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Remembering some top BBC Dramas

2015-01-21T15:05:22+00:00

As the much-anticipated BBC Two adaptation of Wolf Hall premieres, About the BBC Blog Assistant Elizabeth Morton revisits some recent high-flying BBC dramas.

Sarah Lancashire in Happy Valley

Hailed by critics as 'utterly compelling' (Daily Mail) and 'unmissable' (Guardian), the breakout drama of 2014 had to be Happy Valley, starring Sarah Lancashire. It proved so popular that it’s been recommissioned for a second series and topped a Radio Times poll for best police drama and show of 2014. The BBC One drama had a whopping 7.8 million viewers watch the final episode, with 8.1 million iPlayer requests. What’s more, BBC Worldwide has sold the series to the seven international broadcasters: Australia, Finland, France, Iceland, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden.

James Nesbitt in The Missing

James Nesbitt led the cast of The Missing to brilliant reviews across the press like: ‘hauntingly brilliant television’ (Guardian) and ‘nailbiting’ (Telegraph). A human drama focusing on the lives of Tony and Emily Hughes after their son disappers, after the final episode 6.6 million viewers got a surprise in the shape of a preview of series two - confirming the show's recommission.

Gillian Anderson as DSI Stella Gibon and Jamie Dornan as Paul Spector in The Fall

The Fall starred former X-Filer Gillian Anderson and newcomer Jamie Dornan, and received international critical acclaim becoming BBC Two’s biggest drama series to launch in over 10 years. ‘Gripping, slow-burning, [and] brilliantly constructed’ as it was The Fall went on for a second series last year. Filmed and produced from BBC Northern Ireland, the first series secured an audience of 3.5 million viewers.

Maggie Gyllenhaal in award-winning The Honourable Woman

Another recent BBC success came with The Honourable Woman, starring Hollywood heavyweight Maggie Gyllenhaal, who picked up a Golden Globe for Best Actress. The series has also sold to France, Israel, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Spain, USA, South Africa and Australia.

Idris Elba as the enigmatic DCI Luther

Period drama Ripper Street started life on BBC One and is still seen in more than 150 territories and continues to provoke discussion.

Luther was sold to more than 200 countries, and its global appeal has seen a win for Idris Elba at the Golden Globes. “Beautifully shot [and] full of slick architectural vista” (The Telegraph), a new mini-series has been commissioned for 2015.

Sherlock stars Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Watson and Sherlock

No list of great BBC drama would be complete without Sherlock. Licensed to 224 regions between 2013 and 2014, more than any other programme, both Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman took home Emmys for their roles in the hit show which was sold to more broadcasters worldwide last year than any other BBC show – even more than Doctor Who.

The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and his assistant Clara (Jenna Coleman)

But Capaldi can’t complain… Doctor Who has been watched in more than 200 territories worldwide, and is the world’s longest running sci-fi programme according to the Guinness Book of Records (after starting life in 1963).

Then there’s those swashbuckling Musketeers who are now in 140 territories around the world proving a hit from the UK to South Africa.

Richard Lintern, Emilia Fox and David Caves in Silent Witness

Dame Judi Dench, Michael Gambon, Jim Carter, Philip Glenister and Imelda Staunton, made sure Cranford won big at the BAFTAs and Emmys as well as getting rave reviews ‘simply stunning performance[s]” (Guardian).

It’s hard to believe forensic drama Silent Witness is now in its nineteenth year (it was first broadcast in 1996). It’s had a few cast line-up changes from Amanda Burton in its early years to Emilia Fox, but as the Guardian says “There’s a reason it has survived into its 18th series: it is simply gloriously page-turning dark fun, and rather well acted too”.

Of course an exhaustive list is impossible, and taste comes into it, but other (older) members of the team have asked that I mention Pride and Prejudice (something about Colin Firth and a pond?), Bleak House, White Queen, Clocking Off, Tess, Life on Mars, I Claudius, Boys from the Blackstuff, Spooks, Line of Duty, The Hour, State of Play and House of Cards (the BBC original from 1990). This blog’s caused much reminiscing in our office so feel free to add your favourites in the comments section below.

