies to work together. Looking 10 years into the future, Stevens predicted a significant change in the UK’s broadcasting ecology: “I think you might see one consolidated public service broadcasting platform, with content from the existing public service broadcasters on it.” “The companies that succeed,” added de Pomerai, would be “those that invest in both content and in the user experience.” Earlier, the panel discussed the effect of the coronavirus epidemic on the TV industry. “This year has showed us that… as an industry, we are far more capable of working remotely than we thought,” said the DPP’s Chief Executive, Mark Harrison. “2020 visions: The view from the DPP”, was produced by Carol Owens. Matthew Bell

Michelle Fairley

Thrones star scoops prize Northern Ireland

Game of Thrones star Michelle Fairley was awarded the Brian Waddell Award for her outstanding contribution to the broadcast industry at the RTS Northern Ireland Television Awards in November. The Coleraine-born actor, who played Catelyn Stark in the hit HBO drama, recently appeared in Sky Atlantic’s Gangs of London and BBC Two factual drama Responsible Child. “I feel very lucky to have been given some fantastic opportunities throughout my career and believe that my ‘outstanding contribution’ really is just that – a contribution to fantastic productions and wonderful creative teams,” said Fairley. BBC Three teen comedy drama My Left Nut, set and

shot by Kay Mellor’s indie Rollem Productions in Belfast, took the Drama prize at the awards, which were presented online by Northern Irish comedian and presenter Patrick Kielty. Journalist Peter Taylor’s personal account of the key events of the Northern Ireland conflict for BBC Northern Ireland, Peter Taylor: My Journey Through the Troubles,

RTS Northern Ireland Television Awards winners Brian Waddell Award•Michelle Fairley Drama•My Left Nut•Rollem Productions for BBC Three Scripted Comedy•Soft Border Patrol•The Comedy Unit for BBC NI Entertainment•There’s No Place Like Tyrone•Stellify Media for BBC NI Factual Entertainment/Features• Pulling with My Parents•Alleycats Films for RTÉ2

won the Specialist Factual category. The Current Affairs award also to went to BBC Northern Ireland, for Spotlight: Fear and Loathing in Quinn Country. UTV Live at Six won the News Coverage award for its coverage of the coronavirus crisis. BBC Four’s Arena: The Changin’ Times of Ike White, made by Belfast indie Erica Starling Productions, secured the Documentary award. Stellify Media’s BBC reality show There’s No Place Like Tyrone picked up the Entertainment prize, while Alleycats Films’ RTÉ2 series Pulling with My Parents scooped the Factual Entertainment/Features award. Soft Border Patrol, the Comedy Unit’s Brexit mockumentary for the BBC, set on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, won the Scripted Comedy prize. An animated short, The Voyage by Jam Media, produced in aid of RTÉ Does Comic Relief, triumphed in the Children’s/Animation category. The awards were sponsored by Belfast post-production house Ka-Boom, and supported by BBC Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Screen and Channel 4. Matthew Bell Specialist Factual•Peter Taylor: My Journey Through the Troubles•BBC NI Documentary•Arena: The Changin’ Times of Ike White•Erica Starling Productions for BBC Four News Coverage•UTV Live at Six•UTV Current Affairs•Spotlight: Fear and Loathing in Quinn Country•BBC NI Children’s/Animation•The Voyage• Jam Media for RTÉ Original Music Score•Lost Lives – Mark Gordon, Neil Martin, Richard Hill and Charles Graham•DoubleBand Films

NEWS Subtitling celebrates 40 years

BBC

Thames Valley

It is 40 years since the BBC broadcast its first major series that offer subtitles, Life on Earth. A Thames Valley Centre event in December celebrated this anniversary with contributions from experts and Dawn Jones, a subtitles user. “I’m exhausted at the end of the day from the effort it takes to engage with real life, so it’s lovely to come home, turn the telly and the subtitles on and relax,” said Jones, who was born hard of hearing. “Accessibility… prevents loneliness.… Because programmes are subtitled, it meant I could participate in conversations at school with my friends and, today, with my [work] colleagues about the latest [shows].” “Accessibility is part of the BBC by its charter,” said Nigel Megitt, who works in the corporation’s access services. “When the technological capability existed… the first thing we did was subtitles.” By 2008, all programmes on the BBC’s main television services were being subtitled. Red Bee Media’s Hewson Maxwell explained how “re-speaking” specialists subtitle live TV: “Producing accurate text when you have no idea what someone is going to say until they’ve already said it [is] a real skill. “There’s always a chance of things coming out wrong,” he said. “You’re trying to say ‘Trump and Pence’ and you get ‘Trump in pants’.” Dom Bourne, head of Take 1 access services, said automatic speech-recognition-generated captions require “human polish to boost [their] quality”. Matthew Bell

