The greening of TV production - November 2021 - Royal Television Society
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November 2021 The greening of TV production
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Journal of The Royal Television Society
November 2021 l Volume 58/10
From the CEO
With COP26 dominat- the new culture secretary, Nadine Finally, we will shortly be hosting
ing the news, our Dorries, who has some big decisions our first national, in-person awards
cover story reflects to make in the coming months. ceremony since the start of the pan-
TV’s determination to Shilpa Ganatra’s timely feature on demic, the RTS Craft & Design Awards
introduce more sus- the practical steps, often quite small 2021. It is a particular pleasure to cele
tainable ways of work- things, that producers can take to brate the amazing people behind our
ing. Caroline Frost accommodate disabled people who screens. Thanks for “keeping the lights
examines BBC Studios’ commitment to work in TV is a compelling read. on” in television over the past two
have all its productions Albert-certified I’m thrilled that we were able to years! I look forward to seeing as
from January, and we report on a welcome so many of our future talents many of you as possible at the Hilton
recent RTS Cymru Wales event, “COP a to the first of this year’s RTS Student Park Lane on 22 November.
load of this”. We also get a unique per- Masterclasses. I don’t think I’ve ever
spective on what it was like to be at the seen this occasion so well attended.
conference, from Simon Pitts, CEO of Huge thanks to all the practitioners
Scottish Television, in his TV Diary. who gave up their valuable time to
Don’t miss Steve Clarke’s profile of speak to the students. Theresa Wise
Contents
5 Simon Pitts’s TV Diary
Torrential rain, protesters outside STV’s HQ and even
Obama fluffs his lines. Simon Pitts experiences COP26
from the inside
16 Why the small things matter
Shilpa Ganatra discovers how, for disabled people
working in TV, even minor adjustments can pay
big dividends
6
Comfort Classic: Edge of Darkness
Matthew Bell celebrates a poetic, gripping and harrowing
political thriller that is, sadly, just as relevant today 18 Enter Nadine Dorries
Steve Clarke profiles the new culture secretary,
ex-reality TV star and bestselling author, who holds
the future of the BBC and Channel 4 in her hands
7 Ear Candy: Storytime with Seth Rogen
Many try and few succeed: this is how you play the
genial stoner podcast host, skilfully extracting great
stories from your famous pals, says Harry Bennett 21 Our Friend in the Midlands
Proud Brummie Ed Shedd celebrates his region’s
storytelling renaissance
8 Working Lives: Colourist
Senior colourist Jateen Patel tells Matthew Bell why
grading a show is more about creative collaboration
than technology
22 Our obsession with Succession
Series 3 is breaking audience records. Caitlin Danaher
explores why the despicable Roys are so popular
10 How green is our telly?
From January, all BBC commissions must be certified by
the Albert sustainability scheme. Caroline Frost explores
24 English justice on trial
Showtrial, from the makers of Line of Duty, asks big
questions about how we judge women who find
themselves in the dock
the implications
12 TV’s war on carbon
How far have we travelled towards sustainable production
and on-screen recognition of the environmental crisis?
26 E4’s big day
The channel’s revamp of Married at First Sight is one of
the year’s surprise hits. RTS Futures hears how it was done
14 The Korean serial killer
Squid Game’s huge popularity is boosting Netflix but
Shilpa Ganatra believes its success should not have
28 Follow your stars
Television distils a day of expert advice from leading
TV practitioners at the RTS Student Programme
Masterclasses 2021
come as such a surprise
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 2021.
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 November 2021 3
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TV diary
D
ay one of COP26 in for our viewers. Unprecedented levels
my adopted city of of harmony are on display.
Glasgow. I moved That night, we launch STV’s first
to Scotland nearly on-air green promo campaign,
four years ago to highlighting little changes that can
join producer- make a big difference, such as taking
broadcaster STV a shorter shower or not over-filling
and I’ve grown to love it here. the kettle.
One of the big plusses is that I get This comes under the banner of our
to commute to work by bike, not sustainability plan, STV Zero, which
tube, and I’m certainly glad of it today was launched at the turn of the year
because COP has closed all the roads. STV and will see us become a net zero
The only downside to cycling is carbon business by 2030.
that you invariably get soaked. Even
by Glasgow’s standards, today’s Torrential rain, ■ On day four, I attend the CBI din-
rainfall is biblical. Some would say it’s ner at COP. Eight hundred people in
highly symbolic for the start of a global protesters outside a room together feels very un-2021.
climate conference. STV’s HQ and even US climate envoy John Kerry tells
us this is the COP where big business
■ When I arrive, our office looks Obama fluffs his has finally come to the party. I think
like Alcatraz – 2.5m-high perimeter
fencing and extra security staff on
lines. Simon Pitts he’s right. Playing our full part is now
a moral and a commercial imperative.
patrol. Our building is on the edge experiences COP26 New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern
of the COP blue zone. gives one of the keynotes, virtually,
We’ve been preparing for this for from the inside but tells us she’d much rather be with
months. COP is simultaneously a us in “Glaze-go”. It could just be the
huge news story, an opportunity as accent, of course.
a broadcaster to demonstrate our Even Obama, with all his oratorical
commitment to climate action, and ■ Day two sees the start of a series skill, isn’t immune to the odd gaffe.
a massive security headache. of broadcaster events in partnership He’s also in “Glass-cow”, by the
Right on cue, a chap from Ocean with the Albert consortium. way, but he thinks it’s in the
Rebellion sets fire to his boat outside Throughout the week, there are, “Emerald Isles”.
our office. Fortunately, there’s no among many others, panel sessions
danger. It’s also perfect for our news on whether the soaps can help ■ My faith in the power of COP
crew, who barely need to leave their spread the word on climate action; to bring us all together is restored
desks to get some great shots. This is how weather presenters can help by a conversation I overhear in a
going to be a busy week. inform audiences via their bulletins; conference cafeteria at the end of
and how brands are stepping up in the week.
■ It’s hard to get your head around the climate fight. Two foreign delegates are at the
120 world leaders flying into Glasgow. The Yorkshire Tea 100% carbon chiller cabinet; one picks up a can
Certainly, it’s good news for the neutral campaign is voted the best of Irn-Bru and asks: “Do you know
WH Smith in Glasgow airport arrivals. green ad. what’s actually in this?”
