Broadcast: Talking Tv

This week, Talking TV is heading to Lock Keeper’s cottages as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Big Breakfast, which launched on 28 September 1992. Creator Charlie Parsons and producers Duncan Gray, Lisa Clark and Paul Sandler join us in Maple Street Studios to discuss how a company that made anarchic Friday night entertainment format The Word started making ten hours of breakfast telly a week on Channel 4. The group discuss how they pulled it off, the production process and explain the relationship with stars including Chris Evans, Gaby Roslin and Paula Yates as well as some of the craziest stories behind the show.

Broadcast’s Peter White is joined by Jane Millichip, Karen Smith and Stephen Lambert to talk about Jon Snow's emotional MacTaggart as well as all of the other major stories and issues to emerge at the Edinburgh International TV Festival.

A special edition of Broadcast's Talking TV - speaking to many of the winners of the Broadcast Digital Awards 2017 including the creators of BBC3's Murder in Successville and American High School.

This week, Talking TV heads back to the 80s and 90s to explore the rebooted versions of The Crystal Maze and Blind Date. C4 is relaunching The Crystal Maze with Richard Ayoade, while C5’s Blind Date remake is hosted by Paul O’Grady. C4’s head of live and events Tom Beck and Fizz creative director Neale Simpson join us in the studio to discuss the action adventure entertainment format, while C5 commissioner Sean Doyle also appears at Maple Street Studios to share his dating tips.

This week, Talking TV gets to grips with the election – from the leaders’ debates to the broadcasters’ 8 June plans. Broadcast features editor Robin Parker and reporter Miranda Blazeby discuss why broadcasters are turning their backs on opinion polls, and what else they have learned since last year’s Brexit vote and the previous election in 2015. Plus we look at how satire shows build a voice that can stand out from the virals and insta-verdicts of social media. Former Labour spin doctor Matt Forde joins us to talk about the challenge of producing two episodes a week of his topical satire Unspun in the run-up to the election. He also tells us about why he loves to interview people he disagrees with, why broadcasters should be worried about Trump’s sidestepping of traditional media – and whether British viewers will ever get a nightly topical show.

This week, Talking TV explores Comedy Central’s reboot of Jimmy Carr’s entertainment format Your Face or Mine and Jimmy McGovern’s latest gritty drama Broken and. The Viacom-owned broadcaster has ordered 22 episodes of Talkback-produced show, which sees Katharine Ryan uniting with Carr to gently mock the looks of contestants. Louise Holmes, director of programming for Comedy Central and MTV, joins us in the studio to talk about bringing back the show, which originally launched on E4 in 2002. Elsewhere, Jimmy McGovern’s long-time collaborator Colin McKeown, who runs Moving On indie LA Productions, joins us to explain the background behind BBC1’s Broken. The show follows the daily lives of a Liverpool community are seen through the eyes of a compassionate priest, played by Sean Bean.

This week, Talking TV heads to the 17th century to explore America’s first mail-order brides in Sky 1 drama Jamestown. Produced by Downton Abbey indie Carnival Films, the eight-part drama stars Naomi Battrick, Sophie Rundle and Niamh Walsh as three English women shipped to the US to become wives. We speak to Carnival managing director and executive producer of the period drama Gareth Neame about the show, filming in Hungary and the production challenges associated with the booming scripted sector. Elsewhere, we are joined in the studio by the team behind Channel 4 comedy drama Loaded. Howard Burch, creative director for scripted at Keshet UK and Polly Leys, joint managing director of Hillbilly Films and Television talk about the Jon Brown-penned series, which follows four life-long friends who become multi-millionaires overnight.

This week, Talking TV heads into space to discover more about Channel 4’s forthcoming blue-chip documentary Man Made Planet. Produced by Live from Space indie Arrow Media, co-founder and creative director John Smithson and executive producer Ash Potterton join host Peter White in the studio to discuss how they secured Nasa access, persuaded astronauts including Tim Peake to tell their stories and were able to fund such a big-budget one-off film. In the news, Broadcast features editor Robin Parker helps to analyse BBC Studios’ first fortnight as a commercial beast and takes a look at the future of Channel 4 after the government kicked off its consultation. We also investigate what’s happening with the televised political debates after Theresa May called a snap election.

