TV picks of the month: October
Catherine The Great
Starts Thursday 3rd October, Sky Atlantic, 9pm
Powerhouse Helen Mirren takes on the role of longest-ruling female leader of Russia, Catherine II, in new four-part mini-series Catherine The Great.
BBC
Mark Thompson warns government policies endanger the BBC at the Steve Hewlett Memorial Lecture
Giving the third Steve Hewlett Memorial Lecture at London’s Westminster University, he accused policy makers of largely concentrating “on tightening the funding pressure and other constraints on the BBC further” including “the disastrous withdrawal of funding free licence fees for the over 75’s” agreed in the 2016 Charter now coming into full effect.
Keynote – Tony Hall | RTS Cambridge 2019
BBC's Tony Hall set out why, at a time of change and uncertainty, public service broadcasting is more important than ever. He is joined by Sky News' Political Editor Beth Rigby.
Tony Hall talks of the new age of uncertainty at the RTS Cambridge Convention 2019
Check against delivery.
First I want to take us back 40 years. A time before we learned words like ‘value chain’, ‘strategic reprioritisation’, ‘disintermediation’, or indeed ‘backstop’.
Live blog: Keynote - Tony Hall
Will Boris bail out the BBC in licence fee row?
On 10 June, the licence fee time bomb – primed by Chancellor Gordon Brown and set ticking by his successor George Osborne – duly exploded, as forecast back in February’s Television*.
By granting the over-75s a free TV licence (Brown) and then transferring the cost and responsibility from the government to the BBC (Osborne), the two chancellors locked the corporation in a no-win situation. Claire Enders, of Enders Analysis, argues that the deal was “illegitimate” and never affordable: “It was a lose-lose for the BBC, its viewers and listeners.”
Steven Knight on his childhood glimpse at the Peaky Blinders world to working with Brad Pitt
The screenwriter about to become a studio mogul; the boardgame inventor whose next drama will launch Apple’s foray into television; the Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? creator nominated for an Oscar – there are many ways to paraphrase the extraordinary career of Steven Knight. Let’s start, however, with the blacksmith’s son who launched a million haircuts.
Air date announced for Strictly 2019
Presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman return this September as they announce the new dance pairings.
Mobeen Azhar explores racism in the US in new BBC documentary
A Black And White Killing: The Case That Shook America centres on the tragic death of Larnell Bruce, a young black man who was run over outside a convenience store in 2016 by Russel Courtier, a member of white supremacist gang European Kindred.
CCTV footage of the incident was released shortly afterwards and went viral across the US, causing many to question if Bruce was killed because of the colour of his skin.
Who’s dancing on Strictly Come Dancing 2019?
David James MBE
Former England goalkeeper David James MBE is one of the first celebrities announced joining this year's Strictly line-up.
James began his career at Watford F.C and went on to lift the League Cup for Liverpool and contribute to Portsmouth’s success in the FA Cup.