Gentleman Jack

Gentleman Jack goes nap Yorkshire Centre

Sally Wainwright and Gentleman Jack enjoyed a successful evening at the RTS Yorkshire Tele­ vision Awards in November, winning five prizes between them. Wainwright received the Outstanding Contribution award. The creator of the hit BBC period drama, who also wrote Happy Valley, said: “It’s very nice that the award has come on the back of Gentleman Jack, which I have been working on for

RTS Yorkshire Television Awards winners Outstanding Contribution• Sally Wainwright Judges’ Award•Joi Polloi Drama•Gentleman Jack•Lookout Point for BBC/HBO Actor•Amy-Leigh Hickman – Ackley Bridge•The Forge Entertainment for Channel 4 Writer•Sally Wainwright – Gentleman Jack•Lookout Point for BBC/HBO Single Documentary•The Family Secret•Candour Productions for Channel 4 Documentary Series•The Yorkshire Vet•Daisybeck Studios for Channel 5 Factual Entertainment•Bangers and Cash•Air TV for UKTV/Yesterday Features•Wild Animal Rescue•Daisybeck Studios for Channel 5 News or Current Affairs Reporter• Phillip Norton•BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire News or Current Affairs Story•Church Abuse Scandal, Look North•BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire/Panorama

more than 20 years. It’s the project that’s always been closest to my heart.” She also won the Writer’s award for Gentleman Jack, which bagged the Drama prize. In the craft categories, composer Murray Gold and production designer Anna Pritchard were recognised for their work on the series. Candour Productions’ film for Channel 4 The Family Secret (Single Documentary and Professional Excellence – News Programme•Calendar: South Yorkshire Floods•ITV Yorkshire Presenter•Harry Gration – BBC Look North•BBC Yorkshire One to Watch•Josh Carpenter, produc­ tion co-ordinator•True North Productions Animation•You, Me and Those Who Came Before•Fettle Animation and Counterpoints Arts for Refugee Week Independent Spirit•Candour Productions Low-cost Factual•Bangers and Cash• Air TV for UKTV/Yesterday Music and Sound•Murray Gold – Gentleman Jack•Lookout Point for BBC/HBO Professional Excellence n Factual Post-production•Luke Rothery and Nick Thorp, editors – The Yorkshire Dales and The Lakes•True North for More4 n Factual Production•The Family Secret•Candour Productions for Channel 4 n Drama & Comedy Post-production• Carry On Up the Khyber•ITV Content Delivery for BritBox n Drama & Comedy Production•Anna Pritchard, production designer – Gentle­ man Jack•Lookout Point for BBC/HBO

Television www.rts.org.uk December 2020/January 2021

Factual Production), and Air TV’s UKTV series Bangers and Cash (Factual Entertainment and Low-cost Factual) picked up two prizes each. Candour Productions also won the Independent Spirit award. Amy-Leigh Hickman took the Actor award for her portrayal of Nasreen Paracha in Channel 4 drama Ackley Bridge. The Yorkshire Vet, made by Daisybeck Studios for Channel 5, won the Documentary Series category for the second year running. The Judges’ Award went to Sheffield digital studio Joi Polloi for its work on Channel 4 reality show The Circle. The online ceremony was hosted by Helen Skelton from The Hepworth Wakefield, and featured guests Alex Brooker, Steph McGovern, Amar Latif and Richard Madeley. “Everyone in the region has worked so hard to ensure ongoing and safe production, while continuing to provide work for our crews and production teams – everyone’s a winner,” said RTS Yorkshire Chair Fiona Thompson. Candour Productions, Daisy-­ beck Studios, True North Post and Universal Production Music sponsored the awards. Matthew Bell

45

RTS CENTRE AWARDS

RTS Midlands Television Awards winners Baird Medal•Sue Nicholls Drama•Doctors•BBC Studios for BBC One Acting – Female•Dúaa Karim, Man Like Mobeen•Tiger Aspect Productions for BBC Three Acting – Male•Adrian Lewis Morgan, Doctors•BBC Studios for BBC One Writer•Guz Khan and Andy Milligan, Man Like Mobeen•Tiger Aspect Productions for BBC Three Documentary•Life and Birth•Dragonfly Film & TV for BBC One