Joe Biden chooses Edinburgh to jet in “No idea,” says the other, “but it’s
on Air Force One. ■ The next day, I join the CEOs from goooood!”.
We spot Marine One hovering over Sky, BBC, ITV and Channel 4 on a COP Scotland has definitely made its
our office. Once inside the COP stage to launch the Climate Pledge, mark on the world this week.
auditorium, Biden announces that a commitment to work together to
it’s fantastic to be in “Glass-cow”. bring climate action to life on-screen Simon Pitts is CEO of Scottish Television.
Television www.rts.org.uk November 2021 5
COMFORT CLASSIC
Edge of
Darness
Edge of
Darkness
BBC
L
ittle, it seems, has changed
in the 36 years since Edge
Matthew Bell celebrates when Emma (Joanne Whalley), the
daughter of policeman Ronnie Craven
of Darkness was first a poetic, gripping and (Bob Peck), is gunned down in front of
shown. Conspiracy and him. Was Craven the real target of the
cover-up, environmental harrowing political thriller killer, perhaps a criminal with a
devastation and the threat
of nuclear destruction were stitched
that is, sadly, just as grudge? Or was Emma’s involvement
in an anti-nuclear group called Gaia
into the fabric of the 1980s and are no relevant today the motive?
less relevant now. Peck, a virtual newcomer to TV but a
If this were all that Edge of Darkness Royal Shakespeare Company regular,
had offered, however, it wouldn’t be so gives a towering performance as a man
fondly remembered or, indeed, recog- consumed by grief. He is haunted by
nised by many critics as British TV Emma’s death, constantly hearing and
drama’s finest moment. seeing her as he tries to find the killer.
Television has excelled at the politi- Craven’s quest takes him into a world of
cal thriller, from Alan Plater’s A Very double-dealing, peopled by cynical MI5
British Coup to Paul Abbott’s State of Play and CIA spooks. This is the 1980s of
to, most recently, Jed Mercurio’s Body- Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan,
guard. But Edge of Darkness transcends the escalation of the Cold War and much
the genre. The six-part series is hugely sabre rattling, but with nuclear missiles
ambitious, by turns grandiose and as politicians’ weapons of choice.
intensely personal. It says more about Conspiracy dramas are normally
love and heart-rending loss than naturalistic in style and Edge of Dark-
almost anything I have seen. ness can be, usually when the plot
It starts with a horrifying murder needs to move forwards or when one
6
of the real-life people and places that
Ear candy
Storytime
pepper the drama appear on screen.
But what makes the series magnifi-
cent is its strangeness, whether it’s
Emma’s ghost or the ecological mysti-
with Seth Rogen
cism that pervades the series. Students
of environmental theory will immedi-
ately relate the name of Emma’s group
of activists to the Gaia hypothesis of
scientist James Lovelock, which sees
the Earth as a self-regulating organism.
Lovelock is still writing about the envi-
ronment at the age of 102.
Edge of Darkness premiered on BBC
Two in November 1985 to immediate
critical acclaim and strong audiences,
winning a repeat showing on BBC One
within days of the final episode airing,
and doubling its audience.
When the TV awards were divvied
up the following year, the series took
more than its share. Its six Baftas
included Drama Series, Actor (Peck)
and Music for the atmospheric score of
Eric Clapton and Michael Kamen.
Its huge success shouldn’t have
come as any surprise, given the talent
involved in the series. Writer Troy Ken-
nedy Martin co-created TV’s first mod-
Earwolf
ern cop series, Z Cars, and wrote The
I
Italian Job, that most iconic of British
movies. Michael Wearing had already
produced Boys from the Blackstuff and n a “podcastsphere” oversatu- his routine niceness, Rogen asks where
went on to executive produce Our rated with samey celebrity he gets it from, and his answer leads to
Friends in the North, giving him a hat- interviews, Storytime with Seth the discovery of a chain reaction of
trick of involvement in, arguably, Brit- Rogen is a breath of fresh air. acts of kindness.
ish television’s three greatest dramas. The concept sounds stand- True to his friendly stoner persona,
Director Martin Campbell shot Edge ard enough: actor and come- Rogen proves an affable and curious
of Darkness like a feature film and then dian Seth Rogen asks famous host who knows when to dig deeper.
went on to direct movies, including friends to tell a personal story. But In episode 2, David Crosby’s reminis-
Daniel Craig’s 2006 Bond debut in Rogen transforms the stories into cence of his friendship with the “quiet
Casino Royale, one of the franchise’s best. breezy “audio documentaries” that are, Beatle”, George Harrison, leads to some
Twenty-five years later, Wearing and by turns, wholesome, funny and sur- deep dives into how music works – as
Campbell moved the story to the US prisingly revelatory. well as the differences between US
and remade Edge of Darkness as a The first episode, Glorious Basterds, is a and European joint-rolling habits.
movie, with Mel Gibson in the Peck definitive rejection of that old adage, But where Storytime shines is in the
role and Ray Winstone’s British spook “never meet your heroes”, as comedian way it enlivens a conversational format
replacing Joe Don Baker’s CIA agent. “A Quinta Brunson recalls her chance that’s long grown stale. Trimming the
moderate feature film,” reckoned Peter encounter with Paul Rudd at a matinee chit-chat, each episode locks in at
Bradshaw in his Guardian review. of Inglourious Basterds, where he inspired about 30 minutes. And, to hilarious
Viewers are advised to stick with the her to leave the Jehovah’s Witnesses to effect, the producers go big and whim-
original – British TV has never made a pursue freely a career in comedy. sical with the sound design – not least
better, or stranger, political thriller. n Rogen being Rogen, he’s able to the echoes and other effects that
follow up on any name drops but, underscore the major story beats.
