The age of angst - March 2019 - Royal Television Society
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
March 2019 The age of angst
Journal of The Royal Television Society
March 2019 l Volume 56/3
From the CEO
The awards season is Nightingale, who made effortless RTS Futures event, which showcased
very much upon us. work of presenting all 20 awards. the new drama Flack, on UKTV’s W
The RTS Television I had another wonderful evening channel. The first episode was pre-
Journalism Awards are thanks to the hospitality of the RTS’s viewed to much applause. This was
always keenly con- North East and Border Centre. Its followed by a Q&A session featuring
tested and this year awards ceremony was held in Gates- Flack creator Oliver Lansley.
was no exception. head and MC’d by Jason Cook, the Full reports of both these evenings
I am thrilled that a record 580 guests South Shields comedian and Hebburn are in this edition of Television.
attended the ceremony at the London writer, who was brilliantly funny. Female writing talent is to the fore
Hilton in Park Lane. No wonder the Norwich University of the Arts in this issue. Caroline Frost’s heartfelt
stage was so crowded when Sky News, hosted RTS East’s annual awards, piece takes the brilliant Fleabag as a
not for the first time, was announced which I also had the pleasure of starting point for an exploration of
News Channel of the Year. attending. Congratulations to all the how angst is inspiring some truly
Another mob of overjoyed journos winners. great television.
and their producers descended to Our events programme continues And we have an interview with Lisa
collect the prize for Daily News Pro- with vigour. I am a huge fan of Sky McGee, creator of the hilarious RTS
gramme of the Year. The category was Atlantic’s Save Me. So it was fascinat- award-nominated comedy Derry Girls.
won by Channel 4 News, a prolific win- ing to hear Stephen Graham talk
ner on the night. about this show and some of the other
I’d like to say a huge thank you to highlights of his career at a joint RTS-
all the juries who made this evening Premier Communications event held
possible. And special thanks to jury last month.
Chair Sue Inglish and to Mary We also organised an outstanding Theresa Wise
Contents
5 Ian Katz’s TV Diary
Ian Katz has a night to remember at the RTS Television
Journalism Awards – and celebrates a Channel 4
art-house hit
16 The Derry girl who created a comic gem
Breakout comedy hits are rare, but Lisa McGee wrote
one. She explains to Shilpa Ganatra how she did it
6 The comedy of catharsis
As Fleabag returns, Caroline Frost unwraps the female
angst that inspires so many funny shows today
18 A new era for BBC Three
Tara Conlan profiles the channel’s new controller, Fiona
Campbell, as the service raises its profile on BBC One
10 Is Alexa too smart for our own good?
Alice Enders and Joseph Evans ask if voice-activated
speakers threaten the privacy of our homes
20 In a class of their own
Kudos and the Royal Court Theatre are nurturing young
dramatists from under-represented backgrounds,
discovers Steve Clarke
12 Sex ’n’ drugs ’n’ PR
Flack’s creator was determined to write a series about
a complicated woman, hears Steve Clarke 22 True grit
Matthew Bell enjoys an RTS event showcasing the
career of the prolific British actor Stephen Graham
15 Our Friend in the North West
Cat Lewis proposes a strategy for building a vibrant
production sector across the UK 25 RTS Television Journalism Awards 2019
Hosted by Mary Nightingale and sponsored
by GuestBooker, the awards were presented on
27 February at the London Hilton, Park Lane –
the winners and nominees over six pages
Editor Production, design, advertising Royal Television Society Subscription rates Printing Legal notice
Steve Clarke Gordon Jamieson 3 Dorset Rise UK £115 ISSN 0308-454X © Royal Television Society 2019.
smclarke_333@hotmail.com gordon.jamieson.01@gmail.com London EC4Y 8EN Overseas (surface) £146.11 Printer: FE Burman The views expressed in Television
News editor and writer Sub-editor T: 020 7822 2810 Overseas (airmail) £172.22 20 Crimscott Street are not necessarily those of the RTS.
Matthew Bell Sarah Bancroft E: info@rts.org.uk Enquiries: publication@rts.org.uk London SE1 5TP Registered Charity 313 728
bell127@btinternet.com smbancroft@me.com W: www.rts.org.uk
Television www.rts.org.uk March 2019 3
RTS NEWS Your guide to
upcoming events.
Book online at
www.rts.org.uk
RTS MASTERCLASSES programmer. 6:30pm for 7:00pm Wednesday 12 June
National events Tuesday 5 November and Venue: Atos, Midcity Place, RTS Scotland Television
Wednesday 6 November 71 High Holborn, London Awards 2019
RTS AWARDS RTS Student Masterclasses WC1V EA Venue: The Old Fruitmarket,
Tuesday 19 March Venue: IET, 2 Savoy Place, ■ Daniel Cherowbrier Candleriggs, Glasgow G1 1NQ
RTS Programme Awards 2019 London WC2R 0BL ■ daniel@cherowbrier.co.uk ■ April Chamberlain
In partnership with Audio Network ■ scotlandchair@rts.org.uk
Venue: Grosvenor House Hotel, RTS AWARDS MIDLANDS
86-90 Park Lane, London W1K 7TN Monday 25 November Thursday 4 April SOUTHERN
RTS Craft & Design Awards 2019 Big Telly Quiz 2019 April 2019, date TBC
RTS FUTURES London Hilton on Park Lane Venue: TBC Meet the Professionals
Wednesday 3 April 22 Park Lane, London W1K 1BE Monday 7 October Venue: Bournemouth University,
Pitching script to screen RTS Midlands Careers Fair precise venue TBC
With Shiny Button MDs Andy Venue: TBC ■ Stephanie Farmer
Brereton, James De Frond and Local events Friday 29 November ■ SFarmer@bournemouth.ac.uk
Tom Davies, and Big Talk devel RTS Midlands Awards 2019
opment producer Lara Singer. DEVON AND CORNWALL Venue: TBC THAMES VALLEY
6:45pm for 7:00pm Wednesday 27 March ■ Jayne Greene 07792 776585 Wednesday 20 March
Venue: London Transport Museum, Student Television Awards 2019 ■ RTSMidlands@rts.org.uk AGM and 21st-century TV sport
Covent Garden Piazza, London 6:00pm – a whole new ball game!
WC2E 7BB Venue: Jill Craigie Cinema, NORTH EAST AND THE BORDER Speakers: Richard Bagnall, head
University of Plymouth, Drake ■ Jill Graham of engineering, live operations
RTS SCREENING Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA ■ jill.graham@blueyonder.co.uk and channels, IMG; and Charles
Thursday 25 April ■ Jane Hudson Balchin, head of programmes
Our Planet screening and Q&A ■ RTSDevonandCornwall@rts. NORTH WEST and head of development, IMG.