46

Man Like Mobeen with Dúaa Karim (centre) and Guz Khan (right)

Mobeen nabs hat trick Previous recipients of the medal include Barbara Slater, Jed Mercurio and Frank Skinner. “Our region has again produced some of the best TV and talent in the past 12 months, and we received more award entries than in

2019 – given the circumstan­ ces, that’s incredible,” said Caren Davies, Chair of RTS Midlands. The ceremony was broadcast live from BBC Birmingham on the RTS website and hosted by TV presenter Tim Warwood. He was assisted by

Factual•The Lady Killers•FirstLookTV for Quest Red

England for BBC Arts, BBC Four and BBC online

Factual Entertainment•The Rap Game UK•Naked for BBC Three News Programme•Nottinghamshire Child Abuse Scandal•BBC Birmingham

Short Form•BBC New Creatives•Rural Media supported by Arts Council England for BBC Arts, BBC Four and BBC online platforms

Journalist of the Year•Darshna Soni•ITN for Channel 4 News

Digital Creativity•Strictly Sideman• BBC Three

On-screen Personality•Oloni, My Mate’s a Bad Date•BBC Three

Promotional Content•Confetti Fields• Conteur for The Real Flower Petal Confetti Company

Breakthrough – Off-screen•Luke Collins• Rural Media for BBC Breakthrough – On-screen•Oloni, My Mate’s a Bad Date•BBC Three Animation•Flesh•Anna Campbell and Rural Media, supported by Arts Council

Craft – Production•Man Like Mobeen• Tiger Aspect Productions for BBC Three Craft – Post-production•Da Vinci Learning channel idents•Second Home Studios for Da Vinci Learning

Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight and several stars, including Guz Khan, Jill Halfpenny and Craig Charles. Strictly Come Dancing announ­ cer Alan Dedicoat provided the voiceover for the awards. During the ceremony, tributes were paid to Bermudian actor Earl Cameron, who lived locally, and Birmingham-born Tony Garnett, both of whom died this year. Garnett produced many of Ken Loach’s dramas, including Kes, before going on to found World Productions, where he was responsible for such seminal series as This Life and Between the Lines. The BBC, Channel 4, Create Central and Film Birmingham sponsored the awards. Matthew Bell

BBC

Midlands Centre

BBC Three comedy Man Like Mobeen scored a hat trick of wins at the RTS Midlands Awards in late November. The writers of the Tiger Aspect production, Guz Khan and Andy Milligan, shared the Writer award for the third year running. Dúaa Karim, who stars as Khan’s little sister in Man Like Mobeen, won the Acting – Female award, while the series also took the Craft – Production prize. Hereford-based producer and charity Rural Media matched Man Like Mobeen, securing three awards for: Flesh (Animation); film-maker Luke Collins (Breakthrough – Off-screen); and BBC New Creatives (Short Form). BBC Studios’ Doctors, which is celebrating its 20th year on air, was rewarded with both the Drama award and Acting – Male prize, for Adrian Lewis Morgan, the daytime series’s longest-serving cast member. Sex and relationship guru Oloni from BBC Three show My Mate’s a Bad Date bagged two prizes: On-screen Personality and Breakthrough – On-screen. The Documentary award went to Dragonfly Film & TV for BBC series Life and Birth. Walsall-born Sue Nicholls, who has played Audrey Roberts in Coronation Street for more than four decades, received the Baird Medal in recognition of her outstanding contribution to television.

NEWS Steve Clarke learns how Death in Paradise overcame the pandemic

‘I

From Guadeloupe – with gratitude Ralf Little and Joséphine Jobert the rules. Our actors have delivered performances as if nothing had happened. “I didn’t know how casting would go because of Covid. I didn’t know if people would be reluctant to travel. But people were very keen to work…. It has felt very much like business as usual.” Returning to Death in Paradise for his second stint sleuthing in the tropics is Ralf Little, who plays grumpy British detective DI Neville Parker. Allergic to sun, sand and seawater, Parker’s constitution suits Saint Marie as a duck dreads dry land. So will his relationship with Commissioner Selwyn Patterson improve this time round? “It’s just like a marriage, we have good days and bad days. We have more bad days than good,” said Don Warrington, who has played the urbane but strict Patterson since the show’s debut in 2011.