Edge of Darkness is available to stream when he calls Rudd to confirm the I can still hear the church choir sing-
on Virgin TV Go or as a download on story, the actor says he has no recol- ing Rudd’s name. n
Amazon Video and Sky Store. lection of it. Taking that as evidence of Harry Bennett
Television www.rts.org.uk November 2021 7
The Last Kingdom
WORKING LIVES
Colourist
Netflix
Jateen Patel is a senior colourist at Kingdom, I get two-and-a-half days per What is the balance between technical
renowned Soho post-production facil- episode; on a bigger drama, I would get know-how and artistic flair?
ity Molinare. His work straddles the three to four days, possibly five. I’ve The two work in harmony, but it’s
worlds of TV and film, and includes done small-budget films in five days critical to understand the technical
The Last Kingdom, Starstruck, Rocks, Ali & but, for bigger-budget films, it can vary side of the job.
Ava and Mission: Impossible – Fallout. between two weeks and a month,
which would include all the different How did you become a colourist?
What does the job involve? release versions. I did science and creative A-levels and
I implement the final visual look of a took a degree in graphic/web design,
production, integrating all its elements, Which other people and departments but I had no real idea of what I wanted
including the shot material and visual do you work with closely? to do once I graduated.
effects (VFX). Ideally, you shouldn’t Creatively, the director and director of I enjoyed movies and photography,
notice what I do because the idea is to photography (DoP) in particular. Nor- and then one of my friends started to
create a connection with the viewers mally, I will read the script beforehand work in visual effects and thought I
that leads them naturally through a and I’ll be sent mood boards and visual might like the idea of colour grading.
show emotionally. references. We then meet in pre-pro- I’d never heard of it before but all the
duction to discuss the look. dots connected, so I became a runner
How long do you get to colour and I also work with VFX supervisors, and landed my first job soon after, in
grade a show? digital imaging technicians, producers, a film lab called Todd-AO.
With a show such as BBC Three’s exec producers, post-production super- That was a great training ground – I
Starstruck or Sky One’s Breeders, I usu- visors and editors, as well as our inter- would not change that for anything, as
ally get a day or a day and a half to nal team of sales and post-production I learnt all my basic grading skills on
work on it, including sign-off – come- managers, grade assistants and online film dailies (the raw, unedited footage,
dies usually have a quick turnaround. editors, who are all important in prep- or rushes) and the importance of
On a Netflix drama such as The Last ping and delivering projects. procedure.
8
proud of important films such as Sarah
Gavron’s Rocks, Clio Barnard’s Ali & Ava,
and collaborating with Reggie Yates on
his first feature, Pirates.
On the TV side, The Last Kingdom and
Breeders, and a couple of shows I’m
working on now: 61st Street, a legal
drama set in Chicago, and Extinction,
an end-of-the-world drama for Sky.
What’s the best part of the job?
The best is working with so many
different people, all of whom have a
common goal – to make great shows
and films. Then, of course, the thing I
really enjoy is the grading.
Are there any tricks of the trade you
can share with us?
Keep it simple and get the foundations
right. Once you’ve got the contrast of a
shot right, you’ll start to see what really
needs doing.
What advice would you give to some-
one wanting to become a colourist?
There are so many different routes into
the industry. I started in film lab rushes/
dailies and I also did lots of music videos
for friends in the early days, which is a
great way of gaining experience.
Practice using just the basic “lift,
gamma, gain” controls, which is all we
had back then. If you can match grade
and create different looks this way,
then moving to more complicated
tools will seem easier.
Starstruck
BBC
If you want to work on TV dramas
and films, it’s a good idea to work at
I then had the opportunity to leave done remotely with clients involved in a finishing post-production facility,
dailies and move into finishing at a the UK or abroad. starting as a runner, getting to know
company called M2. I joined Molinare people, learning from everyone, not
in 2011 and have worked my way up to What do you bring to work with you? just the colourists, and working your
senior colourist. Just my phone for emails, notes and way up. Learning on the job is so
calls – all the kit is at Molinare. important – you need the time to
What was the first TV programme you make mistakes before you become
worked on? What makes a good colourist? responsible for bigger productions.
I worked on a few TV projects at The ability to listen, interpret and imple-
Todd-AO, doing film rushes but, as a ment first what the director and DoP Has the job changed over time?
junior colourist at M2 in the mid-2000s, want, then the producers, execs and Since I started in the early 2000s,
my first project was the movie version anyone else involved – it’s a collabora- the grading software has become so
of David Attenborough’s Planet Earth. tive job. It’s a good idea to try to bring advanced – technically, you can do
That was a real eye-opener for me. something different creatively to each so much more, and there was also the
project – not every show lends itself to move from film to digital.
What is a typical working day like? the same set-ups, techniques and style.
My day can vary, but I usually start by Experimentation is good: otherwise, you Is there a TV series or film genre you’d
looking at anything new on any of the can become stagnant and end up doing love to work on?
shows/films I’m working on. This is the same thing all the time. A South Korean or Hong Kong movie
before any clients arrive for the main for sure, or a sci-fi, western, Succession
project/booking of the day. Which work are you most proud of? or Batman movie. But there is so much
Often, projects overlap, so you’re I put my best into everything I do, so that I have worked on, I’m happy. n
juggling jobs at different stages of post- I’m proud of it all. I really enjoyed
or pre-production. Now, with Covid-19 working on Mission: Impossible – Fallout Senior colourist Jateen Patel was inter
protocols, a lot of grade viewings are for its technical challenges. I’m also viewed by Matthew Bell.
Television www.rts.org.uk November 2021 9
From January, all BBC commissions must be
certified by the Albert sustainability scheme.
Caroline Frost explores the implications
Vroomwithaview.com
Transport and power are the two
big problems for TV production
How green is
our telly?
‘N
o one takes a taxi with- how much landfill’. We log how long across different channels to discuss
out me knowing about we are in offices [and] whether they’re climate change;
it. Every little bit of open-plan or have air-conditioning to n The championing of world-class
movement gets tracked. provide [an estimate] of how much sustainability experts, such as Greta
I have a lot of spread- power we use. We log… everything.” Thunberg and Sir David Attenborough;
sheets and things are Sill’s colleague, producer Eric Coulter, and
always being added, so I never take my agrees: “We do lots of things electroni- n Encouraging productions to take
eye off any of it.” cally now – contracts, schedules. appropriate actions.
