BBC

Casualty and BBC Writersroom launch writing contest for frontline medics

In celebration of its 35th year on air, the team have planned a competition to find a new writer with first hand medical experience.

Applicants will be tasked with writing part of a Casualty episode based on a brief about clinical Lead Dylan Keogh having a hellish day in the emergency department.

BBC announces new documentary Katie Price: What Harvey Did Next

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Katie Price: Harvey And Me received huge critical acclaim when it was released and became the biggest BBC documentary of the period for 16-34 years old, garnering over five million views in 30 days on BBC iPlayer.

The documentary helped to start a conversation about the experience of raising disabled children and was recently shortlisted for a National Television Award and a Grierson Award. 

The initial documentary followed 18-year-old Harvey as he transitioned into adulthood and moved further away from home. 

Filming begins for BBC thriller The Control Room

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The three-part thriller led by Iain De Caestecker (Roadkill) and Joanna Vanderham (Dancing On The Edge) is set in Glasgow and follows Gabe (Iain De Caestecker), an ordinary man who works for the Scottish Ambulance Service as an emergency call handler. 

Gabe’s life is completely turned upside down when he receives a call from a woman who seems to know him and is in a desperate life-and-death situation. 

Desperate to work out who she is, Gabe makes a drastic decision that has devastating consequences. 

How Casualty is breaking all medical records

Casualty’s current series, its 36th (Credit: BBC)

On a mild autumnal Saturday on 6 September 1986, the first week after the summer holidays, the nation collectively sat down in front of the telly. Viewers may have flicked between the four channels available, but most were curious about BBC One’s big new drama, Casualty.

Since the familiar, high-intensity theme tune played out that evening, those 1980s-tastic opening credits may have evolved into something more contemporary but, at its core, Casualty remains the same.

BBC launches a new talent search for young climate reporters

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The unique training and mentorship opportunity is open for 18-24 year-olds, in a bid to put young voices at the centre of climate reporting and help develop and nurture diverse new talent. 

The BBC is on the hunt for young talented storytellers who want to work in the media and will become part of the popular Young Reporter programme. 

The 22 successful applicants will take part in a series of workshops and receive expert coaching from BBC staff on storytelling and will be given practical steps on how to pursue a career in journalism. 

New BBC documentary follows Britain’s top high-wire walkers

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The captivating documentary features one of Britain’s top high-wire artists, Chris Bullzini from Somerset, who regularly risks his life to perform and walk the wire with no safety net. 

When Bullzini was a teenager, he ran away to join the circus and turned his love of street performance into a hugely successful career. 

Bullzini is in high demand worldwide and since the summer of 2019, BBC cameras have followed Bullzini as he faces his biggest challenge yet.

Diane Morgan’s comedy Mandy to return for a second series

Diane Morgan as Mandy (credit: BBC)

Written, directed by and starring Diane Morgan (Motherland) in the titular role, the series follows Mandy, a woman with big dreams of becoming a Doberman pincher dog breeder.

As Mandy attempts to find fulfilment in a series of short-lived jobs in the modern-day gig economy, she tries her hand at everything from going on a reality show to becoming a tour guide and learning to swim.

RTS London reflect on the coverage of the London 1948 Olympics

During a wide-ranging talk on the pioneering early years of BBC outside broadcasts, former ITV head of technology and RTS Fellow Norman Green showed what is believed to be the only surviving footage of the London 1948 television broadcasts.

To cover the first post-war Olympics, “the BBC built the first broadcasting centre for radio and television”, said Green. Based in the Palace of Arts at Wembley, it housed 16 studios, two TV control rooms, 350 engineers, 200 reporters and 200 support staff.

BBC Two announces new nature documentary with Chris Packham

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Chris Packham goes on an emotional walk through the idyllic Hampshire countryside as he contemplates the challenges he has faced in the past.

Strolling along the River Itchen and Itchen Navigation, Packham highlights how important nature is for people’s wellbeing. 

During the walk, Packham remembers difficult memories of growing up with undiagnosed Asperger’s Syndrome and reminisces about the walks he had with his father and playing in the fields with his kestrel and poodle companions.