See Netflix’s new natural history org.uk ■ Rachel Pinkney 07966 230639 6:30pm for 7:00pm start
Our Planet, followed by a Q&A ■ RPinkney@rts.org.uk Venue: Henley Rugby Club, Dry
with Keith Scholey and other EAST Leas, Marlow Road, Henley-
members of the creative team. ■ Nikki O’Donnell NORTHERN IRELAND on-Thames RG9 2JA
Venue: TBC ■ nikki.odonnell@bbc.co.uk Tuesday 26 March ■ Tony Orme
Student Television Awards 2019 ■ RTSThamesValley@rts.org.uk
RTS AGM ISLE OF MAN Hosted by BBC NI Newsline pre
Tuesday 25 June Monday 25 March senter Jo Scott. Keynote speech WALES
All RTS members welcome. 6pm Brothers of Italy premiere by UTV’s Eden Wilson. Held in ■ Hywel Wiliam 07980 007841
Venue: RTS, 7th floor, Dorset Rise, Fact-based drama Brothers of partnership with Northern Ireland ■ HWiliam@rts.org.uk
London EC4Y 8EN Italy was shot on the island in 2018 Screen. Sponsored by Stellify
by Hoofprint Productions. 7:00pm Media, Westway Films and Perfor WEST OF ENGLAND
RTS AWARDS Venue: Studio Theatre, Ballaker mance Film and Media Insurance. Sunday 24 March
Friday 28 June meen High School, St Catherine’s Venue: Black Box, 18-22 Hill RTS West of England
RTS Student Television Drive, Douglas IM1 4BE Street, Belfast BT1 2LA Awards 2019
Awards 2019 ■ Michael Wilson ■ John Mitchell Hosted by Susan Wokoma.
Sponsored by Motion ■ michael.wilson@isleofmedia.org ■ mitch.mvbroadcast@ Drinks reception 7:00pm, cere
Content Group btinternet.com mony 8:00pm. In association
Venue: BFI Southbank, Belvedere LONDON with Evolutions Bristol
Road, London SE1 8XT Wednesday 20 March REPUBLIC OF IRELAND Venue: Bristol Old Vic, King
Podcasting masterclass ■ Charles Byrne (353) 87251 3092 Street, Bristol BS1 4ED
RTS CONFERENCE With Josh Adley, from Wisebud ■ byrnecd@iol.ie ■ Belinda Biggam
18-20 September dah, in conversation with Olly ■ belindabiggam@hotmail.com
RTS Cambridge Mann, host of The Media Pod- SCOTLAND
Convention 2019 cast. 6:30pm for 7:00pm Tuesday 16 April YORKSHIRE
Venue: King’s College CB2 1ST Venue: Atos, Midcity Place, 71 Student Television Awards 2019 Friday 14 June
High Holborn, London WC1V 6EA The awards are supported by RTS Yorkshire Centre Awards
STEVE HEWLETT MEMORIAL Wednesday 3 April STV, which will film the awards Ceremony: 7:00pm
LECTURE 2019 Production focus: Timewasters ceremony and show the event Venue: The Queens Hotel, City
Tuesday 24 September With: Daniel Lawrence Taylor, and the winning films on its Square, Leeds LS1 1PJ
Speaker Mark Thompson actor and writer; and George digital platform. 6:00pm ■ Lisa Holdsworth 07790 145280
Venue: University of Westminster, Kane, director, writer and editor. Venue: Argyle Street Arches, ■ lisa@allonewordproductions.
London W1W 7BY Chair: Justin Johnson, BFI lead 253 Argyle Street, Glasgow G2 8DL co.uk
4
TV diary
Ian Katz has a night to
remember at the RTS
Television Journalism
Awards – and celebrates
a Channel 4 art-house hit
S
urprise hit of the week OK to listen to Jackson’s music again. with seven wins for Channel 4 News
is 100 Vaginas, in which At an event to launch the channel’s and another for Dispatches’ Myanmar’s
the artist Laura Dods 2019 slate, a few weeks back, this was Killing Fields.
worth photographs suddenly rendered a more than aca- Channel 4 News’s Cambridge Ana-
the genitalia of demic question. lytica investigation is rewarded with
100 women and then After watching a shocking clip in a clutch of awards. I had an inkling of
talks to them about the which James Safechuck describes what a remarkable story it was when,
images and how they feel about their how Jackson enacted a “marriage” during a meeting at a Hollywood
bodies. It’s a great film – bold and ceremony with his 10-year-old self, studio last year, a senior executive
political and warm – but firmly at the the crowd of journalists stood in burst into the office and declared:
art-house end of the channel’s output. shocked near silence. Until, that is, “I heard there was someone from
Everyone is delighted when it attracts the venue’s ambient soundtrack was Channel 4 here, and I just wanted to
an audience of more than 1 million. quietly restored. As the murmur of thank you for saving democracy!”
The show’s title has been the sub conversation rose again, an unmistak- My favourite moment of the eve-
ject of some controversy. When I met able refrain was audible just above it: ning is when Channel 4 News investi-
Dodsworth at a party a few months “Billie Jean is not my lover.…” gations editor Job Rabkin, who led
earlier, she rebuked me about it, the Cambridge Analytica investiga-
pointing out rather sternly that her ■ Another screening, this time for tion, has to get special dispensation
photographs were of vulvas, not the new series of the joyous Derry not to have his photo taken after
vaginas. I sheepishly explained that I Girls. I have a running joke with receiving the award for International
didn’t think 100 Vulvas would bring an Saoirse-Monica Jackson (age 25) Coverage. He has to rush back to his
audience to the film. What did she that we have acquired some cryo table in time to collect the next
suggest? “My Beautiful C***,” she replied genic freezers to ensure that she and award, this time for Home Coverage.
without hesitation, or the faintest hint the other “girls” will be able to play
of a smile. 15-year-olds for the next 20 years. ■ At the weekend I flip on Radio 4.
Each time I make it she forces a It’s Weekend Woman’s Hour and I am
■ For weeks now, my Twitter feed small grin, possibly because she delighted to find that they’re talking
has been dominated by abuse from thinks I actually mean it, possibly about our 100 Vaginas film. Except
fans of Michael Jackson, enraged because it’s not remotely funny. I that the discussion seems to be
by the Channel 4/HBO film Leaving make a mental note: Don’t Mention mostly about why it was not more
Neverland. the Freezers. accurately titled 100 Vulvas.
None of them has seen it yet, but Laura Dodsworth generously sug
many appear to be devoting much of ■ This is the season of black tie, gests that the channel feared it might
their lives to marshalling “evidence” rubber chicken and fixed grimaces. have been confused with a film about
that proves the claims made by the Awards dos run chewing your own Swedish cars. The presenter is unim
two boys (now men) in the film can- limbs off a close second in the list pressed. “It’s just an indication of how
not possibly be true. There have been of things best avoided on a week- far we still have to go,” she concludes,
menacing legal letters from the Jack- day night – unless, of course, you’re wearily.
son estate, too. winning.
