Broadcast: Talking TV

Welcome to the rebooted Broadcast podcast, where each week the team will bring you analysis, interviews and commentary exploring the week’s top stories and behind-the-scenes happenings from the world of telly.Matt Brittin became director general of the BBC last week. Where should he start? Broadcast’s editor-in-chief, Chris Curtis and BBC correspondent Ellie Kahn join the show to sift through the things that are likely to be in his in-tray, including: finding a deputy, restoring trust in the corporation and chatting to the government about how it’s going to be funded. Elsewhere, hosts Heather Fallon and Rebecca Cooney discuss MAFS UK and rumours that Channel 4 is in discussions to interview the disgraced news reader Huw Edwards. They also look back on the first series of SNL UK - were the naysayers right? Or did the show rise above the pessimistic predictions to give comedy a much-needed shot in the arm? SNL UK cast member Hammed Animashaun weighs in with his views.For more on Matt Brittin, check out Chris's leader here, Ellie's analysis on his appointment here, and her deep dive into how the BBC might be funded here.Stay up-to-date and connected with Talking TV, brought to you by Broadcast, the essential source for business info. Find out more at https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk

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.2eb7d5a147e5bb667223570078ec69f2fe68093a 

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.

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.