Charlotte Moore sets out BBC One priorities for 2020

Ridley Road is a thriller set against the backdrop of a swinging sixties London we haven’t seen: an East End world where far right fascism is on the rise written and executive produced by Sarah Solemani

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Charlotte Moore, BBC Director of Content, has unveiled a raft of new commissions for BBC One today at the Edinburgh TV Festival and spoken about the BBC’s approach to commissioning new programmes in an age of rapidly changing viewing habits.

In the last year BBC One has brought audiences Bodyguard, Line Of Duty, Doctor Who, Luther, Gentlemen Jack, Killing Eve II, Strictly Come Dancing, The Greatest Dancer, Ghosts, This Time With Alan Partridge, Dynasties, Climate Change: The Facts, Grenfell, Stephen: The Murder That Changed A Nation, and the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The channel and the BBC’s television portfolio is committed to telling British stories and commissioning for British audiences whilst supporting new talent, such as Nabhaan Rizwan (winner of the RTS Breakthough award for Informer) presenters like Rylan Clark-Neal (You Are What You Wear) or the writers of upcoming drama Noughts And Crosses, Lydia Adetunji, Rachel De-Lahay, and Nathaniel Price.

However audience habits are changing quickly and in order to adapt to this change in behaviour the BBC must continue to adapt with them.

Increasingly audiences are choosing to watch programmes on-demand at a time of their choosing. The audiences for many of the BBC’s programmes are seeing an increasing percentage of audiences coming from viewing in the days after the first transmission.

Ghosts saw huge uplifts from its overnight audience (2.2m) as viewing discovered it outside the broadcast window. It grew 100% in the 28 days following broadcast to average 4.5m

Mrs Wilson grew by 112% from it’s overnight audience of 4.6m to a 28 day 4-screen figure of 9m

Baptiste grew by 97% from its overnight average 4m to the 28 day 4-screen audience of 7.8m

Earth From Space increased from 3m overnight to 3.9m after 28 days which is a 31% increase

Killing Eve series one and two have had a combined total of over 96m requests on the BBC iPlayer

So in order to address audience needs the BBC is making changes to the BBC iPlayer to make content available for longer, bringing back former series when new episodes of a programme air and making more use of content from the BBC’s archive.

Charlotte Moore, BBC Director of Content says: “We are hugely proud of the programmes we’ve had on BBC One this year, but we are aware that we can’t stand still if we are to keep up with what the audience wants. So we are making changes to the BBC iPlayer so there will be more programmes available for longer and a richer offer for everyone, young and old. With this in mind we’re increasingly looking to commission programmes that will work across both the linear channels and BBC iPlayer. The exciting commissions we’ve announced today will be a great offer for audiences however they consume them.”

The new commissions announced today include three dramas from Steven Moffat, Sarah Solemani and Gwyneth Hughes, a new comedy Bumps and two standalone factual pieces on extinction, presented by Sir David Attenborough, and mental health featuring the Duke of Cambridge.

Inside Man is a four-part mini-series produced by Hartswood Films and written by Steven Moffat (Dracula, Sherlock, Doctor Who). A prisoner on death row in the US and a woman trapped in a cellar under an English vicarage, cross paths in the most unexpected way…

Whilst an original thriller inspired by true events, Ridley Road by Sarah Solemani (Barry, Aphrodite Fry) tells the story of one brave young woman’s fight against the rise of fascism on the cusp of the Swinging Sixties.

When It Happens To You is made by the producers of Three Girls, the BBC’s multi-award winning account of the grooming scandal in Rochdale. Its writer Gwyneth Hughes (Doing Money, Vanity Fair) explores the emotive issues around abortion in Northern Ireland and the experience of families and their loved ones whose lives have been profoundly affected by it.

New comedy Bumps, starring Amanda Redman, will follow the challenges of Anita, a sixty-three-year-old divorcee with two grown up kids, who decides to have a third baby. Unbeknownst to her it happens to be at the same time as her forty year old daughter Suzanne discovers she is expecting her first child. Bumps is a modern family comedy with a twist.

The subject of mental health remains one that resonates with audiences, particularly young audiences. In A Royal Road To Wembley: Tackling Mental Health viewers will follow the The Duke of Cambridge as he works in partnership with the FA to launch an ambitious new plan to raise awareness of male mental fitness. The film will follow the narrative of the football season, from the first qualifying round in September all the way through to The FA Cup Final in May, and will show clubs up and down the country tackling mental health issues in their communities.