Elizabeth Morton is Assistant, About the BBC Blog

Wolf Hall starts tonight, Wednesday 21 January 2015, on BBC Two

Taking the Doctor to the next dimension

2013-11-22T10:26:17+00:00

Here in BBC Distribution, excitement is mounting with each moment as we count down to The Day of the Doctor. We’re excited enough about the special 50th anniversary programme itself. But we are also thrilled to have the responsibility of delivering the Doctor to a new dimension; to be his human assistants enabling him to burst out of your screen in 3D.

So with the time ticking away to the Time Lord’s return, it’s time for me to give you the latest advice on how best to watch it in 3D. But before I do, I want to take a little of your time to mark the achievements of BBC Red Button HD, which will undergo a regeneration of its own shortly after broadcasting the 3D special.

A Fond Farewell to BBC Red Button HD

At the beginning of the summer we started trying something new. We’ve been experimenting with pop-up red button streams to cover major events like Wimbledon, Glastonbury and The BBC Proms. And it’s clearly allowed us to deliver more value to our audiences.

During the Wimbledon/Glastonbury fortnight we had one additional standard definition (SD) stream on Freeview and two additional SD streams on satellite. Alongside these we offered, for the first time, BBC Red Button HD. By making efficient use of spare capacity we had available over the summer and autumn, we were able to keep BBC Red Button HD going for much longer than the additional SD streams and my team worked really hard with colleagues across the BBC to expand choice and quality for viewers, with really gratifying results:

Overall more than 3.5m viewers used the HD red button stream across Freeview HD/Youview, Virgin Media and Freesat.
During Wimbledon alone, 1.2m people tuned into BBC Red Button HD (with a total of 7.7m million people using the red button to access the additional matches overall; that’s the highest ever for Wimbledon).
We were able to broadcast about a dozen BBC Proms in HD that were otherwise destined to air in only standard definition on BBC Four. These were enjoyed by a quarter of a million people. Plus we upgraded to HD the four outside broadcasts on the Last Night from Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow and Hyde Park London.
The FIFA Confederations Cup and Glastonbury attracted 650k and 300k viewers respectively while other events to benefit from coverage on BBC Red Button HD included tennis from Queens and the ATP World Tour Finals, the British F1 Grand Prix, the Women’s Euros, Diamond League Athletics, Moto GP, RideLondon, the Reading Festival and T in the Park.

Many people across the BBC, our suppliers and the TV operators we partner with worked hard to bring this experiment to fruition. So as it comes to an end, I’d like to say a public thank you to them for all their efforts.

The Day of the Doctor in 3D

BBC Red Button HD’s final mission is to showcase the 3D version of the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special “The Day of the Doctor”. This will be broadcast on Saturday 23 November at 7:50pm (simulcast with BBC One and BBC One HD) and will be repeated on Sunday 24 November at 7pm (simulcast with BBC Three). It will look fantastic in 2D but if you’d like to see the Doctor in a new dimension in the comfort of your own home, there are two ways you can join the adventure in 3D…

You can either watch the episode in 3D live via broadcast on your 3D TV or you can catch up via BBC iPlayer.

How to watch in 3D, live

To watch The Day of the Doctor live in 3D on your TV, you will need: a 3D capable TV and its 3D glasses, and you must be able to receive the BBC’s Red Button HD stream via the telly itself or a set top box.

If you’re not sure whether your TV is capable of displaying 3D, then please check your TV’s manual. When the episode is about to start either on Saturday or Sunday, just switch to BBC Red Button HD, put your 3D TV into ‘Side-by-Side’ mode, pop on your glasses and enjoy!

For viewers with Freeview HD, Youview, Virgin Media, Sky and Freesat, the channel number for BBC Red Button HD is listed below:

Freeview HD/YouView 303

Virgin Media 994

Sky 977

Freesat 980

If you want to record the episode, it’s easy to do because BBC Red Button HD is listed in the electronic programme guide for these platforms. In most cases the channel has been available for some time so you should be able to find it, but if not then you can try to retune your Freeview HD digital TV or box or you can find help at www.virginmedia.com, help.sky.com or www.freesat.co.uk.

You’ll be able to find information about how to watch The Day of the Doctor in 3D on the BBC’s Red Button text page 998. To avoid any disappointment, you might want to have a practice, in which case you can use the 3D test card that will be shown from 6pm on BBC Red Button HD before the first showing of Doctor Who 3D.

How to watch in 3D on the BBC iPlayer

It will be possible to watch The Day of the Doctor in 3D on iPlayer for 7 days from the 23 November (after the broadcast has ended).

