New music commissions from BBC England to include a brand new collaboration with Radio 1 and 1Xtra, plus BBC England explores new genres with BBC Three.

Head of TV Commissioning for England Aisling O’Connor (pictured) has today announced a series of exciting new commissions, including collaborations with Radio 1 and 1Xtra as well as BBC Three and Liverpool’s LA Productions.

This round of commissioning has a strong focus on young audiences and the North of England. The music commissions will celebrate some of the diverse and exciting music scene in England in 2020.

The commissions include:

Spitting Out Fire: Jazz is having a resurgence with the under-30s. This immersive documentary, which is the first commission for the new factual arm of Liverpool-based LA Productions, will track the new jazz scene in England and showcase the incredible talent in this under-represented part of British culture. The film will provide intimate access to and performance from artists Shabaka Hutchings, Nubya Garcia and others.

Radio 1 and 1Xtra: This music-focused documentary will look at the rap scene in the North of England, its rising stars, popularity with younger audiences and how it is continuing to evolve. This is intended to be the first in a series of documentary collaborations with BBC England.

BBC England TV Commissioning is also working closely with BBC Three to deliver content aimed at young people, with some exciting co-commissions with BBC Three.

These include:

Models: Street To Catwalk - series two is a 4x30 commission, and sees the cameras return to Nemesis modelling agency in Manchester. The series will catch up on the models' lives since series one aired, as well as introducing some new faces looking to make it big.
Step Into The Ring follows a group of young people from Norwich who wrestle with their demons in and out of the wrestling ring. James lost his sight as a child in a car accident; Pocket is battling PTSD, Imogen turned her back on a career in law, Marcus is autistic and Sam has Downs syndrome. Step into the Ring will be available later in the year.
Angels Of The North series two returns, following salon owner Sammyjo Pearson and her expert team of hair extensionists. They’re back with more real-life ups and downs, dramas and dilemmas at Longlox super salon in the North East. Available to watch now on BBC iPlayer and will be on BBC One later in the year.
Aisling O’Connor says: "It is important that BBC England does its job of reflecting its audiences up and down the country and creates content that our viewers care about and which captures their attention and interests. Radio 1 and 1Xtra do a great job of connecting young people across the country. It makes sense to work with them to deliver music focused-films for young people in England.

"I'm a great believer in bringing together different parts of the BBC to better serve our audience, and this is where these exciting new programmes are coming from. These collaborations with BBC Three and the radio teams will mean we get more diverse content for our audiences."

Joe Harland, Head of Visual Radio, says: "We are delighted to be partnering with BBC England to shine a light on the remarkable and as yet untold music stories of young Britain. We are excited to combine and create this documentary for existing and new audiences."

Fiona Campbell, Controller of BBC Three, says: “It is important that BBC Three reaches further afield with the programmes we commission and ideas that are rooted in local communities which have a strong sense of place are really interesting to us.

"We pride ourselves on showcasing new talent and telling stories that will appeal to young audiences from all corners of the UK, which is why we’re forging much closer ties with other areas of the BBC. Working with BBC England Commissioning allows us to just this and has a big part to play in our strategy moving forward."

Notes to Editors

BBC England TV Commissioning is working with Radio 1 and 1Xtra to deliver a music-focused documentary for young people in England. The film will be funded by BBC England and will be made by Radio One film maker Daniel Lucas. The film, which is still in pre-production, will sit on BBC Radio One YouTube and will TX on BBC One as a regional opt across one or more regions in England. Executive Producers will be Stuart Bradfield for Visual Radio and Aisling O’Connor for BBC England.

Models: Street To Catwalk is a factual series of 4x30 episodes produced by MultiStory Media, part of ITV Studios for BBC Three, commissioned by Carl Callam. This series throws open the doors once more to one of the UK’s most exciting modelling agencies, to reveal the stories behind the billboards and photoshoots. Series two picks back up with the young models from series one, and introduces some new faces. You can catch up on series one on iPlayer now.

Angels Of The North series two is made by Twenty Six 03 Entertainment, co-commissioned by Maeve McLoughlin for BBC Three and Aisling O’Connor for BBC England, Executive Producers are Antonia Hurford-Jones and Duncan Gray for Twenty Six 03 and Rachel Ashdown for BBC Entertainment Commissioning. Angels of the North series two airs on BBC One later this year, and is available to watch now on the BBC iPlayer.

Step Into The Ring is a co-commission for BBC Three and BBC England, Commissioning Editor Gian Quaglieni and Executive Producer Diana Hare. It’s a series of four films which follow a group of young wrestlers from Norwich, fighting their demons in and out of the ring. James lost his sight as a child in a car accident, Pocket is battling PTSD, university graduate Imogen turned her back on a conventional career, Marcus is autistic and Sam has Downs syndrome. All dream of being pro-wrestlers. It will be on screens later this year.