This week, Talking TV heads back from Cannes to report on the Mip TV market and the lucrative search for weird and wonderful global formats. NBC reality chief Paul Telegdy discusses the search for the next Voice and ITV Studios formats boss Mike Beale discusses the return of the gameshow. Broadcast international editor Manori Ravindran discusses the hottest shows and trends at the event, including the continued success of naked survival formats and a growing number of shows featuring badly behaved OAPs. Elsewhere, Bafta-winning director Kieran Evans joins us in the studio to discuss Escape From History, a documentary about the Manic Street Preachers for Sky Arts’ new rock documentary strand. Head to www.thefinishline.pro for more information on podcast sponsor The Finish Line.

This week, we head to the Cotswolds to spend time with BBC3’s latest village-based mockumentary This Country and travel to Bafta to hear from the cream of the indie crop at Broadcast’s own Indie Summit. We speak to This Country creators Daisy May Cooper and Charlie Cooper about their long-gestating comedy and how they went from a Vicky Pollard-lite pilot to one of the year’s most talked about shows. In the news, we head to outer space to find out more about Amazon’s priests-versus-aliens Oasis, detail all of the high-level discussions and gossip at the indie summit and look at the latest round of hires at Tim Hincks and Peter Fincham’s new well-funded indie.

This week, we shine the spotlight on the reality television and take a close look at Franco-British relations. We speak to Ross McCarthy, founder of Gobstopper Television and creator of MTV’s forthcoming Charlotte Crosby series Just Tattoo of Us. Also, Samuel Kissous, founder of French production company Pernel Media joins us to explain why he’s launched a British operation. In the news this week, we head to Jerusalem, where major US media giants including Fox, HBO and WME have signaled their intention to tap into the UK’s “producing voice” as they move towards a new era of transatlantic co-productions. International editor Manori Ravindran, fresh off the plane from Israel, tells us what went down at Keshet’s INTV conference and what the US firms are looking to do over here. We also look at a potential second series of The Night Manager as well as Fox’s abandoned plans to remake Luther.

Talking TV heads to the shiny floor studio with an entertainment special. We speak to Andy Rowe, executive producer of Dawn French-fronted talent format Little Big Shots, which launches on Wednesday March 1, about the US origins of the format as well as a potential OAP friendly spin-off. In this news this week, we take a look at The Nightly Show, which also launches next week on ITV, as well as Channel 4’s Friday night entertainment push, and get reaction from top producers to the closure of The London Studios. Finally, we also climb into a cab headed to Horseferry Road with a look at Channel 4’s forthcoming documentary The Knowledge: The World’s Toughest Taxi Test. Exec producer Amelia Hann discusses her indie Honey Productions’ first commissions as well as the challenges of launching a new production company. Head to www.thefinishline.pro/welcome for more information on our sponsor The Finish Line.

Talking TV heads to Apple Tree Yard – exploring BBC1’s Kudos-produced psychological thriller. We talk to Manda Levin, executive producer of the four-part series, which opened with over 7m viewers, about the origins of the show, the emotionally graphic nature of the show and the possibility of more episodes. We also climb the Giant’s Causeway in Channel 5’s latest documentary series – The Secrets Of The National Trust with Alan Titchmarsh. Exec producer Fintan Maguire joins us in the studio to discuss the Spun Gold-produced series. Maguire is joined by Barcroft Media chief executive Sam Barcroft to talk about the major stories of the week including Sky’s decision to pull the plug on factual programming in favour of Hunted-style fact ent formats and Big Brother-esque entertainment events as well as the return of Blind Date for Channel 5. Talking TV is brought to you by pop-up post firm The Finish Line. Dealing with everything from consulting to full post and delivery, they have worked on Walking The America

A special edition of Talking TV recorded at the Broadcast Awards 2017, with interviews with all of the winners including Fleabag star Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Jools Holland.

