Before 2005 and the production of Doctor Who in Cardiff, Wales was always seen by the BBC – including me – as the “problem child”. But, just as with a “problem child” in a classroom, alarmingly, the problem is more often with the teacher/adult than the child; invariably, “problem children” are the most interesting in class and mature into the best of adults.
Philip Pullman's award-winning fantasy trilogy - Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass - will be brought to BBC One as part of a New Line Cinema/Bad Wolf joint production.
The books, published between 1995-2000, follow the life of the orphan child Lyra and her adventures travelling through parallel worlds. They have been praised for their imagination, epic scope and masterful inclusion of broad, often adult themes including religion, conscience, puberty, innocence and knowledge.
It is the question that British writers and commissioners perennially ask: which system works best – the UK’s single voice or the US’s showrunner model?
Former head of BBC Worldwide Productions turned independent producer Jane Tranter tried to answer this key question with a panel of writers, who outlined their experiences to see how they compared.
She pointed out that, during her seven years in the US, it was not a subject the industry there generally debated openly.
The preliminary programme for this year's RTS Cambridge Convention has been announced.
The convention, held on a biennial basis, brings together leading figures from the television and its related industry.
This year's event looks forward to television in 2020, focusing on the challenge for content, creativity and business models.
The programme features sessions covering foreign ownership of UK production, the rise of the smart phone in television viewing, and the influence of talent in programme-making.