Following the impact of Climate Change: The Facts, BBC factual will explore the huge number of species of plants and animals which face extinction and the impact of this loss on the planet and humanity. Presented by Sir David Attenborough the 60 minute special titled Extinction: The Facts is part of the BBC’s on going Our Planet Matters season which focuses on the biggest environmental and sustainability issues.

Inside Man

Charlotte Moore, Director of BBC Content and Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, today announced at Edinburgh TV Festival a brand new original crime thriller Inside Man from Bafta and Emmy award-winning writer Steven Moffat (Dracula, Sherlock, Doctor Who).

In this four-part mini-series produced by Hartswood Films for BBC One, a prisoner on death row in the US and a woman trapped in a cellar under an English vicarage, cross paths in the most unexpected way…

Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, says: “In our ongoing relationship with Steven and Sue (Vertue), they sent us this mini-series which Steven had written on spec and we commissioned it instantly. The script is a page-turner and grips you from the outset, and Charlotte and I couldn’t resist bringing this story to BBC One.”

Produced by Hartswood Films for BBC One, this four-part serial will go into production in late 2020.

Ridley Road

New four-part thriller written by Sarah Solemani tells the story of the rise of fascism in Sixties London and one young woman who risked everything to fight it.

New drama Ridley Road, written and adapted for television by award-winning writer Sarah Solemani (Barry, Aphrodite Fry), from the critically acclaimed novel by Jo Bloom, has been commissioned for BBC One.

The 4x60-minute drama will be produced by RED Production Company (a STUDIOCANAL company) and Bafta-award-winning executive producer Nicola Shindler (Years And Years, Happy Valley, Trust Me, Safe).

Ridley Road is a thriller set against the backdrop of a swinging sixties London we haven’t seen: an East End world where far right fascism is on the rise. When Vivien Epstein follows her lover into danger and he is caught between life and death, Vivienne finds herself going undercover with the fascists, not only for him but for the sake of her country.

While writing Ridley Road, writer Sarah Solemani undertook extensive research into the period, she says: “Britain’s relationship with fascism is closer and more alive than we like to think. Luckily, so is our rich heritage of fighting it. Jo Bloom’s gripping book revealed a darker side of Sixties London and the staggering contribution the Jewish community made in the battle against racism. I am thrilled to be working with RED and the BBC to bring this little-known slice of British history to the screen.”

Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, says: “Sarah's brilliant scripts tell a unique story of doomed love and undercover espionage against a backdrop of a fascist uprising in 1960s London. This story couldn't feel more timely and we are hugely indebted Sarah for bringing this story to life in her own style.”

Nicola Shindler, executive producer and Chief Executive of RED Production Company, says: “It’s hugely exciting to adapt this story into a drama. I loved the book, and Sarah’s script has brilliantly captured the passionate love story coupled with the social tensions amid the rise of fascism and the vivid wonderment of the swinging sixties. While it’s set during a relatively unknown part of British history, Ridley Road echoes what is happening today with the growing rhetoric against people of a different race or nationality, and it feels like a really timely drama to bring to audiences.”

Ridley Road is a RED Production Company production commissioned for BBC One by Charlotte Moore, Director of BBC Content and Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama. The 4x60' drama adaption is written, and executive produced by Sarah Solemani, with Nicola Shindler as Executive Producer for RED Production Company and Lucy Richer for BBC. Series producer is Betsan Morris Evans (The War Of The Worlds, The City And The City, Endeavour).

Casting will be announced in due course.

Writer Sarah Solemani (Barry, The Secret, Urban Myths) won a Writers Guild America Award for her work on HBO’s Barry and is also known for her roles in the Bafta award-wining series Him & Her, No Offence and Bridget Jones’ Baby. In the US she is currently writing an original comedy drama with Sarah Jessica Parker's company Pretty Matches Productions.

Manchester based RED Production Company are renowned for continually producing compelling, ground-breaking and boundary-pushing drama for over 20 years, including Happy Valley, Butterfly, Safe, Cucumber, Clocking Off, Queer As Folk, Scott & Bailey and the recent hit Years and Years, which is currently airing on BBC One. RED is led by executive producer Nicola Shindler, who recently received the 2019 Bafta Special Award, which recognised her services to television.

When It Happens To You

For more than half a century, any woman in the UK with an unwanted pregnancy has been legally entitled to ask for a termination - except in Northern Ireland.

As Northern Ireland faces a potential change to its law on abortion, BBC One announces a new drama based on real-life stories.