Alison Sill, a freelance production DocuSign has become the norm. I The last is where Albert comes in.
co-ordinator fresh from the set of BBC never print scripts any more. My bag’s Ten years ago, the BBC created a digital
TV drama Guilt, filmed on location in become a lot lighter.” tool – named after EastEnders’ famous
Edinburgh, is bubbling with anecdotal Such is the effort involved for square – to measure each production’s
evidence of just how much effort she the entire cast and crew of a BBC- carbon footprint. It then made the key
and her team have put into hitting commissioned production in earning a decision to give this to Bafta, so that
their sustainability targets. prized Albert sustainable production the technology could be adopted by
“Hotels, taxis, trains, planes… we ask certification. But what does that mean every creative working in the industry.
everyone if they will take a train. If exactly, and how does it work? “That meant that everyone could
they really can’t, then we’ll get them on The 2,500 hours of TV created in a contribute to making it a more sophisti-
a plane, but we’ll do everything we can typical year by BBC Studios all fall cated tool,” explains Sally Mills, BBC
to avoid it. What fuel can we generate to under the net zero target framework of Studios’ head of operations and sus-
power the set? We measure materials the wider corporation and fit into the tainability lead. “At BBC Studios, we
– how much wood and paint are being organisation’s strategy to make sus- introduced a target in April 2020 for all
used in construction? tainability central to audiences’ under- our productions, BBC and third-party,
“We track our waste and use compa- standing and engagement, which is to be albert certified and last year an
nies that report back ‘how many skips three-pronged: impressive 98% of our productions
you had uplifted, how many bins you n “On-screen portrayal”, such as the achieved this. For the BBC, all our com-
had taken away, how much recycling, recent collaboration by soap stars missions from January 2022 will have to
10be Albert certified.” The Albert scheme – it was one of the very few benefits.” people to think differently, both
is twofold, encompassing both “the The kind of incentives that might on the operational and creative sides.”
footprint” and “the carbon action plan”. accompany certification, Taylor makes Coulter agrees, and reflects: “Every-
Carys Taylor, Bafta’s director of the clear, remain up to the broadcasters. It one has to buy into it editorially, too.
scheme, explains that “the footprint is clear, however, that Albert certifica- Can we put a recycling bin in the
gives the team members a sense of tion, if not yet universally mandated, is kitchen of a scene? Can a character
where their impacts are, while the becoming an expectation across the take public transport instead of driv-
action plan involves filling in a form of industry. For the 2022 Bafta Awards, ing? Soon, I predict we won’t be show-
60 or so questions ahead of produc- entrants will be asked whether they ing paper cups on screen, it’ll be as odd
tion. This shows expectations, likely have achieved certification, and Taylor as seeing someone smoking.”
high-impact areas and plans to reduce favours the creation of an additional Danielle Mulder, the BBC’s first
their carbon footprint, eliminate waste green storytelling award. director of sustainability, is charged
and monitor supply chains.” For Mills at BBC Studios, sustainability with leading the corporation to its
To be certified and gain the Albert is at the heart of her commercial busi- target of net zero carbon by 2030. She
logo, the production team must then ness. “Not just reputationally, but for is confident that no stick or carrot is
provide evidence, which Taylor assures talent attraction,” she says. “Like diver- required for the Albert scheme to con-
me “is assessed by a human being, sity, it should just be embedded in tinue to evolve. She says: “The produc-
with spot checks to ensure the accu- everything we do.” tion teams all want to do this. There
racy of the data”. Only then does Bafta But, while she applauds the collec- isn’t a stick needed. What we want to
hand over the cherished footprint logo tive mindset in addressing the chal- do is to bring it to life and make it real
Location shooting
Futurikon
can be extremely
energy intensive
– hence Sill’s heroic efforts to log all lenges, she recognises that there are for people. They know what the ask is
those taxis. obstacles yet to be overcome: “One and what the solutions are. This isn’t
Bafta supports the scheme with a challenge is matching that desire with going away, so we want everyone to
catalogue of training resources, advice resources, creating the infrastructure to get comfortable with that.”
and tips. There are also partnerships support these initiatives. Everyone While signing up to the scheme is
with universities and expanding wants to use electric vehicles. It might free, one of Albert’s biggest tools is its
editorial opportunities to explore be that you are filming in such a remote provision for companies to offset their
sustainability in storytelling. place that you can’t plug in, or you can’t carbon footprint with a financial sum.
“It’s not just policing,” insists Taylor. source a vehicle because there simply “Our mantra is: avoid and reduce – but
“It’s about providing knowledge, aren’t enough everywhere. what is left, you can offset,” explains
resources and guidance plus a wealth “Equally, fast-turnaround shows can Taylor. “There’s an incentive to get it as
of collaborative experience and learn- be hectic, crewing up overnight, where low as possible, so the fee is as low as
ing. The calculator can seem quite people are trying to gather all this possible. Our scheme costs £9 per
robotic, but it’s about bringing people evidence on the fly while simultane- tonne, but it isn’t mandatory to use
on this journey, and enabling creatives ously following health and safety pro- ours to achieve certification.”
within the industry to inspire a sus- tocols and all the other requirements. Over on the set of Guilt, where Sill is
tainable future for all.” The [Albert] tool takes into account, monitoring all her log sheets and
Everyone on this journey agrees that that you might have to submit what entering fresh data into her Albert
the size and location of a production you can and follow up afterwards.” calculations, wherever possible replac-
will massively affect the carbon emis- On the other hand, she points ing tungsten bulbs with LED lighting,
sions. However, across the board, the out the innovation that came to the she attests to the deep sense of satis-
two biggest problems are transport fore during lockdown, including faction of seeing that offset figure
and power. “As technology improves when The Big Night In was sourced reduce in real time.
with alternative fuel for generators, we mainly through user-generated con- “It makes you want to look for new
are beginning to see a difference,” tent on Zoom and Winterwatch used solutions,” she says. “It makes you
reports Taylor. “Plus transport was mas- local crews and hydrogen generators. think: ‘What are we doing already, and
sively reduced during the pandemic She says: “This is an opportunity for how can we keep going?’” n
Television www.rts.org.uk November 2021 11TV’s
war on
carbon
Bang
S4C
M
any TV producers sheets; and no wasteful paper cups.
have benn making The RTS in Wales For series 2, sustainability informed
great efforts to cut
their carbon foot-
examines how far we’ve the production budget, which, at just
£350,000 per hour, was tight. “There was
print over the past got with sustainable a real effort not to move – that was our
few years. There is key commitment,” recalled Williams.
still much more to do behind the cam-
production and “We realised if we went too far from our
era, but more attention is now being on-screen recognition of base, we would pay for that in terms of
given to environmental messages location fees, moving the unit, cater-
on-screen. the environmental crisis ers.… Because Port Talbot is such a key
The panel assembled for an RTS character to the drama, [we made]
Cymru Wales event this month boasted people worked from home.… It was a concerted effort to stay within our
the two winners of the Edinburgh TV only when I became responsible for the building or just a stone’s throw away.