Television www.rts.org.uk December 2020/January 2021

BBC

t’s a strange alchemy,” mused Tim Key, an executive producer of BBC One’s long-running, prime-time comedy-drama hit Death in Paradise. As fans contemplate the 10th series of the detective caper set on the fictional Caribbean island of Saint-Marie – in reality, Guadeloupe – Key and three of the programme’s stars gave the RTS an insider’s guide to what makes it click. “It’s a show the family can enjoy together,” said Key, who works for series producer Red Planet Pictures. “It’s a parlour game, very warm-hearted and set in a beautiful location. The show doesn’t take itself too seriously – [though] we take it incredibly seriously. And we have great actors. “Getting that tone right is very difficult. We’re lucky to have a cast that can move people as much as we amuse and entertain them.” And no more so than during 2020, when Covid-19 led to filming in this sun-kissed Shangri-La being postponed during the spring. Fortunately, production was able to resume and series 10 is ready for screening in January. “The pandemic affected us profoundly, but we are a show that can work through Covid. We film outside. We’re on an island,” explained Key. “We’re not filming in a city centre and don’t use public transport. We don’t have a lot of sex scenes or crowd scenes. In many scenes, [just] one or two people interview one or two other people. “You won’t see any sign of any restrictions on screen whatsoever but, backstage, it’s been complicated. “I can’t praise the cast and crew enough for abiding by

To celebrate series 10, two of the biggest names from the show’s past return as guest stars – Ben Miller, who reprises his role as DI Richard Poole, and Sara Martins, cast again as DS Camille Bordey. “They felt they had some unfinished business with the show. They both wanted to be part of our 10th year,” said Key. “It was great to see those two acting together again. For long-term fans of the show, season 10 does everything we want it to do. It celebrates the past and drives the show forward.” One fixture of the series is Guadeloupe itself – and the locals who make the show happen. Key can’t speak highly enough of the privilege of working on the island. “We’d be nothing without Guadeloupe and the local teams,” he said. “Fifty per cent of our crew are French or Guadeloupian. We work

closely with a local college. Some of our crew have come through there. We’re committed to give back as much as we’re able to.” While working in tropical temperatures can be challenging, at weekends “I can visit waterfalls, watch dolphins and turtles, or chill around the pool”, said Joséphine Jobert, who is returning to the show as DS Florence Cassell following a year off. “Sometimes, I feel a bit guilty, especially when people are locked down and I post a picture of a dolphin on social media. I feel so blessed that I’m surrounded by all this nature.” n ‘Death in Paradise Q&A’, with Ralf Little, Don Warrington, Joséphine Jobert and Tim Key, was chaired by Heat’s Kay Ribeiro on 3 December. It was produced by the RTS and Premier Communications.

47

RTS NEWS

Channel 5

RTS North West

The World According to Grandpa harnesses live action, puppetry and animation – as well as the considerable acting talent of Don Warrington and Sally Lindsay – to create a heart-warming and educational series for Milkshake!, Channel 5’s multi-platform, pre-school strand. Saffron Cherry Productions’ 25 x 11-minute series, which began its run at the end of November, is based on Chris Heath’s popular books. The idea came from Heath’s grandfather, Arturo Garcia, who was born and raised in Puerto Rico. “He told outrageous fibs,” said Heath, who was talking at an RTS North West and Media­ City UK event in November. “He used to tell me about sharks that had been born on land, who used to nick mangoes out of his back garden.” In the series, Grandpa, who is played by Warrington, spins nonsensical tales from a sofa to his grandchildren and is then put right by Halifax, a clever-clogs rabbit voiced by Lindsay. “I loved the stories – I thought they were delightful and uplifting. They caught the sprit of a grandparent’s [relationship] with a grandchild,” said Warrington, who was speaking from the set of BBC One drama Death in Paradise in Guadeloupe.