To enjoy in 3D, you’ll need compatible 3D equipment. Your options are:

Connected 3DTV with iPlayer and 3D glasses.
Connected Set-top-Box/Blu-Ray with iPlayer, a 3DTV and glasses (3D is not available via Sky On Demand)
PC/Mac with a 3D Display.

TVs or displays need to be set to “Side by Side” mode for iPlayer to work in 3D, so please refer to your manual if necessary. If your TV does not allow you to switch to 3D mode when using the internal iPlayer, you’ll need to connect the 3DTV (via HDMI) to use iPlayer from either a connected set-top-box, Blu-ray player, Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. 3D is only available in the higher quality version of streaming, so you’ll need a sufficient internet connection.

PC/Mac users have the option of downloading the programme via BBC iPlayer Downloads, where the download can be kept for up to 30 days. However, once you first start to play the download, you’ll have 7 days before the programme expires.

We cannot provide specific guidance to individual set-ups, but we hope you’ll find this information useful.

What will BBC Red Button HD regenerate into?

Last July we were very pleased to announce that the BBC is to launch five new HD channels by early 2014. These will be HD simulcasts of BBC News, BBC Three, BBC Four, CBBC and CBeebies.

I’m sure you’re keen to know when the launch will be but I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a little longer to find out. I’ll post again with an update towards the end of the year. However, in the meantime, I can let you know that the capacity vacated by BBC Red Button HD will be used to broadcast BBC News HD on satellite and BBC Three HD and CBBC HD on Freeview HD/Youview.

Some of you might have liked us to create a permanent red button HD stream. In terms of making best use of the capacity we can afford, the five channels listed above each attract more viewers. However, it’s our ambition to repeat our experiment with pop-up streams in 2014, delivering more choice in an agile way around major sporting and cultural events. And we will continue to keep under review the value for money of expanding our HD offer in the future.

So as to what that future holds, I suppose there’s only one man who knows... And whichever way you choose to watch him in 3D, I hope you’ll find that the Doctor has never looked so good.

Alix Pryde is Director, BBC Distribution

What Doctor Who did for television production in Wales

2013-11-19T11:16:48+00:00

In television, as in any other major industry, there are defining moments. Moments that capture the imagination, that open everybody's eyes, moments where just about everything seems possible.

The revival of Doctor Who in 2005 was one such moment. Alongside its popular and critical success, the revival of this sci-fi classic transformed perceptions of the television sector in Wales.

For years, we'd struggled to make an impact on UK network screens, but with the TARDIS in town suddenly everything really was within our grasp.

Shooting on location in Cardiff for the first series of Doctor Who.

To be fair, there was some good drama being made in Wales before the Doctor - but it was limited and sporadic. Network commissioners at the BBC tended, if pushed, to favour projects that chimed with some of the clichés of Welshness. You know the stuff – the choirs, the sheep, the miners, the tall hats.

But the launch of Doctor Who in 2005 changed all that. And for one simple reason. It created a confidence and belief that Wales could deliver.

Looking back now, my predecessor Menna Richards took a real gamble. Everything hung on the series’ success. She recognised that, of course. And she gathered some extraordinary talents around her – including one Russell T Davies and executive producer Julie Gardner – to lead the charge.

Billie Piper, Noel Clarke and John Barrowman on location in Cardiff during filming for series one of Doctor Who in 2004.

Success was by no means assured. We had audience research back then that told us there wasn’t much interest in seeing the old series reborn. But research can be wrong, and this time it was very wrong.

With Doctor Who, the commissioners could see Wales delivering with a confidence and impact that they'd never seen before. And in the TV business that opens doors, it creates new possibilities. It means commissioners ring up and ask, “What’s next?”

The transformation was remarkable. And the vast production machine of Doctor Who sprinkled its magic dust everywhere. Some of the foremost independent producers in the field – companies like Shine who produced Merlin and Hartswood who produce Sherlock – opened bases here in Wales. BBC Wales also seized the opportunity: Casualty was moved to Cardiff and a giant production centre was built at Roath Lock in Cardiff Bay.

This clustering effect helped to transform the skills base in South Wales. And perhaps for the first time ever, the brightest talents in Welsh drama production now had the chance to forge their careers in Wales without having to weigh anchor and set sail for London. On productions like Atlantis, Wizards vs. Aliens, Indian Doctor, Da Vinci's Demons, the new S4C/BBC production Hinterland/Y Gwyll (shot in both Welsh and English) and many others.