Festival Green Award. Roger Williams’s means of production that I realised “A lot of our impact in terms of
bilingual cop series Bang won the inau- [how we could be more sustainable].… I sustainability was being hyper local.…
gural award in 2020, while Sky Sports, would be on set and observe the waste. I’d written the script so I [could ensure]
represented on the panel by its man- “I always had people saying to me: we didn’t stray too far from base.”
ager for responsible production, Jo ‘We haven’t got enough money to The series’s three key locations were
Finon, won this year. make this show.’ That was a constant all within walking distance of the
Joining them on the panel were refrain.… I thought I could get people production’s main base.
Greg Mothersdale, environmental lead to change their behaviour [and adopt] Sky Sports’s Finon said: “When I
at South Wales screen and TV body sustainable thinking.… I realised that it joined the industry 15 years ago, it was
Clwstwr, and Sally Mills, head of could save us money.” incredibly fossil-fuel heavy, a travelling
operations and sustainability lead for The first series of Bang saw the pro- circus essentially.”
BBC Studios. ducers take some environmentally Internationally, Sky Sports started to
Williams, who heads his own indie, correct, albeit obvious, decisions: not roll out remote productions six years
Joio TV, said: “I was a writer [and] my driving actors into the central Port ago in golf, tennis, rugby and For-
carbon footprint personally was very Talbot production base, they let the mula One. Domestically, remote pro-
low – I worked at home before most train take the strain; no printed call duction has been boosted by the
12Covid-19 pandemic, as has the use of
regional crews. “We can reduce our
footprint, [in terms of] the quantity of
people and kit that travel, by 50%,
which is massive,” said Finon.
In the past year, Sky Sports has
introduced biofuel (hydrotreated vege-
table oil) for outside broadcast trucks
and generators. “It’s not the end goal
but it’s a step towards a greener solu-
tion,” she noted.
Sky Sports does about 800 outside
broadcasts a year and its various green
initiatives, such as remote production
or LED lighting, need to work “across
the board” to keep costs down. “Every
thing we have introduced is either flat,
cheaper or a tiny incremental cost,”
revealed Finon.
Mothersdale described Clwstwr’s
role as one of “making greener choices
easier… in a sector where it’s hard to
make different decisions when you’re
still trying to get the content in the can.
We’re trying to make the sector move
forward collaboratively.”
The BBC, like Sky and the other big
UK broadcasters, has set a goal of net
zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
“If you look back 10 years, when [sus-
tainable production scheme] Albert was
set up, a lot of the industry came
together.… That off-screen journey
towards reducing carbon – we’re all
aiming for net zero – has developed
very well… but there’s still more to do,”
said Mills.
Picturehouse Entertainment
Echoing Finon, she said: “I wouldn’t
want to belittle the terribleness of the
Covid pandemic but… it has forced
people to make change and some of
that has been for [the benefit of]
sustainability.”
Mills revealed that BBC Studios had Gwledd (The Feast)
made The Year Earth Changed for Apple
TV+ using drones, lots of local crews
and not a single international flight commentators tended not to address build in sustainability to the narrative
– “an extraordinary thing on a massive climate-change issues editorially: “We [of] our dramas,” he said.
Natural History Unit show such as that”. would never connect a cricket match The Feast, Williams explained, has “at
This month, the BBC and 11 other UK being rained off… or air pollution… with the heart of it… a message about the
broadcasters and streamers signed the climate change. Now we are commit- individual’s relationship to the Earth…
Climate Content Pledge, which recog- ted to using our voice more. and how the Earth takes revenge on a
nises their responsibility to help audi- “We’re not going to talk about it family who betray [it].
ences understand climate change. every match, but, where it’s relevant… “It’s a tricky thing to get right, crea-
“People are recognising the power of where there are solar panels on the tively. [Challenging] audiences within
our voice,” said Mills. roof, or the club or players are doing the narrative can feel clunky, it can feel
During the first week of November, something brilliant, we want to talk added on.” But, ultimately, he suggested,
and timed to coincide with the COP 26 about it because it is so important.” producers and broadcasters “have a
conference in Glasgow, seven soaps Williams has now made a responsibility to prompt people”. n
– Casualty, Coronation Street, Doctors, Welsh-language eco-horror, set in
EastEnders, Emmerdale, Holby City and Snowdonia, Gwledd (The Feast), which Report by Matthew Bell. The RTS Cymru
Hollyoaks – contained scenes address- screened at last month’s BFI London Wales event, ‘COP a load of this’ was held
ing different aspects of climate change. Film Festival. “I’m interested in how, as on 11 November. It was chaired by
Finon said that, in the past, Sky Sports creative people and writers, we can Owen Williams.
Television www.rts.org.uk November 2021 13W
hen Hwang
Dong-hyuk’s
Squid Game
launched on
17 September, for
viewers outside
its algorithmic pull, it was buried deep
within Netflix’s content offer. But, over
the next four weeks, this idiosyncratic
show snowballed to reach 142 million
households (there’s a viewership figure
that Netflix didn’t mind sharing), over-
taking Bridgerton to become the stream-
er’s most-watched series launch ever.
By some estimates, this show alone
will be worth $900m (£666m) to Net
flix. An eye-watering sum for any
producer – and that was before the
streamer confirmed in early November
that it was ordering a second season. It
may seem like an unexpected hit, but
could this runaway success have been
predicted?
“From an editor’s point of view, it is
often mystifying which shows become
popular,” says Hannah Davies, The Guard-
The Korean
ian’s deputy TV editor. “Sports comedies
don’t always do that well but now peo-
ple are calling Ted Lasso the most joyous
show on TV.