Already, there has been a lively Happily, Channel 4 cleans up at the Ian Katz is director of programmes at
debate about whether it will ever feel RTS Television Journalism Awards, Channel 4.
Television www.rts.org.uk March 2019 5
Pure
The comedy of
catharsis
‘I
promised myself that I wasn’t what comedy-drama led by women
going to say anything rude Screenwriting could look like, a whole bunch of
but I have actually been wet young female writers have been
dreaming about getting a Bafta
for the whole of my life.” With
As Fleabag returns, inspired to explore their most flawed,
Instagram-unworthy selves.
typically cheeky verve, Caroline Frost unwraps And their efforts are bearing multi-
Phoebe Waller-Bridge accepted her ple screen fruits. Besides Fleabag, we’ve
Bafta for her performance in Fleabag the female angst that recently seen Desiree Akhavan star in
back in 2017. Now, with the follow-up
series on our screens, fans will be clam-
inspires so many her self-penned The Bisexual on Chan-
nel 4, exploring a young woman’s sex-
ouring for more of her stunningly clever funny shows today ual experimentation. While, on the
tightrope act. same channel, Pure follows a young
On the one hand, there is the potty- aching grief and guilt at past wrongs. woman living with the chaos of a par-
mouthed taboo-busting of family meals But if Waller-Bridge, also an RTS award ticular strand of OCD that involves
laced with inappropriate comments, winner, is the British flag-bearer for constant intrusive sexual obsessions.
masturbation to inappropriate icons this kind of witty female angst, she is They will soon be joined on screen
and anal sex with inappropriate men. by no means alone. Since 2012, when by Narcissist in the Mirror, which began,
On the other, underneath all that Lena Dunham dazzled audiences with like Fleabag, as a one-woman stage
bravado, the social alienation and Girls, her self-willed conception of play performed by its writer, in this
6
case, Rosie Fleeshman. A stream of it’s totally OK to say who you are and and wonders about the effect this
consciousness from a competitive, what you want.” must be having.
over-thinking, underoccupied young They agree, however, that this can “It means we’re always looking at
woman that does exactly what it says have negative effects when it plays out our own identities, asking, ‘Who am I?
on the tin, it has been optioned for on social media, espe- What groups do I identify with?’ I
a TV series by Lime cially when it don’t think my parents ever had to do
Pictures. comes to that. It’s dangerous, really,” she says.
So, if these this “You end up curating your identity,
young creating the best Instagram version of
yourself. And life isn’t like that, it’s
messier and dirtier.” Which is where
all this great writing comes in.
These shows have clearly hit a spot,
but are they purely personal confes-
sionals well told, or the overdue
outpouring of a generation’s col-
lective angst?
Clive Crump, a counsellor for
a youth charity YCT, attests to
the numbers of young women
seeking help for anxiety and
BBC
depression: “Feelings of loneli-
ness [and] disconnection are
Channel 4
common. Stress and burn-out
are a big problem for young
‘IF YOU CAN women in hardworking jobs
LAUGH AT and higher education, all driven
by a desire for success and often
SOMETHING, self-generated pressure.”
IT DISARMS Psychotherapist Karin Peeters
ITS POWER’ goes further and describes a com-
mon “existential loneliness”: “They’d
never call it that, they say they feel
different, not fitting in… anxious, low,
women are down, not good enough, misunder-
setting the gener- stood, overthinking.”
tone for our era, ation’s Some counsellors believe that hav-
Fleabag
why has this happened frequently ing more female protagonists on
now? self-destructive screen is helpful for young women,
Screenwriter Kirstie Swain, who pursuit of “significance” – and even although they also advise caution.
adapted Pure for Drama Republic from for the writers themselves. Peeters says, “A good consequence is
the book by Rose Bretécher, credits “We’re all striving for purpose and, that people feel less alone, they’ll rec-
those who came before, such as Dun- the bigger the planet gets, the more ognise themselves and feel validated
ham and Waller-Bridge, but also the contact we make, the more insignifi- in their feelings. [But] a negative con-
solidarity of social media for helping cant we feel,” says Fleeshman. “If you sequence is that young women who
to balance the playing field. grow up as a baker in a small town, are particularly vulnerable might take
“We now have a platform to ask, you’re the town’s best baker, but move something so deeply to heart that it
‘Why are there no women in that to the city and it all changes. Social might make them feel worse.”
show?’, and it starts with little things media amplifies that to a huge scale. Psychologist Karen Kwong is also
like that,” she reflects. “Small voices can You’re swimming around in it, looking positive: “They can teach us some
sound louder. Plus, you can connect for meaning. lessons on how we all face challenges
with like-minded people. You can find “Nobody ever feels good at anything, on a daily basis. These characters are
your tribe.” because it’s so easy in a minute to find more real than Daenerys (Game of
Fleeshman agrees that there is somebody, two years younger, doing Thrones) or Serena van der Woodsen
strength in the numbers: “Women are something better than you.” (Gossip Girl).”
making each other braver to write Swain comments on the pressure If that’s the case, bearing in mind
about this stuff. Other people [are] put on young social-media users to the terrible statistics for male mental
trying and succeeding, they’re saying create profiles for themselves online health in this country, surely we need �
Television www.rts.org.uk March 2019 7
‘YOUNG WOMEN
SPEAKING
OPENLY AND
HONESTLY
STILL HAS THAT
SHOCK FACTOR’
� to hear from young men, too. In
words that I never thought I’d use, I
ask Swain whether men’s voices are
in danger of being drowned out on
screen?
Instead of screaming me down, she
reflects on decades-old stereotypes:
“Traditionally, men’s shows are more
action-minded. These shows we’re
making are very emotional and
introspective.
“Traditionally, men haven’t explored
those subjects. But that doesn’t mean
they shouldn’t. Interesting stories
come from difficult places. Men are
just as emotional as women, they just
haven’t had the chance to access it. I’d
like to hear from them.”
For years, male TV comedy has
hovered around the Men Behaving Badly
model, but we’re seeing an increasing
number of interesting evolutions. Aziz
Ansari has collected Emmy honours
for creating Netflix’s Master of None,
centred on his confused but reflective
male character, Dev, and Kwong cites
Channel 4
Rob Delaney’s character in Catastrophe
as “wonderfully portrayed and charac-
Sharon Horgan in Catastrophe
terised – dark humour, angst and all”.
For Fleeshman, the reason that
we’re noticing all these funny female camera; and Marnie’s priceless throw- Pure’s dark central concern, a serious
voices is that “young women being away lines. But the real power of these and life-inhibiting condition that, she
outspoken, speaking openly and shows lies in the juxtaposition between nevertheless realises, lends itself all
honestly, still has that shock factor”. the gravity of some of the topics and too readily to humour.