When It Happens To You is made by the producers of Three Girls, the BBC’s multi-award winning account of the grooming scandal in Rochdale. Its writer Gwyneth Hughes (Doing Money, Vanity Fair) explores the emotive issues around abortion in Northern Ireland and the experience of families and their loved ones whose lives have been profoundly affected by it.

Executive Producer, Susan Hogg, says: “Growing up in Northern Ireland I was always aware of the heated debate surrounding the issue of abortion, and this is a story I’ve wanted to tell for many years. Terminations are illegal even when doctors agree that the foetus has no chance of survival or where a pregnancy has been the result of rape or incest. We will go behind the headlines and tell the true stories of women and girls and their families who have been deeply affected by the law.”

Writer, Gwyneth Hughes, says: “I knew the law was different, but I had no idea what that really meant until I went to Northern Ireland and met some of the families involved. I’ve been deeply moved by their experiences and feel honoured to be asked to share their stories.”

Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, says: “Abortion is a complex and emotive subject, and it continues to divide opinion in Northern Ireland and elsewhere. Following months of detailed research, Gwyneth and the Studio Lambert team will help audiences get an insight into how abortion law has affected many different women and their families. Their stories are powerful, personal and memorable.”

When It Happens To You is a Studio Lambert production for BBC One. It was commissioned by Charlotte Moore, BBC Director of Content and Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama. It will be executive produced by Susan Hogg and Gwyneth Hughes for Studio Lambert, and Lucy Richer for the BBC.

Bumps

Bumps is a comedy playhouse pilot for BBC One written by Lucy Montgomery and Rhys Thomas, made by Kudos.

Anita (Amanda Redman) is a sixty-three-year-old divorcee with two grown up kids and no stork on the horizon threatening to bring grandchildren. Anita may be in her sixties, but inside she feels twenty. She’s adventurous, energetic and a bundle of fun. She wants to pack as much into life as she can whilst she still has her own joints. With the aid of an egg and sperm donor she decides to have a baby. Unbeknownst to her it happens to be at the same time as her forty year old daughter Suzanne discovers she is expecting her first child.

Bumps is an uplifting cross generational comedy offering a whole new spin on family dynamics. Anita hasn’t really thought through the impact this baby will have on her body or her psyche or her finances. Not for one millisecond has she considered how her decision to have a child will impact on her two grown up kids. She thinks she’s earned the right to do what she wants and she doesn’t realise the emotional bomb she’s detonated. Well now she’s about to find out...

Shane Allen, Controller of BBC Comedy, says: “Bumps brings a modern spin on the family sitcom through its lens on the mother and daughter dynamic. Rhys and Lucy have created a vibrant world of endearing characters who capture the dysfunction, frustration and love at the heart of family life.”

Phil Temple, Executive Producer for Kudos, says: “We are overjoyed to be making this show for BBC One. Anita is a force of nature and there is no one better to bring her to life than the supremely gifted Amanda Redman. Rhys and Lucy’s script is truly original - it’s funny, thought provoking, touching and full of characters we are sure the audience will fall in love with.”

Bumps (1x30’) has been commissioned by Shane Allen, Controller of BBC Comedy, and Charlotte Moore, Director of BBC Content. The Executive Producer is Phil Temple at Kudos. The Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Alex Moody.

A Royal Road to Wembley: Tackling Mental Health (w/t)

BBC One commissions landmark film focusing on men’s mental health through the prism of football, with access to HRH The Duke of Cambridge over the course of a year.

BBC One will follow the 19/20 FA Cup season as The Duke of Cambridge works in partnership with the FA to launch an ambitious new plan to raise awareness of male mental fitness. As well as following the Duke’s work, the film will also tell the stories of men from right across the country who have been affected by, or are currently experiencing mental health issues.

It’s widely recognised that football is a uniquely powerful way to reach men in particular. Men are three times more likely to take their own lives than women, with suicide the biggest cause of death for men under the age of 45. The film hopes to highlight the fact that we all have mental health and encourage more men to feel comfortable talking about their mental health, and feel able to support their friends and families through difficult times.

The film will follow the narrative of the football season, from the first qualifying round in September all the way through to The FA Cup Final. It will film with clubs at every leg of the FA Cup exploring initiatives to help improve mental wellbeing, from the Premier League to grassroots projects. It will follow the Duke as he undertakes a number of engagements with his ‘Heads Up’ initiative and discusses the issue with fans and footballers alike.

The film builds on the conversation started in the BBC One film shown earlier this year, A Royal Team Talk where HRH The Duke of Cambridge met with well-known faces from the world of football for an extraordinarily candid conversation about the importance of men’s mental health and mental fitness.