“Maid, the recent Netflix series that,
serial killer
on first impressions, potentially bor-
ders on poverty porn, really captured
viewers’ imaginations. Squid Game, too,
seems to have all the elements for a
perfect storm.”
Netflix
While no one could have foretold
the extent of Squid Game’s culture-
shifting appeal, the elements that led
to this “perfect storm” were gathering
from the start. Squid Game’s huge popularity is boosting
If content is king, the reason behind
Squid Game’s success is ultimately its
Netflix but Shilpa Ganatra believes its success
compelling story of a disparate and should not have come as such a surprise
desperate group of down-and-outs in
deep financial trouble, who compete to shows had nowhere left to go, their you’ll make a bolder stand than you
the death in children’s games to win a tropes are given a grotesque twist in would have done otherwise. It showed
life-changing jackpot. Squid Game and prove to be just as great compassion and mercy in a for-
“It’s Hunger Games meets La Casa de compelling. mat that was absolutely devoid of that.”
Papel [Money Heist] meets Survivor meets The show’s emotional heart is There’s no denying that Korea’s
Grand Theft Auto meets Crackerjack!,” says another boon, says Jane Tranter, emerging role as a cultural power-
Andy Harries, CEO of Left Bank Pic- co-founder of Bad Wolf and executive house helped the series to gain
tures, which makes The Crown for Net producer on Succession. “What they are momentum. K-pop came first, with
flix. “Despite all the familiar tropes from going through is so horrendous, and acts such as Blackpink and BTS becom-
a range of different experiences, it is a the piece so very firmly places you in ing some of the biggest names in pop
very original series in its own right.” it, asking, ‘What would you do?’ globally. And once Bong Joon-ho’s
Its themes resonate loudly in 2021. “Once you get to this situation, what horror movie Parasite became the first
Like Maid, it highlights the human cost is the right and wrong? Everyone wants non-English language film to win Best
of a widening class divide. And just to live. Everyone’s frightened of dying. Picture at the Oscars in February 2020,
when we thought competitive reality Sometimes, life is so horrendous that it became clear that Korea was a
14hotbed of talent. Not, of course, forget- the structure of the series. Tranter says: of American shows is being exposed a
ting the global phenomenon that was “I liked not having to wait a week bit. When American shows are good,
The Masked Singer. between the episodes, but I got a lot they’re really good. But, given the
But it required deep pockets and watching it on a Monday, thinking amount of American shows that go on
far-reaching connections to turn the about it, and then watching it the fol- Netflix every week, it’s interesting that
country’s creative potential to success lowing evening. It had a very cliff- the ones that are cutting through are
on western screens. Enter Netflix. hangery, old-fashioned, highly often non-American shows.”
Alongside such “K-drama” successes as serialised element to it. While some may see Squid Game as
Sweet Home and Kingdom in 2020 alone, “You don’t often talk about formats the start of a “death-game drama”
Netflix pumped $500m into Korean in this way with a drama, but, because resurrection, Davies warns that “people
original programming – a staggering it’s a competition reality show, where don’t necessarily want Squid Game copy
figure that was likely to pay dividends the stakes are the highest they could and paste”.
at some point. be, you know at the end there will be For Tranter, the contained, sparse set
“This is not a cheap little show that one winner. You know by the amount that went against the grain of current
has popped up out of nowhere,” says of screen time who are going to be the productions piqued her interest. “It put
Harries. “It’s a bit like The Crown.
Although we could have made a
success of The Crown elsewhere, we
wouldn’t have been able to do it the
way we did if we hadn’t gone to Netflix.
“Hwang would have said to Netflix
that he could do Squid Game for two
bob, but it wouldn’t really work, and
Netflix had the guts, I assume, to agree
to do it properly. Then, because they’ve
done it properly, it really works.”
Subtitled in 37 languages and dubbed
in 34, it appeared on our screens primed
for a global viewership. The series’s
$21.4m budget allowed for a premium
production, including the vast swathes
of uniformed guards that, as Harries
points out, evoke the chilling imagery
of fascism. And the money supported a
bold set design, striking in its juxtaposi-
tion of playground visuals with its
twisted premise and gory violence.
Netflix
“It’s such a singular, recognisable
proposition and it became very meme-
worthy,” says Davies. “It has this rich
stream of things that took off quickly last ones standing, but you don’t know the nature of the human condition
on TikTok and Instagram. I remember the particular combination of it, or how under the microscope in a heightened
seeing the tracksuits, logo, symbols or why.” way. If a good trend could come out of
and honeycomb before I’d even While it wasn’t perfect – Tranter calls it, it would be about simplifying a pro-
watched it. That’s not something that the bluntly drawn depiction of the VIPs duction, and allowing it to be all about
every show on TV can replicate, and it “impactfully disappointing” – all in all, text and performance.”
keeps it in the cultural conversation.” Squid Game may show us the direction Does the expansion of global com-
That in itself made it easier to build of travel for TV drama. For starters, petition mean that British dramatists
coverage in traditional media. “When there seems to be a stronger stomach should be worried? Not according to
something grows organically, it makes for gore and violence. Additionally, Harries. “Any competition is healthy,”
a journalist’s job more interesting,” says watching subtitled shows is no longer he says. “In terms of coming up with
Davies. “At The Guardian, we could do the reserve of arthouse programmes. original ideas, we’ve got to remain
things like interview the creator who “It doesn’t spearhead it, but it con- fresh and up to the challenge because
said that he lost six teeth in the pro- firms the pattern of increasing success there’s no doubt that you’re seeing
cess, interview the VIPs and we did a with drama shows that aren’t from the shows from all over the world pop up
piece on whether the subtitles were US,” adds Harries. “Lupin from France, with great success.
actually accurate. Sometimes, letting Barbarians from Germany and The “But we’ve got some of the best
things just percolate isn’t the worst Crown and Succession, which is largely a people in the world making television
thing in the world.” British show, provide further evidence. here, so we’re always going to produce
Squid Game’s appeal also relates to “The mediocrity of a great number strong work.” n
Television www.rts.org.uk November 2021 15Why the small
things matter
Climate Change: Ade on the Frontline
BBC
‘O
ne of my first TV
shows was about
Shilpa Ganatra discovers Ayling-Ellis, in the current series of
Strictly Come Dancing has raised the
endangered animals how, for disabled people issue of deafness with huge audiences
around the world,” and has been inspirational for deaf
recalls presenter Ade working in TV, even people, demonstrating that deafness
Adepitan. “When I
met with the producer and director,
minor adjustments can can have no limits.