It’s true. One of the most distinctive the disarming wit with which they’re “Comedy releases a tension. Mental
things about this particular wave is handled. And many female writers health is a difficult thing to talk about
the taboo subject matter, the stuff that have embraced this new field, blur- – you pussyfoot around, not wanting
was off limits until very recently. ring the lines between drama and to offend anyone,” she says. “But if you
For Swain, “It’s not about shocking comedy, to reveal big truths through can laugh around the subject, without
people. It’s about telling stories that deceptively light lines. making it the punchline, it’s a way in.
we haven’t been able to tell before. “There’s nothing funny about trying “And if you can laugh at something,
It’s only because we haven’t heard it to be like every other woman is sup- it disarms its power. We could have
before that it seems shocking, but it’s posed to be,” says Fleeshman. “The made a bleak or really earnest show,
always been there.” fun comes in accepting my flaws, and but we wanted to find some joy in the
Catastrophe, Fleabag and Pure all boast all those other things I don’t like pain, so it’s not all doom and gloom.
great performances and are strong for about myself – my jealousy, my ugli- Laughter is what gives it hope.” n
a number of reasons: the chemistry ness. When you accept yourself, you
between Sharon Horgan and Delaney; can take the piss out of yourself.” Caroline Frost is a former Chair of the
Waller-Bridge’s sardonic asides to For Swain, comedy was a way into Broadcasting Press Guild.
8
RTS LONDON PRESENTS
Production focus: Timewasters
3 April
6:30pm for 7:00pm at Atos, 71 High Holborn, London WC1V 6QS
With:
Daniel Lawrence Taylor, actor and writer
George Kane, director, writer and editor
Chair:
Justin Johnson, BFI lead programmer
Booking:
rts.org.uk/event/production-focus-timewasters
Is Alexa
too
smart
for our
own
good?
S
mart speakers such as the listening out for their wake word and,
Amazon Echo and Google Voice control so far, without much of a consumer
Home accelerated their backlash over privacy. However, while
prodigious rate of adop-
tion in the UK in the last
Alice Enders and most people find a “hands-free” option
a useful way to operate these devices,
quarter of 2018. Forecasts Joseph Evans ask smart speakers are in a class apart.
suggest that they will shortly be in a Unlike the smartphone, they are a
fifth of British homes. if voice-activated pointless purchase if you don’t feel
But this trend of rising adoption
could soon hit a wall. Surveys suggest
speakers threaten the comfortable about using a voice assis-
tant. The logic of a smart speaker is that
that the majority of Britons fear that privacy of our homes it is left constantly on, the voice assis-
their privacy may be compromised if tant primed to receive its wake word
they invite voice-activated speakers – “Alexa” in the case of Amazon’s Echo.
into their homes. This is not the same as an always-on
The context is the omnipresent device that records the chatter amid
nature of voice interfaces on smart the clatter of dishes in the kitchen, say,
devices. The virtual assistants that to be stored on a server to haunt the
power voice interfaces, such as Apple’s user with dark secrets gained by
Siri and Amazon’s Alexa, are used by eavesdropping. Even so, high-profile
many Britons to operate their smart- bugs and false positives, where con-
phones and tablets. Always at our versations were recorded by mistake,
sides, these devices are also frequently have not helped allay the public’s fears.
10Currently, Amazon is far ahead of both companies, Google is, if anything, to get the speaker into as many homes
Google in the number of homes served more exposed to customer suspicion as possible and for it to be used as
by its speaker. At three times the price simply because its status as a business widely as possible. Eventually, affiliate
of Echo, Apple, meanwhile, has never driven by data is better understood by fees from third parties should be a
sought to win over the mass of homes the public. It therefore needs to be fairly flexible way for Amazon to
with its HomePod speaker. However, unimpeachable on the privacy front. extract value from its position between
for privacy-conscious customers, its Scandals such as the early versions of businesses and customers.
speaker is more suitable. It does much the Home Mini recording without But, in the short term, data collection
more of its processing within the device being woken up are exactly the sort of seems to be the primary commercial
or on a paired iPhone, limiting the thing it needs to avoid. aim. Amazon’s strength here is
upload of conversations to the Cloud. enhanced by the billing relationship it
On the face of it, there seems to be no already has with every Echo owner via
commercial advantage to a company
such as Amazon in recording all con-
‘THE STRATEGIC their Amazon accounts.
Amazon and Google have built these
versations – they might only terminally GOAL OF THE devices to gain entry to the home, and
confuse poor Alexa – instead of sticking
to the plot of listening for wake words SMART SPEAKER’S they compete against each other by
offering low prices – to the benefit of
to record instructions, transmit them to
the server and promptly fulfil them.
SUPPLIER IS TO BE purchasers. The revenue potential of a
powerful platform position inside the
By pushing customer adoption of its THE GATEKEEPER home is only likely to be realised in the
platform, Amazon is looking to future-
proof its business through data collection
TO THE HOME’ future. And it will require the user to be
ever more intensively engaged with the
and by controlling a so-called discovery device, to the point where it becomes
layer between customers and services. used for many purposes. At that point, a
Google has a similar objective for its Voice-activated speakers will be able user will be communicating a great deal
low-priced smart speaker, Home – but to do more than respond to commands of information about who they are and
Amazon Prime’s 10 million UK homes to magic up a radio station, answer a what they like to Alexa and Echo.
give it a huge marketing advantage. homework question, play this show or Consumers are increasingly aware
Google is interested in smart home text that person. They will be capable that they are often the product, not the
devices (it bought the smart thermostat of responding to more sophisticated customer, in the online economy – they
maker Nest), but a future income instructions, such as: find me some- pick up on the steady stream of data
stream from Home is less obvious than thing to watch tonight, book me a table breaches, hacks and scandals, and are
for Amazon, since Google’s core busi- for lunch, or tell me what’s going on in understandably nervous about installing
ness is search advertising, rather than Parliament. In other words, Alexa and a connected microphone in their
families buying goods and services. her cousins will be capable of making homes. The abuse of Facebook personal
Currently, data collected via Echo is personalised decisions on our behalf. data by Cambridge Analytica is only the
probably Amazon’s single most impor- The key strategic goal of the smart most prominent of these scandals.
tant benefit, because the data can be speaker’s supplier is to be the gate- Although Britons are not as touchy
used for so many different ends. The keeper to the home. The lower it prices as Germans, say, when it comes to
Amazon
company can learn more about custom- its devices (such as speakers or tablets), privacy, they are certainly more alert
ers’ demographics, interests, habits and the more people will buy them, giving than US internet users, for whom
tastes from the following: the requests Amazon a foothold in the home that is Amazon first developed the Echo.
