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Insiders: The TV Podcast
HIGNFY goes to America, Father Ted (but without the Catholic priests), and Volcano Live on the BBC
Old friends Peter Fincham and Jimmy Mulville are the ultimate TV insiders, and in their new podcast, they'll share their insights and analysis of the goings on in the world of television - in short, they're going to get together once a week to gossip!
This week, Jimmy lifts the lid on the selling of Have I Got News For You to the Americans, Peter attempts to get us sued by both Simon Cowell and Simon Fuller as he tells the the story of Pop Idol and The X Factor , and we discuss the thorny issue of how to decide who does and doesn't get a mention (and sometimes a hefty format fee too) when the credits roll at the end of a show.
Jimmy is the co-founder and Chief Executive of Hat Trick Productions. His incredible list of hit shows includes Have I Got News For You (series 69 now airing), Father Ted, Derry Girls, Outnumbered, and Episodes. In the US Hat Trick launched Whose Line Is It Anyway in 1997 which ran on ABC for seven years and was the first British series to be recreated for American network television by a British producer.
Peter ran TalkBack where he executive produced many of their biggest shows including I’m Alan Partridge, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and Da Ali G Show. He went on to be Controller of BBC1, then he was Director of Television at ITV, before returning to the independent sector as the co-CEO of Expectation, the company behind Clarkson's Farm and Alma's Not Normal.
Our email address is InsidersTVPod@expectationtv.com, or you can get in touch via our socials at @InsidersTVPod
New episodes every Friday.
Insiders: The TV Podcast is an Expectation and Hat Trick co-production.
The producer is Owen Braben
More episodes
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2. Spitting Image returns (but this time on YouTube), the F1 movie and the debt it owes to television, and the biggest Apple TV series you’ve never heard of.
36:31||Season 2, Ep. 2This week, Peter and Jimmy discuss the news that Spitting Image is coming back as a YouTube series, and the ways producers can make premium content for YouTube while still turning a profit. And we ask whether Netflix have missed a trick after spending all that time, money, and effort teaching us all about F1 in Drive to Survive, only for Apple to swoop in and make the F1 movie? Plus, the joys of a bottle episode, how to get your kids to text you back, and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.Jimmy Mulville is the co-founder and Chief Executive of Hat Trick Productions. His list of hit shows includes Have I Got News For You, Father Ted, Derry Girls, Outnumbered, and Episodes. In the US Hat Trick launched Whose Line Is It Anyway in 1997 which ran on ABC for seven years and was the first British series to be recreated for American network television by a British producer.Peter Fincham ran TalkBack, where he executive produced many of their biggest shows including I’m Alan Partridge, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and Da Ali G Show. He went on to be Controller of BBC1, then he was Director of Television at ITV, before returning to the independent sector as the co-CEO of Expectation, the company behind Clarkson's Farm and Alma's Not Normal.New episodes every Friday.Email: InsidersTVPod@expectationtv.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@InsidersTVPodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/insiderstvpod/Insiders: The TV Podcast is an Expectation and Hat Trick co-production.The producer is Owen Braben.1. The BBC and the controversy at Glastonbury, the return of Blind Date on Disney, and the surprising part Wayne Rooney played in the story of HIGNFY.
39:35||Season 2, Ep. 1This week, Peter and Jimmy discuss the Glastonbury controversy that the BBC has found itself embroiled in, and Peter offers some eye-witness reporting from on the ground at the festival. We talk Disney’s latest non-scripted announcements, including the return of Blind Date. And we ask why, when you sell a format to the Australians, they always seem to try and make it smuttier than anyone ever imagined it could possibly be. Plus, Jimmy’s day at Wimbledon with Johnny Vaughan, a visit to Cilla’s house, and why you should immediately go out and buy a new Mini. Jimmy Mulville is the co-founder and Chief Executive of Hat Trick Productions. His list of hit shows includes Have I Got News For You, Father Ted, Derry Girls, Outnumbered, and Episodes. In the US Hat Trick launched Whose Line Is It Anyway in 1997 which ran on ABC for seven years and was the first British series to be recreated for American network television by a British producer.Peter Fincham ran TalkBack, where he executive produced many of their biggest shows including I’m Alan Partridge, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and Da Ali G Show. He went on to be Controller of BBC1, then he was Director of Television at ITV, before returning to the independent sector as the co-CEO of Expectation, the company behind Clarkson's Farm and Alma's Not Normal.Our email address is InsidersTVPod@expectationtv.com, or you can get in touch via our socials at @InsidersTVPod. New episodes every Friday.Insiders: The TV Podcast is an Expectation and Hat Trick co-production.The producer is Owen Braben.12. The challenges ahead for Kate Phillips as the BBC’s new content chief, the parlous state of the TV freelance landscape, and Peter Fincham: "Oxbridge-y c**t”.