The result is that Wales is home to some wonderful talents. People like BBC Wales dubbing maestro Tim Ricketts who has been a permanent fixture on every Doctor Who episode since 2005. Or production designer Arwel Wyn Jones who's led the design teams on Sherlock, Upstairs Downstairs and Wizards vs. Aliens. Or Nikki Wilson – who joined BBC Wales in a development role, then took the reins as series producer of Casualty, and is now producer of Doctor Who.

These are all people, and talents, who would have been lost to Wales – but now they are able to stay here, to make their mark here, and to inspire another generation. It is all part of the extraordinary Doctor Who story. And I'm certain the best is yet to come.

Rhodri Talfan Davies is the Director, BBC Cymru, Wales

Read Jon Jacob's blog 'Why the Doctor Never Dies' about how the show inspired a generation of media professionals.
Read interviews with the cast and crew of Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor on the BBC Media Centre. The 50th anniversary story is broadcast on Saturday 23 November 2013 at 7.50pm.
Mark Gatiss' An Adventure in Space and Time airs on BBC Two and BBC HD on Thursday 21 November at 9pm.A complete guide to the 50th anniversary programmes is available on the official Doctor Who 50th Anniversary website.

Tony Hall's message to BBC staff following his first week

2013-04-05T16:45:08+00:00

Tony Hall - who started his role as Director-General of the BBC on Tuesday 2 April - has spent the week meeting BBC staff around the country.

Today he was in Cardiff on the set of Doctor Who, where he talked to the cast and crew of the hit BBC One show and met staff from the BBC Drama department.

Later, he thanked BBC staff for 'a very enjoyable first week'.

The full email is below:

Dear All,

As I travel back from Cardiff after a great visit to the BBC Cymru/Wales teams, I wanted to drop you a quick note to say thank you for making my first week back at the BBC so enjoyable. Everyone I’ve met has made me feel very welcome, and it’s been inspiring to meet so many of you with so much enthusiasm for what you do.

I’ve discussed sheep in Cumbria, social media in Iran, new British drama in Wales and the technology behind New Broadcasting House. Today I also met two doctors – Matt Smith and David Tennant. I’m unsure what the collective noun is for a group of Doctor Whos but it’s the kind of question you’d only get at the BBC.

I’ve already had lots of feedback and suggestions from people which I’m taking on board and I’m looking forward to speaking to many more of you in the coming weeks.

Best wishes,

Tony Hall
Director-General

Jon Jacob is Editor of the About the BBC Blog and website.

There are more pictures from Tony's first week on Flickr. Over the coming week we'll also be adding to a Storify of Tony's first fortnight in the role.

Doctor Who and Churchill in BBC Archive collection

2010-04-15T09:19:37+00:00

Hello, I'm the new editor of the About The BBC blog. My first job was to speak to BBC Archive producer, Kate Wheeler about two exciting new collections featuring Doctor Who and Winston Churchill.

The viewing public seem to have awarded new Doctor Who Matt Smith an overwhelmingly enthusiastic thumbs-up. It's great news for him, the team at BBC Wales and the BBC, especially as these tricky transitional times haven't always been so warmly received. As a document from the BBC Archive's latest collection shows, even the most popular Doctor Who actors had a rough ride when they made their first appearance, such as Tom Baker, ever recognisable with his long, multi-coloured scarf and staring alien eyes, who initially struggled to win over fans of his predecessor Jon Pertwee. The naysayers were soon won over though and Baker went on to star in the series for seven years.

Back in February, the BBC Director of Archive Content, Roly Keating, promised that the BBC Archive would be providing an online retrospective of Doctor Who to tie in with this latest series.The BBC Archive Collections team revealed all this week with a collection that contains three galleries of images, each telling a different story of Doctor Who's history, plus nearly 60 years of correspondence, internal memos and Radio Times clippings. My particular favourite is a memo proposing how a potential replacement for original Doctor Who William Hartnell might come about, in which the process that would come to be known as regeneration is described in detail.

"The metaphysical change which takes place over 500 or so years is a horrifying experience...It is as if he has had the L.S.D drug and instead of experiencing the kicks, he has the hell and dank horror which can be its effect."

You can read the full memo here.

Just like the Tardis there is much more to discover than is immediately apparent so I urge all die-hard Doctor Who fans to go and explore the collection.