The World According to Grandpa

Grandpa: made in Manchester “To be part of children’s lives is spellbinding. Little children’s eyes are going to be looking at Halifax and she’s going to be telling them how electricity is made and how computers work – and they’re going to remember that for the rest of their lives,” said Lindsay. The former Coronation Street actor added that the series “subverts stereotypes. Halifax

is very northern, very clever and very much female.” Louise Bucknole, children’s commissioner at Channel 5’s parent company, ViacomCBS Networks International, was charmed when she saw the series teaser: “It was storytelling done differently. We loved the writing, the ambition and passion for the project, and the diverse cast.” The World According to

RTS Cymru Wales

BBC North West Tonight weatherman Owain Wyn Evans talked TV and sexuality with RTS Cymru Wales Chair Edward Russell in November. Evans, who grew up in a working-class family in Ammanford, became the

48

presenter of S4C’s Welsh language children’s news programme Ffeil at just 18. His screen test was nervy, but “they must have seen something, because I had no experience”, he said. Since 2012, he has presented the weather for the

Owain Wyn Evans BBC across the UK, bringing his flamboyant personality and social media innovation

BBC

BBC weatherman is positive role model

Grandpa was filmed at Vectar Studios in Stockport and animated by Flix Facilities at Salford’s MediaCity UK, with a cast of local children. It’s a “copper-bottomed northern production”, said Caroline Roberts-Cherry, MD of Manchester indie Saffron Cherry. The series, which was supported by the government-funded, British Film Institute-managed Young Audiences Content Fund, has a diverse cast and production team. “It was brilliant to be given an opportunity to show that a [diverse production] could be done – and that it could be done from the North West,” said Roberts-Cherry. The World According to Grandpa was made under coronavirus restrictions. “Once you’d observed the protocols, there were ways of playing with the kids, which is very important in this kind of show… and that kept every­ one happy and relaxed,” said Warrington. “The show is so funny and genuinely educational,” said producer/director Alex Jacob. “I was watching an episode of The Crown the other day and it used the word ‘crepus­ cular’, and I knew what it meant because Halifax had told me.” The event was hosted by the broadcaster OJ Borg and produced by Rachel Pinkney. Matthew Bell

to the science of forecasting. He recalled seeing Russell T Davies’s pioneering gay drama Queer as Folk as a teenager growing up in west Wales. “It was like looking into another world,” he said. Evans is a strong supporter of the LGBT community: “I would never describe myself as a role model, but positive role models are super important. I do have a platform in a way and it’s a great place for me to be myself.” Matthew Bell

RTS NEWS

RTS West of England

A life-affirming documentary for BBC Four’s Storyville strand sees director Xavier Alford become the subject of his own film and, in the process, learn about his illness, multifocal motor neuropathy. In Locked In: Breaking the Silence, which is made by Bristol indie Marble Films and aired late last month, Alford talks to doctors and fellow sufferers but, crucially, opens up to his family about a progressively worsening condition that causes muscle weakness and atrophy. Following his diagnosis a decade ago, he felt a “responsibility”, as a documentarymaker, to make a film, but “felt way, way too raw – I wasn’t ready”. Alford was talking to Lynn Barlow at an RTS West of England event that offered a first look at the featurelength documentary. A Bafta

The

UPSIDE All3 attracts a pair of Silverbacks Congratulations to All3Media for acquiring blue-chip natural history producer Silverback Films, maker of such gems as Netflix’s recent blockbuster Our Planet, narrated by, you guessed it, Sir David Attenborough. Silverback’s founders, Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey, are doyens of wildlife film-making. Each forged their career at the

nomination for the 2017 BBC Three series Drugs­land boosted Alford’s confidence and, he felt, his chances of getting a personal film off the ground: “The real clincher was that I’d reached a point where holding my camera had become really difficult. I was declining quite quickly, although I’ve been very lucky and [since] had a steady, stable two years. “I had to do it now, otherwise I might risk never being able to shoot it myself.” Storyville commissioning editor Mandy Chang said: “We knew it was going to be a journey – turning a camera on yourself is not an easy thing: you’re very vulnerable. We kept pushing him to challenge himself, but he rose to the challenge every time.” Editor Colette Hodges discussed working with Alford: “A lot of the filming took place during the edit, so we were on this journey together.

BBC’s famed Natural History Unit and went on to lead the unit. As Variety observes, adding Silverback to All3’s portfolio represents ‘a tremendous coup’ for the company.