The show has also been praised by
they told me: ‘This show is going to pay big dividends deaf charities for incorporating sign
involve scuba diving in the Great Bar- language and gestures, including the
rier Reef, trekking through the jungle in applied to uncover these solutions. One Makaton sign for thank you. And, in one
South Africa and Namibia, and hiking example he cites is a camera operator unforgettable moment, as her tribute to
up mountains in Romania. We don’t on location during another production the deaf community, the music was
want you to feel under any pressure, who, rather than film Adepitan from stopped midway through the routine
but is this something you think you can above or crouch in a way that would be while Ayling-Ellis and her partner con-
do?’ I said: ‘When do we start?’ I’m the bad for his back, asked to borrow a tinued the dance in silence.
sort of person who takes things on and spare wheelchair to film from. However, across the industry, deaf,
then finds the solution as we go along. The result was “completely different disabled and neurodivergent people
“When a disability becomes frustrat- and far more immersive” footage, says face a daunting range of practical chal-
ing is when decisions are made for you Adepitan. “It wasn’t a big adjustment. lenges. A recent survey by The Sir
and before you’ve had a chance to have We didn’t have to call in Elon Musk to Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diver-
any input. Often, if you sit down with come up with a groundbreaking idea. sity found that long, irregular hours
that disabled person, you can find solu- It was just thinking outside of the box were a consideration for 65% of disa-
tions. If we can send someone to the and using simple ideas to make life bled people working in TV. Issues such
moon, we can make TV sets accessible.” easier for all of us.” as being unable to drive or physically
As an intrepid presenter and wheel- Diversity is increasing in other areas, use equipment was a consideration for
chair user, Adepitan has seen the agility too. The stunning performances of the 51%, while 14% needed assistance from
and creativity of the TV industry deaf contestant, EastEnders actor Rose other people, such as support workers
16or British Sign Language interpreters. people to do the job that they’ve been for disabled people]. It pays for my taxi
As the social model of disability hired to do.” from the train station to the office. But,
emphasises, it’s not the impairment Butchins suggests that budgets in the gap between me starting at ITV
that’s the problem but the lack of should have room in them for support- and having the scheme in place, ITV
adjustments available on, say, the ive measures to help disabled staff. “I paid for it.”
studio floor or location. “Everyone always argue that the tariffs broadcast- The biggest consideration for disabled
has things they can and can’t do,” says ers pay are predicated on [shows] being people is one that costs nothing to
director, producer and presenter Richard made by able-bodied people,” he says. adjust: the attitudes of their colleagues.
Butchins, director of BBC Two’s Targeted: “There is still some implicit reluctance Seventy-one per cent of disabled
The Truth About Disability Hate Crime. “No to use disabled people as decision- people surveyed say they think about
one thinks someone who wears glasses makers think it will make the produc- it when they consider their work
is disabled – because the adaptation is tion more difficult or more expensive. options. Of course, budgeted training
effective. But imagine a world without “But if it costs you a little more to use and information provision do help, but
glasses.…” a shift in the mindset of co-workers
He adds: “I self-shoot, and I shoot Rose Ayling-Ellis alone could lead to a better working
well, and tech helps me with that competing in Strictly environment.
because it means you’re less reliant on Come Dancing With only 5.8% of off-screen work-
physical factors.” ers in the UK TV sector being disabled,
Technologies such as screen readers, compared with about 20% of the
live captioning and well-designed working-age population, broadcasters
hardware have become much more say they are keen to redress this bal-
sophisticated in recent years. These ance. ITV aims to have 12% of its work
help deal with some of the issues dis force made up of disabled people by
abled people face regularly. 2022; Sky’s target is 10% of off-screen
Actor and writer Genevieve Barr, who production by 2023, while Channel 4’s
starred in BBC One crime drama The entry-level trainee scheme says that it
Silence, agrees: “As a deaf screenwriter particularly welcomes disabled people.
who is oral [ie, who uses verbal com- The BBC’s Elevate scheme concen-
munication], I prefer video calls trates on the issue of disabled people
employing live automated captions. leaving the industry after working for
The adjustments in environments dur- a few years.
ing Covid have been a really positive And a recently announced joint
change – people are more willing to Netflix and BBC scheme is directed at
communicate this way, and there have raising the number of shows that are
been rapid improvements in technol- written, created or co-created by deaf,
BBC
ogy to enable automated captions.” disabled or neurodivergent people
Though the pandemic has seen the over the next five years.
overall employment gap between
disabled and non-disabled people ‘DISABILITY But far more can be done. The Crea-
tive Diversity Network is pushing for
widen, one positive aspect has been BECOMES changes to the Access to Work scheme
that home working is now more
accepted – a move embraced by many FRUSTRATING to make the funding more practical for
an industry reliant on speed and short-
disabled (and non-disabled) people. WHEN DECISIONS term contracts.
It demonstrates, says Sam Tatlow, a
creative diversity partner at ITV, that the
ARE MADE In his MacTaggart Lecture at the 2021
Edinburgh TV Festival, dramatist Jack
industry is capable of significant change: FOR YOU’ Thorne announced that he, Barr and
“Two years ago, when working on a production manager Katie Player had
production, the very thought of doing founded Underlying Health Condition,
so from home was an alien concept. someone who’s disabled, do it. You’ll a pressure group to tackle the lack of
“For a long time, there has been easily get your money back, because representation and accessibility for
resistance to changing how we do disabled people have something to disabled people in British TV.
things because of the fast turna- prove, so they’ll work hard. And you’ll This month, they begin their activi-
rounds.… There’s never enough money find that different point of view that ties with a survey and report on studio
and enough time to deliver what we’re production companies are looking for.” spaces and facilities companies. “The
producing at the quality that we want Tatlow adds: “Often, it doesn’t cost a accessibility issue is profound and – as
to deliver. But the past 18 months has lot. The practicality of it might involve pointed out by the survey and real case
proved that there is some flexibility.” doing things slightly differently, such studies – deeply troubling,” says Barr.