Also, be sure to check out Andy Dudfield's post about the relaunch of the Doctor Who website.

If you saw the last episode, you'll know that the Doctor will soon be meeting the legendary statesman Sir Winston Churchill.

The BBC Archive has unveiled a fantastic 'Remembering Churchill' collection including the full morning's broadcast of his funeral, narrated by Richard Dimbleby, where 1960s London paused to witness the procession and dockers bowed their cranes in acknowledgement as one of the first non-royals received a State funeral.

Sir Winston's complex nature is revealed beautifully through interviews with the people who knew him. Colleagues such as Anthony Eden and Harold Macmillan pay tribute to him, while we also hear from his former bodyguard, his private secretaries and the cook who served at 10 Downing Street for both of Churchill's terms in office. A real gem in the collection is an interview with Lord Alanbrooke, who was one of Churchill's closest advisers during World War II. Promoting the publication of his diaries, Alanbrooke discusses Churchill's strategies and reveals that at one time or other, he tried to have every one of his senior advisers sacked.

The Churchill collection is vast, offering so much to discover about the legendary statesman who was voted greatest of all Britons by BBC viewers in 2002.

Do you like fish fingers and custard?: Doctor Who goes to Sunderland

2010-03-31T12:45:00+00:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/aboutthebbc/whobus.jpg
I've just seen a seven foot monster on the streets of Sunderland - but don't worry, it was actually an actress called Sarah - after a good hour or so in make-up, that is. The result was impressive. She was there playing a Weeping Angel at a Doctor Who premier that I hosted yesterday. The event was one of five over three days: part of a whistle-stop tour to mark the beginning of a new series of Doctor Who - and a new cast to match. Our event included a preview screening of the first episode, which worked really well in the University of Sunderland's HD cinema. The programme was introduced by none other than the new Doctor himself, Matt Smith, and his Assistant, Karen Gillan. They arrived on a branded tour bus (see pic above) - not quite the TARDIS, but still certainly impressive. Allocating the 200 tickets for the event actually turned out to be a little controversial. We knew from the outset that it wasn't possible to open the premieres to members of the public, so we worked with BBC Outreach to pre-ticket the event. We felt that the fairest way to distribute tickets was by working with local primary schools. However, we also knew that some fans may still feel disappointed - and we were right. We had numerous requests for entry and there was even a Facebook group set up protesting that the events should be opened up to the public.

Even I've been surprised by the reaction - the strength of the Doctor Who brand is amazing - we've even had requests for memorabilia from the tour to be put on sale. We weren't able to hold any additional premieres, so couldn't help the fans who got in touch, but I do hope that hasn't put them off. There will, however, be public events to mark the new series at BBC Big Screens from 1st to 3rd April in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Plymouth and Swansea. After the event, I still feel this we ran the ticketing system in the fairest way possible and having such a young audience created a real buzz on the day. The children seemed genuinely excited - as were all us adults! The highlight of the day had to be the moment when Matt and Karen arrived and all the kids started screaming and applauding like mad. Alfie Joey from BBC Newcastle did a great job of keeping the audience entertained while we were waiting for the bus to pull into the University campus, as well as during the Q&A session after the episode. One young member of the audience posed the insightful question to the Doctor: "Do you like fish fingers and custard?" I can reveal, hot off the press, for all you fans that the answer is "Yes!"

For me, the event was a great example of the BBC working better together internally - joining up with the Doctor Who team from Wales, BBC Outreach in London and getting some great coverage for my teams at BBC Newcastle and Look North. See for yourself by watching the film. I also think it was a great day for Sunderland. We worked in partnership with the University and their team did a great job. We had the local and regional press there and I got a genuine sense of taking the best of the BBC to a place where you wouldn't usually find it, which was another key motivation for this tour. Sunderland was chosen as a location in the context of BBC North, which is all about focusing more of the BBC's resources in the north of England. The most significant piece of that project is the relocation of BBC Sport and Children's (amongst other departments) from London to MediaCity in Salford. MediaCity will open next year and I'm optimistic that means we'll see more evidence of the BBC's commitment right across the north. Now I'm looking forward to the Doctor Who series starting on TV so I can see what happens next! The first episode will air on BBC One at 6.20pm on Saturday 3rd April. Check out all the action from the tour at bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/news

Phil Roberts is Head of the BBC in the North East and Cumbria