people make for information, such as a gateway to its storefront, including We don’t expect the average Brit to
“What is today’s weather forecast?”; for media. In this respect, Amazon acquire all things new and shiny just
the times of day that they are at home; treats its devices as wedges that open because they are labelled “smart”. Ama-
the number of people in a household; up the home to those of its services zon has a pressing need to build trust,
people’s media preferences, including where it makes the real money. because the present absence of trust is
their favourite music and news choices; To the extent that Echo owners ask a barrier to Echo’s success. The com-
and personal contacts, if the user con- Alexa to select or recommend video or pany does inform users on data policy,
nects their phone to the speaker. audio content, Amazon gets to influ- as part of its obligations under the Gen-
This data could eventually support a ence the process. Amazon could choose eral Data Protection Regulation that
richer experience than just responding to prioritise its own original content or came into force in May 2018 – but
to instructions. Machine learning-based sell access to other content providers. compliance is in its early days.
intelligence will extend beyond trans- We suspect that few Echo owners are Much remains to be clarified for
lating natural language and images to currently asking Alexa for TV recom- potential owners of these devices. We
machine-readable information, and mendations, but this is part of the long- expect the UK regulator, the Informa-
start to deliver recommendations, sug- term vision for voice user interfaces. tion Commissioner’s Office, to contrib-
gestions, reminders and notifications. Third-party service providers and ute to reversing the climate of mistrust
One again, data is the key driver for app developers promise a rich and by pursuing compliance with core
Google, as it can feed voice requests varied suite of services to users. For principles that apply to the gathering
into its enormous data engine and so the moment, though, Amazon is not and processing of personal data. n
improve the effectiveness and target- charging third-party services for
ing of its adverts. access to Echo users. Alice Enders and Joseph Evans are ana-
Although the motivation is similar for This makes sense for now: the aim is lysts at Enders Analysis.
Television www.rts.org.uk March 2019 11Content
Flack’s creator was determined to
write a series about a complicated
woman, hears Steve Clarke
Sex ’n’ drugs ’n’ PR
UKTV
Anna Paquin as Robyn in Flack
12G
Q magazine described what they do. They’d be mysterious
the new Anna Paquin and interesting because of it.”
drama, Flack, as “so Lansley’s setting for his show was
terrible it might just be the world of public relations, celebrity
unmissable”. The verdict and media. “I thought it was quite a
of the Daily Telegraph’s TV fun world to play in,” he said.
critic was “sharp and whizzy”, while the He had experienced this part of
Observer hailed it as a “terrific and bit- celebrity culture when, as an actor, he
tersweet comedy”, “in turns woefully played the late DJ and TV presenter
tender and snort-funny”. Whatever you Kenny Everett, in a BBC Four biopic.
think of the female-skewing Flack, one Lansley was the focus of the film’s PR
thing is clear: it’s not a show to ignore.
This must be a huge relief to UKTV
campaign.
“I was given this lovely lady PR. That
The notes:
– Flack was made for its W channel
– and to the writer of the programme,
was the first time I saw how it worked,”
he recalled. “I was fascinated by it. We
how to cope
Oliver Lansley. He toiled for seven long think of PR as Ab Fab, white wine and
years to get it on to TV, he revealed air kissing, but it always struck me as Oliver Lansley described the
during an RTS Futures panel discus- a more robust world than that.” experience of working with two
sion that was preceded by a screening He added: “My reference for Flack channels and umpteen executive
of episode 1. was always The Thick of It, but with producers who constantly sent him
By the way, the RTS audience loved glossy magazines.” notes on his scripts.
the section they saw of what is Ironically, given its complex journey, ‘If every one was a knife in your
unquestionably a highly entertaining, the show got off to a racing start. Within side, you’d bleed to death very
glossy, zeitgeisty series. six months of being commissioned by quickly,’ he said. ‘You have to be
TV dramas featuring strong, compli- an unidentified British broadcaster, a able to see through the notes to
cated female characters are all the pilot episode was in the can. So were what helps the script.
rage: just think of such era-defining six scripts. ‘Sometimes, you’ll get a note and
pieces as Fleabag and Killing Eve. But the show was then summarily it’s not necessarily a great note,
In Flack, Paquin plays Robyn, a smart, dropped. At this stage, Flack was a half- but it will identify something that
scheming, self-destructive PR (she hour comedy and none of the four needs changing.
snorts coke like Keith Richards once stars cast in W’s series were yet cast ‘Early on in the process, there is
did), trying to pull herself together after – Paquin, Rebecca Benson, Sophie this resistance and defensiveness
her mother’s suicide. In the debut epi- Okonedo and Lydia Wilson. against it.
sode, she saves the reputation of a gay Subsequently, the series morphed ‘You think, “I’ve written this and
Premier League footballer who’s picked into a one-hour drama before becom- this is how it’s going to be.” You’ve
up a rent boy, and a sex-crazed TV chef. ing the show that ended up on W – a got to let go of that and use the
The idea for Flack was conceived 45-minute comedy drama (excluding notes to your advantage.
by Lansley as a response to several commercial breaks) that premiered ‘You need to find that central line
high-profile dramas based around in February. in yourself to go, “Yeah, OK, that
complicated men – think Tony “I don’t think Flack’s gestation is can be better.” But you’ve got to
Soprano and Walter White. typical,” said Mark Talbot, head of pick your battles and be as objec-
Lansley told the RTS audience that comedy development at producer tive about it as you can.
he wanted to write a show featuring a Hat Trick. “It’s not the way that most ‘You do have to get used to it
complicated woman: “Five years ago, a shows get made.” because, if you want to write for
book came out about the golden age of Hat Trick had taken the show to its telly, you are going to get a lot
television called Difficult Men. It focused US agents after the series was dropped of notes.’
on showrunners and leading men such in the UK. It was in the States that Anna Yasmine Akram, also a writer
as Tony Soprano, Walter White and Paquin got involved. More development on Flack, added: ‘It’s exactly that
Don Draper. work was undertaken, this time for a – don’t take it personally. If there’s
“They were complex, male protago- US company. Again, the programme a specific note on the dialogue, I’ll
nists. I wanted to write a female char- was rejected. take it on.…
acter who could be on the cover of a Undaunted, its creators returned to ‘It’s a weird thing, as a comedy
book called Difficult Women. the UK, where, eventually, it was suc- writer, you assume that people
“We’ve come on a lot since then but, cessfully pitched to UKTV’s head of understand the musicality of com-
at the time, if female characters were scripted, Pete Thornton. “He loved it edy and that they’ll know how to
complicated they were often apologis- and he had all six scripts to read, use the joke.
ing for themselves or they were which worked in our favour,” said ‘It’s weird to watch when an
over-explained. Talbot. “Although UKTV had come on actor doesn’t get it.’
“By contrast, male characters do board, we needed extra financing. �
Television www.rts.org.uk March 2019 13‘SOME
BROADCASTERS
MIGHT HAVE GONE,
“OH NO, WE CAN’T
DO DRUG TAKING”’
� We took it back to the US and
pitched it to some American chan-
nels. Pop said yes.”
