BBC

Ken Loach on the early days of his career, and future projects

Now 87, the director said he had completed his last feature, The Old Oak – the final film in a trilogy exploring themes of social justice and inequality, with I, Daniel Blake and Sorry We Missed You

RTS Southern Chair Steph Farmer talked to Loach about his early career, why he developed a passion for working with untrained actors and his relationship with writer Paul Laverty, which began on his 1996 film Carla’s Song.

Live Aid: four decades on

The benefit concert to raise money for the victims of famine in Ethiopia drew an estimated 1.5 billion television viewers worldwide.

Music promoter Harvey Goldsmith – who orchestrated Live Aid’s Wembley concert and, two decades later, the Live 8 benefit concerts – talked about his career with lawyer and broadcaster Andrew Eborn for an RTS London online event in July.

Working Lives: Business Affairs

 She deals with everything from book rights to script deals, development, broadcaster agreements, talent negotiations, financing and distribution. Carnie started out as a lawyer at a City law firm, but had her head turned during a secondment to MTV.

What does the job involve?

Essentially, it’s deal making: helping two sides agree commercial terms. In development, I could be taking out options on books, negotiating with scriptwriters’ agents, or making agreements with co-producers, broadcasters or distributors who are funding a series.

Comfort Classic: Doctor Who

Sixty years ago this November, a day after the assassination of John F Kennedy, William Hartnell stepped out of the Tardis and into the Stone Age in the very first Doctor Who story, An Unearthly Child.

Ratings were disappointing for a Saturday tea-time slot; the BBC’s new sci-fi show attracted an average audience of 6 million over its four-part run. Reviews were mixed, too: “There was little to thrill [and the] wigs and furry pelts and clubs were all ludicrous,” sniffed The Guardian.

BBC Factual commissions new documentary to examine UK euthanasia laws

In a recent poll, 73% of Britons showed support for doctor-assisted euthanasia for the terminally ill. This comes alongside the ever-growing debate surrounding assisted suicide.

Carr (Silent Witness, Good Omens) has long campaigned against a change in the law, worrying that disabled people are scarcely consulted about the issue. Carr, who wrote and presented the documentary, said: “Too many disabled people will have had the experience of someone, often a complete stranger, telling them, ‘If I was like you, I’d rather be dead'.

Channel 4, BBC and NFTS to launch new freelancer support programme

In partnership with the National Film and Television School, the programme will provide free masterclasses, workshops, training and wellbeing sessions across two weeks in October 2023.

The sessions will be delivered online to ensure it is accessible to all freelancers across the country, and will explore topics as varied as financial planning, networking and development.

Sinead Rocks, Managing Director of Nations and Regions at Channel 4, said: “The TV production sector is facing unprecedented challenges and we know that many freelancers are struggling.

BBC sets release date for return of Rose Matafeo's Starstruck

Like a modern day Notting Hill, the love story was sparked by Matafeo's Jessie sleeping and falling in love with a movie star named Tom Kapoor (Nikesh Patel). Despite many ups and downs, and Tom's agent Cath (Minnie Driver) warning him against dating a 'civilian', the two stuck it out through to series two.

But the second series, which aired in 2022, explored what happens after such a fairy-tale ending, and the drama came to a head in the finale after Tom found out that Jessie had accepted a job from her librarian ex-boyfriend Ben (Edward Easton).

Hit BBC drama Showtrial announces all new cast for series two

The series will leave the case and cast from series one behind, opening with a climate activist being left for dead following a hit and run, but managing to reveal his attacker as a serving policeman with his dying breath.

The following trial unpacks the motives and background of the mysterious and unnamed ‘Officer X’, and whether the death of the high-profile climate activist could be due to a thoughtless accident, or a targeted attack.