The latest edition of Talking TV delves into the ongoing war between Sky and Discovery over carriage fees, as well as picks over the sale of Channel 4's Growth Fund indie True North. Elsewhere, History director of programming Rachel Job and North One Television chief executive Neil Duncanson pop in to the studio to discuss Ronnie O'Sullivan's American Hustle. This week, Talking TV is brought to you by pop-up post firm The Finish Line. Dealing with everything from consulting to full post and delivery, they have worked on First Dates, GPS Behind Closed Doors and Hunted and recently finished work on Walking The Americas, October Films’ latest Levison Wood series for Channel 4.

The latest edition of Talking TV explores how BBC gameshow Pointless managed to reach 1,000 episodes and provides a guide to BBC Studios ahead of its commercialisation in April. Remarkable joint managing director James Fox joins us in the studio to discuss the long-running quiz and explain how they’ve kept the Richard Osman and Alexander Armstrong-fronted show fresh. Fox also discusses the Endemol Shine indie’s international strategy, which saw it reversion The Great Australian Spelling Bee for Sky 1, and gives his thoughts on the entertainment market. Elsewhere, Broadcast’s Hannah Gannagé-Stewart explains the latest developments at BBC Studios after the Trust gave it a greenlight to commercialise and discusses Danny Cohen's plans to fund a series of 'super-dramas' with BBC Worldwide and Lookout Point.

Broadcast’s Talking TV end of year special looks at what’s coming up over the festive period as well as the best shows of the year, the biggest TV industry stories of the year and some of the shows to watch out for in 2017. Nearly a year on from the appointment of Kevin Lygo, we analyse the new look ITV and discuss the impact of the closure of the linear BBC3 channel. We also ask whether TV has done anything to counter Liz Warner’s claims that it is “old and boring” and producing “risk-averse, culturally bland programming”. We discuss the shows of the year - from Danny Dyer’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are? to Sharon Horgan’s Divorce - as well as this year’s Christmas treats. Joining us in the studio to reveal what they’ve made of 2016 are Kerfuffle founder Steven D Wright, Pretzel TV boss Steve Wynne and Avalon factual creative director Ian Lamarra.

Channel 5 factual commissioner Guy Davies, Sundog Pictures creative director and executive producer Dov Freedman explain how they persuaded MPs Nick Clegg, Naz Shah and Jacob Rees-Mogg to open their constituency doors on this week’s Talking TV. The trio discuss how the one-off documentary, which was narrated by John Prescott and associate produced by former Broadcast reporter Balihar Khalsa, fits into Channel 5’s new programming strategy. Also, we track down Michael Rosen, author of revered kids book We’re Going On A Bear Hunt. The writer explains how his book went from the page to becoming an animated Christmas special for Channel 4.

Ruth Phillips, boss of Endemol Shine Group's Zeppotron, discusses the cathartic production of political comedy special Frankie Boyle’s American Autopsy and Danielle Ward, comedian and creator of hit podcast Do The Right Thing, shares her experience of turning it into a pilot for Channel 4. Following the election of Donald Trump as US president, Phillips explains how the show, which also featured Sara Pascoe and Katharine Ryan, is put together as well as the general state of topical British comedy. Meanwhile, Ward talks about the podcast’s background and how she’s managed to get more women than men on a comedy panel show.

Broadcast shines a light on Sky’s diversity figures, the BBC tendering process and Channel 5’s move to raise its factual ambitions as well as an in-depth conversation about the state of music on television. Ahead of this year’s MTV European Music Awards, which launches in Rotterdam on Sunday, we speak to exec producer Bruce Gillmer. We are also joined by Faraz Osman, managing director of Four to the Floor indie Lemonade Money and Steve Wynne, TV boss of CBBC Chart Show producer Pretzel and Broadcast editor Chris Curtis. We also have previews of two of the year’s most anticipated series, Planet Earth II and Netflix’s The Crown.