The green light was given in
November 2017 – seven years after
Paul Hampartsoumian
the lunch where the idea was first
discussed. Filming commenced in
January 2018.
From left: Pete Thornton,
“Flack felt spot on for W,” said
Mark Talbot, Yasmine
Thornton, who had been at UKTV for
Akron and Oliver Lansley
only six months. “At the time, I was
not thinking of making a drama, but
W is aimed at career women, metro-
politan thirtysomethings.
The treatment: hard graft
“Some broadcasters might have
gone, ‘Oh no, we can’t do drug taking.’ Pete Thornton, UKTV’s head of Oliver Lansley suggested that it
For us, as long as it was justified and scripted, said: ‘Writing treatments is was ‘really easy to write a treatment
felt like it was properly integrated, we really hard. This is comedy drama but, about a big idea. You can write it in
thought this was something that felt particularly for comedy, a treatment is a page.…[But] the best shows are
very real. People do talk like that and a hard ask. not based on one-line ideas. They’re
behave in that way some of the time,” ‘You’re never going to set out your much, much bigger. I hate treatments.
he said to audience laughter. world in a couple of pages. The aim is I would rather write a script than a
“The hybrid version that we ended to be informative, be brief and, at the treatment and it would probably take
up with was perfect,” said Lansley. same time, hilarious.’ me as long.…
“The show embraces both the worlds He added: ‘Writing a treatment ‘It’s always so reductive. If you
of English and American celebrity. involves a hell of a lot of work and describe a character in two lines
We jump between the two.” you’re normally paid 10% of your script they’re bound to sound awful....
He described the process of having fee for it, which is not very much. ‘A treatment is a document to
the show rejected so many times by ‘There’s a paragraph on all the make someone want to know more.
different broadcasters as “devastat- characters, an episode outline and, If you go into a room and start telling
ing”. “If you write, you develop a maybe, some examples of dialogue. a story and they want more of the
relationship with the characters It’s probably a week’s work.’ story, you’ve got a good chance.’
you’ve created. To have this whole
series sitting there was devastating.
It’s very hard to carry around all these
characters in your head.”
The pitch: time to tell your story
Ultimately, however, the longer Flack
was worked on, the better it got. “Per- Mark Talbot, head of comedy devel- commission you. But if you’re newer
sonally, I think we’ve ended up with opment at Hat Trick, said: ‘When I go and haven’t had anything on TV, a
the best version of both the earlier in and pitch a show, I always try and channel will need to know that you
versions,” said Talbot. Lansley agreed: tell a story and explain why it’s rele- can definitely write.
“We’ve made a much better show vant to what’s going on today. Talking ‘You’ll need to have a script. Chan-
because of the journey we went on.” n about difficult women is a good way nels will want a sample script and a
into a pitch. treatment.
The RTS Flack screening and script ‘If you’re an established writer who ‘If you are newer, I would just write
writing Q&A was held at the London has written nine series of Peep Show, a script. That makes it easier for me
Transport Museum in Covent Garden on you can probably go in and pitch to sell you.
19 February. The session was chaired by a show without any script or any ‘If I think a script is brilliant, I’ll
journalist Emma Cox and produced by treatment and they’re still likely to believe in it for seven years.’
UKTV’s Ali Laurie and Gem Pinkney.
14OUR FRIEND IN THE
NORTH WEST
Cat Lewis
proposes a
A
s TV producers, strategy for commissioners were part of the mix.
we’re facing more
global competition
building a vibrant The work of North West-based inde-
pendent production companies such
than ever before. production sector as mine has been transformed by
Whenever they being in the same city as commis-
wish, viewers can across the UK sioners, albeit only for children’s
watch one of programmes and BBC Learning.
many programmes from around the Through the anchor tenancy of the
world on Netflix or Amazon, rather BBC, MediaCity is now one of the
than one of our shows. Or they can most successful regeneration projects
stream or download dozens of feature in Europe. It employs more than
films available via their TV sets. 8,000 people, many more than
I genuinely believe that the best worked there when the Manchester
response to this difficult situation is docks were at their peak.
to embrace the creativity of the This is why the Government is so
whole country, and not just rely on keen for Channel 4 to help create
London-based programme-makers. similar success stories in Leeds, Bris-
Since the 1950s, British TV has been tol and Glasgow.
a national industry, engaging with Public service broadcasters need
diverse talent across the UK. This to be much more strategic about what
Nine Lives
system created some of our very best they commission from outside Lon-
shows, from Coronation Street to Happy don. Production companies in the
Valley, and all of Russell T Davies’s nations and regions need more
work, including his forthcoming returning series – but an economic
series, Years and Years. work together to keep their local talent report commissioned by Ofcom and
Over in France, you’ve only ever employed, trained and promoted. And, published in December 2018 reveals
been able to work in TV if you live in together, they can create clever solu- that 86% of today’s returning series
Paris. I believe this is one reason that tions to tackle any skills gaps. are made in London.
their TV industry is not world leading. Ofcom must ensure that its updated More worryingly, in 2017, 75% of
Here in the UK, Channel 4’s crea- “made outside London” criteria new series were commissioned from
tion of a new HQ in Leeds, plus two encourage programmes made by companies based in the capital.
hubs in Bristol and Glasgow, comes as operationally independent companies. Channel 4’s decision to create a
Ofcom is tightening the criteria for These firms should use local talent at returning weekday live series broad-
what counts as a production made all levels of seniority so they are not cast from Leeds is excellent news. It
outside of London. This signals the reliant on London for post-production. promises an amazing opportunity to
start of a new meritocratic and more Otherwise, there’ll be no investment nurture the next generation of
diverse era. in facilities outside the capital. programme-makers in the north.
Key to creating sustainable produc- Crucially, there has to be enough In an industry based on relation-
tion centres is ensuring that there are production in the nations and regions ships, in which London plays such
strong talent bases of freelance pro- to keep everyone employed. As we a dominant role, it’s also a very good
gramme-makers who can not only are an informal, relationship-based decision to put the opportunity out
work in TV, but enjoy fulfilling careers business, Channel 4’s decision to to tender. Tenders level the playing
outside London. That’s why the net- move commissioners outside London field and should be used more widely
working sessions the RTS organises is hugely important. as a way in which PSBs can create
across the UK are so important. Many of us hope that the BBC will more returning series in the nations
The more communication there soon do the same. When Caroline and regions. n
is between those who work in our Thomson, the former head of opera-
industry, the more likely it is that com- tions at the BBC, created MediaCity, Cat Lewis is Chair of the RTS in the
panies in the nations and regions can she very deliberately ensured that North West and runs Nine Lives Media.