The 2010 Equality Act created a legal as adjusted working hours so that rests “There’s plenty of motivation out there
obligation for an employer to make can be taken throughout the day. for change, but there is a need for
reasonable adjustments to overcome “When things do cost money, it’s something more substantive.
barriers for disabled employees. “But often not very much. I’m a wheelchair “Disability is a complicated nut to
what is and isn’t considered reasona- user and I make use of the Access to crack, and intent is not enough. Change
ble is a grey area,” says Tatlow. “Ulti- Work scheme [a state-funded initiative is happening at a glacial pace, and we
mately, it’s about enabling disabled to support any special requirements are asking for something better.” n
Television www.rts.org.uk November 2021 17Roger Stone/News UK
Rt Hon Nadine Dorries MP,
Secretary of State, DCMS
Enter Nadine Dorries
I
f you like your politicians colour-
ful and outspoken, look no fur-
Steve Clarke profiles Her elevation comes at a crucial time
for the UK broadcasting sector. A new
ther than Nadine Dorries, the 13th the new culture media bill is promised in the new year,
Secretary of State for the Depart- and the Online Safety Bill continues its
ment for Digital, Culture, Media secretary, ex-reality slow progress through Parliament.
and Sport in the past 14 years. As
an Observer profile recently noted, most
TV star and bestselling Born in Liverpool, part of her child-
hood was spent on a council estate in
people agree that she is “a character”. author, who holds the Runcorn. She has described times
Unusually for a serving MP, she when her family used to hide from the
famously appeared in the 2012 season future of the BBC and rent man when they had no money to
of ITV’s I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of
Here!, where she was the first contest-
Channel 4 in her hands pay him, and how, “on some days,
there would be no food”.
ant to be voted out. This was despite Her father was a bus driver, who died
winning a Bushtucker Trial by con- and even incredulity were two com- early in her nursing career (she trained
suming a lamb’s testicle and an mon reactions to her ministerial pro- as a nurse at Warrington General Hos-
ostrich’s anus. Some of her fellow MPs motion in mid-September, one of the pital). She left the region when she met
– she entered Parliament in 2005 – results of a particularly brutal cull at her partner, Paul Dorries, a mining engi-
were not amused. She was punished what was once known as the Ministry of neer who became a financial adviser.
for abandoning her constituents by Fun. “Not only was John Whittingdale, The couple spent a year in Zambia in
having the Conservative Party whip who understood broadcasting deeply, the mid-1980s, where he ran a copper
temporarily withdrawn. sacked, most of the other ministers at mine and she headed what she has
In the interim, her political star has DCMS were also got rid of,” notes one described as a community school.
risen, thanks, in part, to her devoted interested observer. “This has meant a On her return to the UK, she founded
loyalty to one Boris Johnson. Surprise steep learning curve for Nadine Dorries.” Company Kids Ltd, a child day-care
18service for working parents. Dorries
sold the business to Bupa, the private
healthcare company, in 1998, and it
was then that she set her sights on
politics, becoming an MP in 2005.
The arts and media community’s
reaction to her appointment has been,
to put it mildly, sceptical. Playwright
and screenwriter James Graham, an
acute witness of British politicians and
their aides, said: “I never want to be an
artist who rolls their eyes every time
there’s a new culture secretary. Never-
theless, it’s a bit worrying that it feels
like an appointment deliberately
designed to needle and provoke. That
might be unfair, and I hope it’s not.”
He spoke for many when he added:
“I’d prefer rhetoric from a minister
who is supportive and wants to
amplify and champion the sector.”
Opinion in political circles on Dorries’
abilities is divided. Her critics regard
Nadine Dorries on
her as an eccentric, unpredictable
I’m a Celebrity… Get
figure who might be better off sticking
Me Out of Here! 2012
ITV
to writing bestsellers than serving as a
Cabinet minister.
Others, however, insist that she is a was her turn to do departmental ques- people who are under-represented in
super-bright Parliamentarian who has tions and she was asked a question TV. She spent more time talking to
risen to every political challenge pre- about the Brentford Golden Share. This young, diverse apprentices on the set
sented to her (she was appointed Min- is a fairly esoteric issue, where fans can than to anyone else.”
ister of State at the Department of choose a director and hold a golden This desire to encourage people
Health and Social Care in May 2020). share in the club, and might be used as like herself to thrive in a sector still
For them, her maverick behaviour a model in the Government’s new regarded as being too posh for its own
is driven by a desire to show the male football policy. good squares with her recent attack on
Tory establishment that, despite being “She was right across this and knew what she regards as the BBC’s ten-
brought up on a Liverpool council all the detail. You may have laughed at dency towards nepotism, when she
estate, she is in every sense their equal. her when she appeared on I’m a Celeb- accused the organisation of group-
“This explains why Nadine can be rity… but, to me, this showed she was think. “We’re having a discussion
spikey and even chippy,” says someone very quick to master her brief.” about how the BBC can become more
who has watched her way of operating. Her populist credentials are strong. representative of the people... who pay
Stewart Purvis, a former CEO of ITN As well as appearing on I’m a Celebrity… the licence fee, and how it can be more
and Ofcom board member and now a and writing Mills & Boon-style novels, accessible to people from all back-
non-executive director of Brentford she is a devoted fan of Coronation Street, grounds, not just people whose mum
FC, inclines towards the latter view, something that was clear when she and dad work there, and how it can
having seen how quickly she grasped a recently visited the soap’s set. become, once again, that beacon for
complex brief concerning the owner- “Unlike most other culture secretar- everyone,” she told a journalist from
ship of football clubs during her first ies, it was obvious that she was a regu- the Daily Telegraph.
day in the Commons as Secretary lar viewer of the Street,” notes a witness Dorries added: “I want the arts and
of State. to her visit. “It was also clear that she culture, and the BBC and other organi-
“The day after she was appointed, it was very keen on opportunities for sations, and journalism, [to create] a �
Television www.rts.org.uk November 2021 19You can also read