38:20||Season 1, Ep. 12This week, as Kate Phillips is confirmed as the new BBC Chief Content Officer, Peter and Jimmy unpack the big issues piling up in her inbox. As the commissioning downturn continues to bite, we discuss the immensely challenging outlook for TV freelancers across the industry. And we pay tribute to the much loved Joanna Beresford, whose death was announced this week - a woman to whom countless producers owe a vast debt.Plus, Sir Trevor McDonald's Bernard Manning gags, the unlikely part Bridget Jones played in Peter’s career, and what people really mean when they say it’s not about the money (clue: it’s absolutely definitely about the money).Jimmy Mulville is the co-founder and Chief Executive of Hat Trick Productions. His list of hit shows includes Have I Got News For You (series 69 now airing), Father Ted, Derry Girls, Outnumbered, and Episodes. In the US Hat Trick launched Whose Line Is It Anyway in 1997 which ran on ABC for seven years and was the first British series to be recreated for American network television by a British producer.Peter Fincham ran TalkBack, where he executive produced many of their biggest shows including I’m Alan Partridge, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and Da Ali G Show. He went on to be Controller of BBC1, then he was Director of Television at ITV, before returning to the independent sector as the co-CEO of Expectation, the company behind Clarkson's Farm and Alma's Not Normal.Our email address is InsidersTVPod@expectationtv.com, or you can get in touch via our socials at @InsidersTVPod. New episodes every Friday.Insiders: The TV Podcast is an Expectation and Hat Trick co-production.The producer is Owen Braben.11. Royal Special: TV and the monarchy
41:12||Season 1, Ep. 11This week, Peter and Jimmy discuss the complex (and occasionally combustible) relationship between television and the royals. They unpack how the Faustian deal works, and what happens when it goes wrong.Jimmy shares fond memories of the time HIGNFY suggested Prince Harry had taken cocaine, only for the show to find itself in hot water for upsetting an entirely different aristocrat. And Peter talks all things Queen-gate, and tells his side of the story.Plus, Jimmy’s water cooler encounter with Princess Di, the story of the commissioning of Grand Designs, and, for some reason, an honourable mention for Bernie The Bolt. Jimmy Mulville is the co-founder and Chief Executive of Hat Trick Productions. His list of hit shows includes Have I Got News For You (series 69 now airing), Father Ted, Derry Girls, Outnumbered, and Episodes. In the US Hat Trick launched Whose Line Is It Anyway in 1997 which ran on ABC for seven years and was the first British series to be recreated for American network television by a British producer.Peter Fincham ran TalkBack, where he executive produced many of their biggest shows including I’m Alan Partridge, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and Da Ali G Show. He went on to be Controller of BBC1, then he was Director of Television at ITV, before returning to the independent sector as the co-CEO of Expectation, the company behind Clarkson's Farm and Alma's Not Normal.Our email address is InsidersTVPod@expectationtv.com, or you can get in touch via our socials at @InsidersTVPod. New episodes every Friday.Insiders: The TV Podcast is an Expectation and Hat Trick co-production.The producer is Owen Braben.10. Attenborough and the alchemy of on screen talent, Netflix’s push into the world of unscripted, and why we keeping sending comedians to do travelogues?
39:57||Season 1, Ep. 10This week, as Sir David Attenborough’s new doc arrives on the small screen, Peter and Jimmy discuss the lightning-in-a-bottle that is on screen talent, and explore the peculiarly British appetite for eccentrics on TV. As Netflix set out their ambition to create “unscripted universes” on the platform, we unpack what that really means, and why, as the cost of making high end drama keeps rising, big returnable unscripted formats look all the more appealing. And we ask whether the time has come for the PSBs to consider merging in order to compete with the financial heft of the streamersPlus, Jimmy remembers a lunch with Boris Johnson, Peter commissions listeners to help devise a cooking-dating crossover format, and Richard Osman, renaissance man. Jimmy Mulville is the co-founder and Chief Executive of Hat Trick Productions. His list of hit shows includes Have I Got News For You (series 69 now airing), Father Ted, Derry Girls, Outnumbered, and Episodes. In the US Hat Trick launched Whose Line Is It Anyway in 1997 which ran on ABC for seven years and was the first British series to be recreated for American network television by a British producer.Peter Fincham ran TalkBack, where he executive produced many of their biggest shows including I’m Alan Partridge, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and Da Ali G Show. He went on to be Controller of BBC1, then he was Director of Television at ITV, before returning to the independent sector as the co-CEO of Expectation, the company behind Clarkson's Farm and Alma's Not Normal.Our email address is InsidersTVPod@expectationtv.com, or you can get in touch via our socials at @InsidersTVPod. New episodes every Friday.Insiders: The TV Podcast is an Expectation and Hat Trick co-production.The producer is Owen Braben.9. The future of soaps in the era of streaming, the joys of SXSW London, and the murky world of BBC nations and regions commissioning.