Television www.rts.org.uk March 2019 15The Derry girl who
created a comic gem
P
eek around the corner of “In Derry, putting on plays in pubs
Badgers Bar in Derry and Screenwriting doesn’t earn you anything, so I did odd
you’ll see the larger- jobs when I could. When I moved to
than-life faces of Erin, London and got my first writing pro-
Clare, Michelle, Orla and Breakout comedy hits ject, that was me, I didn’t need another
James plastered over the are rare, but Lisa McGee job – but I was so lucky,” she reflects.
wall. As far as signs of a show’s success “Being able to write full time is so rare,
go, they don’t get much bigger than a wrote one. She explains and it’s getting rarer, I understand from
five-metre-high mural.
From the moment the profane and
to Shilpa Ganatra how talking to younger writers.
“The National Theatre thing was so
brilliant Derry Girls burst on to our she did it amazing. They just went, ‘You don’t
screens last year in a haze of teenage need to worry about earning money,
escapades, nostalgic music and 1990s it’s a shock how famous they are. we’re going to pay you and give you a
artefacts – such as pastel printed wall- They’re stopped all the time. It’s differ- space, and you have that time to get
paper, Baby-G watches and armed ent even for me – I was in TK Maxx something written.’”
soldiers on the streets – it captivated with my husband recently and some- It was at this point that she wrote
its audience. one stopped me and asked me if I her first TV scripts. They included
The first episode drew in 2.5 million wrote Derry Girls. It’s very strange.” RTÉ’s restaurant drama Raw and the
viewers and prompted a commission Straight-talking and focused, she is recently revived play Girls and Dolls.
for the second series that is currently a Derry native who began her word- From there, she turned her hand to
airing on Channel 4. smith career writing for local theatre episodes of The White Queen, Being
“It still hasn’t sunk in,” says writer companies. Acquiring both an attach- Human and Indian Summers.
and creator Lisa McGee. “It was sup- ment at the National Theatre and an In 2013, Channel 4 premiered her
posed to be a niche comedy, but now, agent, she moved to London, where own series, London Irish. Set in the cap-
when I go round Derry with the cast, she is now based. ital, the show about a group of Irish
16twentysomethings divided opinions. By excruciating situations. Derry Girls mines “TV hasn’t quite caught up just yet
contrast, Derry Girls, which she dreamt similar territory – with one big differ- – I think there needs to be a lot more
up when she was pregnant with her first ence: the central characters are female. content and choice,” she says. “We’ve
child by writer/actor Tobias Beer, won Lately, both the number and quality picked out some examples but, if we
rapturous reviews. It became Chan- of female-led comedies have improved. were to talk about male-led shows, we
nel 4’s biggest comedy launch since Max Women’s roles have shifted from being could be here all day. That’s the point
and Paddy’s Road to Nowhere in 2004; the predominantly nagging other halves or that we need to get to, where there’s
series now airs on Netflix in the US, mums (the Men Behaving Badly model), lots of examples.”
where it has attracted a cult following. to a smattering of awkwardly written She adds: “Everyone’s now saying
Loosely based on McGee’s childhood lead females (Fox’s New Girl) plus more that it’s a problem that there are no
at a Derry convent school, in between believable shows, such as Motherland female writers, there’s not enough
the gags and the set-ups, the series (written by Sharon Horgan and Gra- female leads, and there’s not enough
highlighted the ubiquity of the Trou- ham Linehan), Drifters (by Jessica female comedy.
bles in everyday life and, by extension, Knappett), Fleabag (Phoebe Waller- “Eventually, people are going to have
its normalcy. Bridge), GameFace (Roisin Conaty) to put their money where their mouth
Of course, Northern Ireland of yore and Catastrophe (another of Horgan’s is to challenge this. Channel 4 is very
wasn’t all IRA bombs and angry men co-creations). But there’s still a way good about that.”
on TV, it was also aunts trying to get to to go, warns McGee. It doesn’t help, however, that, after
the hair salon on time despite bomb cancelling Birds of a Feather and Bad
scares and pupils having the hots for Move, ITV has dialed down the amount
the soldiers doing checks on the of original scripted comedy it commis-
school bus. sions to zero. “That decision is disap-
While the last season felt like a pointing,” remarks McGee. “Comedy is
self-contained six-parter, its continua- not something on the side; it’s skill. I
tion sees the gang back together, and write drama as well, and comedy is
trying to chase boys (and girls) and different and very tough. The thing
causing headaches for their parents that I love about comedy is that people
and teachers. will re-watch it for years.
This time, the backdrop of the Trou- “Comedy usually works because you
bles has evolved from tragic conflict to recognise something about your life,
a desire for peace – even if the girls’ like in The Royle Family. There’s an inti-
version is desire for “a piece of fine macy to comedy, and it’s more than
Protestant arse”, as Michelle, the bolshie just being entertained. But it’s also true
one, puts it. that the family can watch comedy
Public domain
“This year, I felt less worried about together and it’s a shared experience.”
the jokes I was making because, last How does she feel the genre might
year, nobody batted an eyelid at things progress in the years ahead?
I thought were pushing it, such as the “There might be more long-form
Orange Order episode,” says McGee. comedies,” she says. “There are really
“This year, there’s an equivalent Protes- interesting things happening with
tant gang of boys going through a simi- shows such as Search Party (shown in
lar time as the girls, so I could explore the UK on E4), where it’s a comedy, but
and not worry too much – because both it’s [also] a drama, slower and more
sides of the community got it, and that twisty-turny.
made me feel a bit more confident.” “I think we’re going to be looking at
What doesn’t change is their hap- comedy being more multi-faceted, and
lessness – an important point for [mixing with] other genres such as
McGee given the unrealistic character- thrillers.”
isation of girls-next-door to date. Perhaps this vision is an insight into
“Even in TV shows that I loved, I the shows McGee is currently develop-
found the characters that were sup- ing. She’s working on three dramas to
posed to be losers were always way balance out the comedy-heavy year
cooler than me. Like, I loved My she had writing series 2 of Derry Girls.
So-Called Life, in which Claire Danes is “After I write a comedy, I immedi-
supposed to be a teenage loser, but she ately want to write something dark
looks like a fashion icon and she gets because it’s the opposite,” she explains.
off with Jared Leto. “So, I have three different ideas at
“I wanted my characters to be com- three different stages, but Derry Girls
plete disasters because I think that’s has been a priority for me, so I’ve just
what most teenage girls feel like.” been working on them in the
Two of Channel 4’s most successful background.”