Xavier Alford in Locked In: Breaking the Silence There was a lot of banter and I think you need to have a sense of humour, especially with a bleak subject like this, to get yourself through it.” One of the film’s contributors, Rob, can only communicate by winking. “It was a huge lesson for me,” said Alford. “All [Rob and his wife] want to do is talk and, whatever I’m going through with this illness, I’m a thousand miles away from being unable to talk – it was just myself

stopping myself from talking.” Chang concluded: “I wanted Xav to make an authored film about his condition and everything that goes with that, the emotional ups and downs. It brings the science into it lightly but really beautifully. It’s a film about the universal thing of how we don’t talk to each other about these really important things… I’m really proud that the film is part of Storyville.” Matthew Bell

when he and his wife plan to devote more time to their Sicilian farm. He is leaving on a high, and some of his achievements, not least Chernobyl, are discussed in our RTS Digital Convention report on page 18.

Who Came in from the Cold. Le Carré’s longevity and prolific output were extraordinary: The Night Manager, superbly adapted for TV, would not be published for another 30 years.

Gary Davey dreams A gripping legacy of life on the farm of spies and films It’s hard to image Sky minus Gary Davey. The straight-talking Antipodean was there at the start, when Rupert Murdoch launched the satellite service in 1989. He went on to run many parts of Murdoch’s pay-TV empire, in Asia, Europe and the US, becoming CEO of Sky Studios in June 2019. Davey is retiring next summer,

Television www.rts.org.uk December 2020/January 2021

BBC

Cathartic doc breaks silence

Much ink has been spilt in tributes to the late, brilliant John le Carré. For an early insight into the great man, check out an interview he gave in 1966 to the BBC’s Intimations programme, available on iPlayer. In 1963, he had made a splash with the seminal cold war novel The Spy

TV leaves its mark on the chessboard If you’re thinking of buying a chess set as a last-minute Christmas gift, forget it. Such is the impact of Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit that finding a new chess set, or any other chess parapher­ nalia, is harder than locating a duff Miles Davis solo. Copies of Walter Tevis’s novel, on which the series is based, are even rarer. n

49

RTS PATRONS RTS Principal Patrons

BBC

RTS International Patrons

A+E Networks International Discovery Networks Facebook Liberty Global NBCUniversal International

Netflix The Walt Disney Company Viacom International Media Networks WarnerMedia YouTube

RTS Major Patrons

Accenture All3Media Amazon Video Audio Network Avid Boston Consulting Group BT Channel 5 Deloitte

EndemolShine Enders Analysis Entertainment One Finecast Freeview Fremantle Gravity Media IBM IMG Studios ITN

KPMG netgem.tv NTT Data OC&C Pinewood TV Studios S4C Sargent-Disc Spencer Stuart STV Group

The Trade Desk UKTV Vice Virgin Media YouView

RTS Patrons

Autocue Digital Television Group

Grass Valley Isle of Media

Lumina Search Mission Bay

PricewaterhouseCoopers Raidió Teilifís Éireann

Who’s who at the RTS

Patron HRH The Prince of Wales

Chair of RTS Trustees Jane Turton

CENTRES COUNCIL

Education Graeme Thompson

Vice-Presidents David Abraham Dawn Airey Sir David Attenborough OM

Honorary Secretary David Lowen

CH CVO CBE FRS

Baroness Floella Benjamin OBE Mike Darcey Gary Davey Greg Dyke Lord Hall of Birkenhead Lorraine Heggessey Armando Iannucci OBE Ian Jones Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon OBE David Lynn Sir Trevor McDonald OBE Ken MacQuarrie Gavin Patterson Trevor Phillips OBE Stewart Purvis CBE Sir Howard Stringer

50

Channel 4

Honorary Treasurer Mike Green

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Lynn Barlow Julian Bellamy Mike Green Yasmina Hadded David Lowen Jane Millichip Simon Pitts Sarah Rose Jane Turton Rob Woodward

EXECUTIVE

ITV

Lynn Barlow Phil Barnes Tony Campbell Agnes Cogan Stephanie Farmer Richard Frediani Rick Horne Kully Khaila Tim Marshall Will Nicholson Stephen O’Donnell Jon Quayle Edward Russell Vikkie Taggart Fiona Thompson

SPECIALIST GROUP CHAIRS

Archives Dale Grayson

Chief Executive Theresa Wise

Diversity Angela Ferreira

Bursaries Manager Anne Dawson

Early Evening Events Heather Jones

Sky

RTS Futures Alex Wootten RTS Technology Bursaries Simon Pitts

AWARDS COMMITTEE CHAIRS

Awards & Fellowship Policy David Lowen

Craft & Design Awards Anne Mensah Programme Awards Kenton Allen Student Television Awards Siobhan Greene Television Journalism Awards Simon Bucks