Alison Kirkham, BBC Controller Factual Commissioning, says: “With suicide still the biggest killer of men under 45 it’s crucial that we normalise conversations about mental health. Our mental health season earlier in the year and the film, A Royal Team Talk had significant impact, with many more people opening up and contacting mental health charities. I’m proud that, working once again with the Duke of Cambridge and the FA, we can use the power of football to continue to raise awareness of an issue that is so important to our audience.”

A Royal Team Talk was part of the BBC’s mental health season which had an incredible impact when it transmitted in May - 78% of British television audiences were aware of the season and of those those who consumed the content, 80% felt more confident in knowing how to get help having watched.

There was a spike in contacts to the BBC’s Action Line as well as significantly increased traffic to Public Health England and Mind. In Mind’s case views to their website increased by 107% during the coverage whilst the The Mental Health Foundation reported a four-fold increase in the reach of Mental Health Awareness Week compared to last year, attributing much of the additional interest to BBC content.

A Royal Road To Wembley: Tackling Mental Health (1x60') was commissioned for BBC One by Charlotte Moore, Director, Content and Alison Kirkham, Controller, Factual Commissioning and is being made by Goalhanger Films, where it is being Executive Produced by Tony Pastor.

Extinction: The Facts

Presented by Sir David Attenborough, Extinction: The Facts, a 1x60’ for BBC One, investigates what the future holds for our planet.

Last year a WWF report, stated that the mammal, bird, fish, reptile and amphibian populations have shrunk by 60 per cent in just over 40 years. According to a recent UN report, nearly a third of corals around the world and more than a third of marine mammals are threatened with extinction. The abundance of native species in most major land habitats has fallen by a fifth, mostly since 1900, and earlier this year, scientists from around the world published their most thorough review of the current state of the natural world to date.

Shockingly, the UN report warned that around a million species of plants and animals face extinction, many within decades if urgent action isn’t taken. Extinction is a natural part of life but this time it’s different. The rate of change during the past 50 years is unprecedented in human history and could change our planet forever.

Extinction: The Facts looks beyond our emotions to investigate what the extinction crisis means, not just for the planet but for every one of us. World-leading scientists will explore why species are disappearing at such an alarming rate and will ask what that means for humanity: Planet Earth owes its incredible biodiversity to an incredibly complex but delicate eco-system. Everything in nature is connected so the loss of one species can cause entire ecosystems to collapse, eco-systems we depend on for food, water and resources. The blue whale, the biggest mammal on earth, cannot survive without plentiful supplies of krill, one of the smallest animals in the ocean. It’s said that food supplies for the human population could be threatened if the decline of pollinating insects continues.

Pollution, deforestation and overfishing are threatening the delicate balance of our world. Sales of reusable coffee cups have reached unprecedented levels. But even if more people than ever are changing their habits for the planet, is it enough?

Alison Kirkham, BBC Controller Factual Commissioning, says: “Even today a record number of wildfires are burning in the Amazon and a million species are threatened with extinction. We know our audience has a hunger to understand how these urgent environmental issues affect them, but more than that, what they themselves can do in their homes. We’ve proven with Big Blue Live, Climate Change: The Facts, Drowning In Plastic that we can bring big broad audiences to complicated environmental subjects. This is television that matters. And I’m thrilled Sir David Attenborough continues to work with us to make it.”

Extinction: The Facts, a 1x60' for BBC One, is made by BBC Studios Science Unit. It was commissioned by Charlotte Moore, BBC Director of Content, and Tom McDonald, Head of Commissioning, Natural History and Specialist Factual.

All BBC programming which explores the environment and the challenges facing our planet will sit under the Our Planet Matters banner. This will be an ongoing commitment rather than a single season, and the content will explore a wide variety of issues to help inform audiences over the years ahead.

Over five million viewers watched the launch episode of BBC One's Blue Planet Live earlier this year, which explored the health of our oceans and marine life in three locations across the globe with Chris Packham, Liz Bonnin and Steve Backshall. Three million people tuned in to watch the first episode of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Anita Rani’s investigation into single-use plastic, in War On Plastic. Also part of Our Planet Matters, BBC One Blue Planet UK celebrated marine life from all corners of the UK; and Gordon Buchanan gave the planet a health check from the air in Equator from the Air.

There will be future programmes exploring subjects including meat production with Liz Bonnin.

Source BBC iPlayer

August 23, 2019 9:55am ET by BBC iPlayer  

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