Channel 4
comedies ever, The Inbetweeners and With a third series of Derry Girls look-
Peep Show, were edgy shows that ing likely, the dramas may well have to
extracted comedy gold from Derry Girls wait a little longer. n
Television www.rts.org.uk March 2019 17A new era for
BBC Three
B
BC Three itself in a really com-
is at a cru- petitive environment,”
cial point in says Jessel.
its history. “Fiona is what I’d call a
With a new ‘real person’ – someone with
controller, Fiona ideas and personality,” adds
Campbell, a budget raised to £40m Simon Dickson, the former Chan-
and a regular slot on BBC One on nel 4 deputy head of documentaries
Mondays to Wednesdays, the corpora- and co-founder of Hospital producer
tion hopes that it can stem the tide of Label1. “She’ll find her feet quickly and
younger viewers washing up on the usher in a new generation of shows
shores of Netflix and YouTube. BBC Three that will sit nicely both on TV and
The BBC One decision was contro- online. The key will be commissioning
versial, because it meant slicing 10 min- factual programmes that combine
utes off the News at Ten to make way for Tara Conlan profiles the audacity, insight and fun. She has a
shows such as Fleabag and Stacey nose for those things and I’m sure
Dooley’s Glow Up. Some journalists channel’s new controller, she’ll do a cracking job.”
fumed, but the move was applauded by
those who have been urging the BBC to
Fiona Campbell, as the Brought up in Belfast, Campbell says
she understands why some younger
do more for younger audiences. service raises its profile viewers feel disenfranchised by tradi-
Campbell, who comes from a news tional broadcasters. Rather than dwell-
and factual background, acknowledges on BBC One ing on the decision to close BBC Three
the annoyance expressed by some as a TV channel in 2016, she empha-
viewers but says that “now is the time the sensibilities of her channel’s audi- sises her belief that making shows that
to think about the global digital envi- ence, says executive producer Adam reflect viewers’ own experiences and
ronment people can spend time with”. Jessel. He worked with Campbell on locality will help draw in Millennials.
Those rivals for attention include not the ground-breaking Britain’s Gay Foot- She explains: “BBC Three has done
just streamers but other options such ballers and the BBC iPlayer box set well and garnered a lot of awards and
as, “the Top Shop app, which I spend Unsolved, when she was BBC Three a lot of talent. We don’t want to let go
way too much time on”. head of documentaries and features. of that [but the channel can also] be
The first female controller of BBC “She’s a dynamic, innovative thinker uniquely British and uniquely closer to
Three (Sam Bickley was acting con- who’s got all the credentials for the job that young audience than anyone else
troller in 2014) is firmly in touch with and will make BBC Three a space for in this country, never mind the world.
18“We can make content that’s really looked into the importance of local location making things and I was more
honed to their passions and life expe- media for local identity and fuelling interested in being out there on loca-
riences in a way that other channels economic growth. tion than in being in the spotlight. I’ve
don’t… because they have commercial She got work experience on Italian travelled the world, been to Kosovo,
concerns.” TV journalist Gianfranco Funari’s interviewed the Taliban, covered the
As a former BBC News digital direc- show, which led to a piece on Roger Iraq War… [which] brings a totally dif-
tor, she is interested in social media Bolton’s Right to Reply and The Money ferent kind of dimension to your life.”
and consumption data. She highlights Programme. Her next step was being Campbell suggests that being taught
how Abused by My Girlfriend amassed hired for Panorama by the late Steve by nuns at her primary and secondary
schools shaped her, as “you learn to
rebel against nuns from an early age”.
She deals with a stressful job and
juggling being a mother by doing spin
classes to loud music. Music, she thinks,
is key to attracting younger viewers.
BBC Three has 1.4 million subscrib-
ers to its YouTube channel and an 8.5%
reach among 16-to 34-year-olds.
Campbell’s predecessor, Damian Kava-
nagh, set a target of increasing reach to
that demographic to 10% by 2020.
Some wonder if she may get over-
sight of a TV channel, too, after Ofcom
CEO Sharon White said last year that
BBC Three was “probably” shut down
All pictures: BBC
“too early”, but that was “a decision for
the BBC”.
Avalon co-founder Jon Thoday – who
made a joint bid with Jimmy Mulville in
Jerk Jerk
2015 to buy BBC Three’s TV incarnation
before it closed – thinks that the corpo-
1.7 million viewers and a huge Twitter Hewlett, when he edited the current ration should hand over one of UKTV’s
peak when it aired on TV after debut- affairs flagship. free-to-air channel slots.
ing on BBC Three online. The figures “Steve and Jane Corbin taught me so “When I heard that the BBC was
also revealed how the show won a lot many things. Jane taught me the art of buying out Discovery… I thought it
of female, north-western and Scottish never taking no for an answer. Steve must have decided that channels were
viewers. was an amazing editor,” she recalls. a good thing [and] it should give one of
Campbell thinks her BBC Three can “All through my subsequent career, the slots to BBC Three,” said Thoday. “I
“excel” by having “content that talks to Steve was there to give advice and think we were right [about not closing
people of mid and lower income of have a sense of humour and remind the TV channel] and it’s still a shame it
both sexes”. She wants to reflect “the me not to take myself too seriously. did that. The BBC still needs to spend
reality of the younger experience”, “I then learnt a lot by going to Watch- more money on younger audiences,”
adding that, “for women who are in dog, under Steve Anderson and Anne he said, because Netflix’s massive
relationships in this country and who Robinson,” where she learnt to self- promotional spending cuts through to
don’t live in London or Manchester shoot and film undercover. youngsters.
and perhaps have less money at their Her next move was to Channel 4 News, The latest young talent coming
disposal, it’s bloody tough. where she worked as a commissioning through on BBC Three is on show in the
“I’m also interested in local. More editor in a “very fun, supportive envi- Tim Renkow comedy Jerk, female grime
than 30 members of BBC Three staff ronment” under Dorothy Byrne. Subse- constructed reality series Galdem Sugar,
are in Birmingham, sitting alongside quently, she returned to the BBC and and Heartbreak Hotel, which follows
the English digital news journalists. I’m rose to head of current affairs. every move and message of 10 young
doing a lot of thinking about the role of Navigating the BBC bureaucracy is Brits who travel round Greece together
BBC Three outside London, because not easy but Campbell has become so to heal their broken hearts.
then it’s closer to what’s happening, adept that one former colleague once Young programme-makers are very
where people live.” did an impression of her by kicking in much on Campbell’s radar, who pays
Although she chaired the 2016 Edin- a door. Her explanation is that she has back the wisdom passed on to her by
burgh International Television Festival, “a low boredom threshold, so I do tend Hewlett by mentoring. “We’ve all got
Campbell prefers to keep a low profile. to be, ‘Are we going to do this or are we to spend a bit of time helping the next
She followed a “random” route into not going to do this and, if we are, let’s generation along and giving them
media. While doing a masters in inter- just get on and do it now.’ That tends to career advice,” she says. “I’ve noticed
national and regional development in be my attitude, probably because I shot some of them are quite stressed. The
Italy, she became interested in the film myself when working in digital… importance of supporting the next
sector as, “coming from Northern Ire- and a 24/7 news environment.” crowd coming through cannot be
land… where our GDP was so crap”, she “I spent a lot of my career on underestimated.” n
Television www.rts.org.uk March 2019 19You can also read