40:24||Season 1, Ep. 9This week, as the BBC invites indies to pitch for Casualty (made, and soon to be set, in Wales), we unpack the controversy around the nations and regions tender process, and the ways in which producers occasionally push their luck when it comes to the definition of a "regional" production. We talk the future of soaps, and ask how they adapt to a streaming world. And with SXSW arriving in London this week, Peter and Jimmy take the opportunity to remember TV conferences they’ve known, loved, and really enjoyed being part of. Which, frankly, doesn’t take them very long at all. Plus, herding geese in the Cotswolds, cancelling The Bill, and all the gossip from Charlotte Moore’s leaving do. Jimmy Mulville is the co-founder and Chief Executive of Hat Trick Productions. His list of hit shows includes Have I Got News For You (series 69 now airing), Father Ted, Derry Girls, Outnumbered, and Episodes. In the US Hat Trick launched Whose Line Is It Anyway in 1997 which ran on ABC for seven years and was the first British series to be recreated for American network television by a British producer.Peter Fincham ran TalkBack, where he executive produced many of their biggest shows including I’m Alan Partridge, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and Da Ali G Show. He went on to be Controller of BBC1, then he was Director of Television at ITV, before returning to the independent sector as the co-CEO of Expectation, the company behind Clarkson's Farm and Alma's Not Normal.Our email address is InsidersTVPod@expectationtv.com, or you can get in touch via our socials at @InsidersTVPod. New episodes every Friday.Insiders: The TV Podcast is an Expectation and Hat Trick co-production.The producer is Owen Braben.8. Channel 4’s controversial plans for in-house production, word clouds with Ant and Dec, and the comedy of Ken Dodd’s tax affairs.
36:33||Season 1, Ep. 8This week, Jimmy and Peter ask what Channel 4’s plans to push into in-house production could mean for the UK indie sector. They discuss the BBC’s latest report into the state of British comedy (and whether they might perhaps be better to just commission more comedy, rather than write reports about it). And they talk the art of note giving, and ask whether there’s ever a good way of telling a star they’re anything other than fabulous?Plus, buying Baywatch, the perils of slippery glass bridges, and why you should hire unhinged lunatics. Jimmy Mulville is the co-founder and Chief Executive of Hat Trick Productions. His list of hit shows includes Have I Got News For You (series 69 now airing), Father Ted, Derry Girls, Outnumbered, and Episodes. In the US Hat Trick launched Whose Line Is It Anyway in 1997 which ran on ABC for seven years and was the first British series to be recreated for American network television by a British producer.Peter Fincham ran TalkBack, where he executive produced many of their biggest shows including I’m Alan Partridge, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and Da Ali G Show. He went on to be Controller of BBC1, then he was Director of Television at ITV, before returning to the independent sector as the co-CEO of Expectation, the company behind Clarkson's Farm and Alma's Not Normal.Our email address is InsidersTVPod@expectationtv.com, or you can get in touch via our socials at @InsidersTVPod. New episodes every Friday.Insiders: The TV Podcast is an Expectation and Hat Trick co-production.The producer is Owen Braben.Special Episode: Remembering Alan Yentob
22:50||Season 1With the sad news of the death of Alan Yentob, Peter and Jimmy take the opportunity to remember their old and much-loved friend, to celebrate his life and work, and to pay tribute to the huge impact he had on the world of British television. There's also, inevitably, a plug for the River Cafe in there. We think it’s what Alan would have wanted. Insiders: The TV Podcast is an Expectation and Hat Trick co-production. The producer is Owen Braben.7. Gary Lineker’s departure from the BBC, the shakeup at ITV Daytime, and Peter does a turn (and gets us a plug) on the Today Programme.
32:46||Season 1, Ep. 7This week, Peter and Jimmy unpack the end of Gary Lineker’s time at the BBC, and ask whether the corporation has a more wide-ranging problem when it comes to managing big talent. And we talk the latest changes to the ITV daytime schedule across Lorraine, This Morning, and Loose Women, and ask what the channel are really trying to achieve. Plus, Jimmy’s final day at Goodison Park, the (perhaps overdue) demise of Granada Men and Motors, and the commandment at the BBC that seems to require everyone to say “it’s all about the iPlayer” in every single meeting.Jimmy Mulville is the co-founder and Chief Executive of Hat Trick Productions. His list of hit shows includes Have I Got News For You (series 69 now airing), Father Ted, Derry Girls, Outnumbered, and Episodes. In the US Hat Trick launched Whose Line Is It Anyway in 1997 which ran on ABC for seven years and was the first British series to be recreated for American network television by a British producer.Peter Fincham ran TalkBack, where he executive produced many of their biggest shows including I’m Alan Partridge, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and Da Ali G Show. He went on to be Controller of BBC1, then he was Director of Television at ITV, before returning to the independent sector as the co-CEO of Expectation, the company behind Clarkson's Farm and Alma's Not Normal.Our email address is InsidersTVPod@expectationtv.com, or you can get in touch via our socials at @InsidersTVPod. New episodes every Friday.Insiders: The TV Podcast is an Expectation and Hat Trick co-production.The producer is Owen Braben.