Celebrating the art of TV - RTS Programme Awards 2017 - April 2017 - Royal Television Society
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April 2017 Celebrating the art of TV RTS Programme Awards 2017
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Journal of The Royal Television Society
April 2017 l Volume 54/4
From the CEO
It’s been an awards- Meanwhile, in London, the always- at the University of Birmingham on
packed month at the brilliant Sandi Toksvig hosted a fantas- 29 March. It was a real pleasure to be
Society. I was thrilled tic evening at the RTS Programme there and what a great venue!
to be at the RTS West Awards. A big thanks to Sandi for being Michael’s illustrated talk gave his
of England Awards on such a tremendous host. I’d like to listeners the inside track on the BBC
19 March, just two days congratulate all the winners, in Bristol landmark documentary. He has over-
before the RTS Pro- and in London. seen more than 140 wildlife films, so
gramme Awards, which were attended It’s also been a busy month for RTS has few peers in this area of television
by a record-breaking 900 guests. events. I am seriously grateful to Sally production.
The RTS West of England Awards Doganis for producing “The Crown: Finally, I’d like to draw your atten-
were held at the hugely atmospheric Deconstructing the coronation”. A tion to one of our upcoming events,
Bristol Old Vic and brilliantly hosted capacity crowd gained a valuable “Breaking barriers: How can the TV
by Countryfile’s Anita Rani. Those insight into Netflix’s unique way of industry encourage more women into
attending included Mark Linsey, Nick working. I am sure I’m not alone in technology jobs?”, on 26 April at Lon-
Knowles and Mark Millar, Hugh saying that I could have listened all don’s Hospital Club. I hope to see you
Fearnley-Whittingstall and CBBC’s night to Peter Morgan talk about his there.
Andy Day and Naomi Wilkinson. experience of scripting The Crown. A
No prizes for guessing that Bristol’s full report is in this issue of Television.
Natural History Unit, which is cele This year’s Baird Lecture, organised
brating its 60th anniversary, did excep- by RTS Midlands, “Planet Earth II: The
tionally well, taking three awards for making of a natural history ‘block-
the wonderful Planet Earth II. buster’”, was given by Michael Gunton Theresa Wise
Contents
7 Waad al-Kateab’s TV Diary
Waad al-Kateab discovers a different world when she
visits London after filming the horror of Aleppo 20 The era of global event television
At an RTS event on The Crown, Peter Morgan revealed
how he was liberated by writing for Netflix. Steve Clarke
took notes
8 Fingers on buzzers…
Sanya Burgess asks why University Challenge is still
thriving after more than half a century on air
24 Our Friend in the North East
Graeme Thompson urges TV’s decision makers to be
bold as they demand a stronger regional presence
11 Great expectations
Former ITV and BBC chief Peter Fincham has returned
to his indie roots with Expectation. Andrew Billen checks
the slate 25 A fresh flavour for footie
BT’s John Petter explains how BT Sport has recast the
national game as entertainment. Matthew Bell reports
14 When TV is the tip of the iceberg
Alastair Fothergill tells Pippa Shawley why his latest
project, Netflix’s Our Planet, is his most ambitious
documentary
28 RTS Programme Awards
Hosted by Sandi Toksvig, the awards were presented
on 21 March at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London,
in partnership with Audio Network. The winners and
nominees over eight pages
16
The Afghan Rupert Murdoch
36 RTS news
Saad Mohseni – Afghanistan’s first media mogul –
tells Raymond Snoddy how he built his empire Event reports from around the nations and regions
18 A man of influence
Lisa Campbell profiles Damian Collins, an MP who’s
gaining fans in the TV sector Cover: Gordon Jamieson
Editor Production, design, advertising Royal Television Society Subscription rates Printing Legal notice
Steve Clarke Gordon Jamieson 3 Dorset Rise UK £115 ISSN 0308-454X © Royal Television Society 2017.
smclarke_333@hotmail.com gordon.jamieson.01@gmail.com London EC4Y 8EN Overseas (surface) £146.11 Printer: FE Burman The views expressed in Television
Writer Sub-editor T: 020 7822 2810 Overseas (airmail) £172.22 20 Crimscott Street are not necessarily those of the RTS.
Matthew Bell Sarah Bancroft E: info@rts.org.uk Enquiries: publication@rts.org.uk London SE1 5TP Registered Charity 313 728
bell127@btinternet.com smbancroft@me.com W: www.rts.org.uk
Television www.rts.org.uk April 2017 3
RTS
Cambridge
Convention
2017
Save the date
13-15 September
Television | www.rts.org.uk | SEPTEMBER 2008
www.rts.org.uk
15
RTS NEWS Your guide
to upcoming
national and
regional events
NORTH WEST
National events ■ Rachel Pinkney 07966 230639
■ rachelpinkney@yahoo.co.uk
RTS EARLY EVENING EVENT
Monday 10 April NORTHERN IRELAND
Where have all the disabled ■ John Mitchell
people gone? ■ mitch.mvbroadcast@btinter-
Panellists: Adam Hills, presenter net.com
of The Last Leg; Rosie Jones,
researcher and comedian; REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Shannon Murray, actor, writer ■ Charles Byrne (353) 87251 3092
and broadcaster; Deborah ■ byrnecd@iol.ie
Williams, CEO, Creative Diversity
Network. Chair: Ade Adepitan SCOTLAND
MBE. 6:30pm for 6:45pm start Wednesday 26 April
Venue: Channel 4, 124 Horseferry The next generation of TV
Road, London SW1P 2TX journalism
RTS Futures: Thursday 27 April
■ Book online at www.rts.org.uk Venue: City of Glasgow College,
City Campus, 190 Cathedral
RTS EARLY EVENING EVENT RTS AWARDS American International Univer- Street, Glasgow G40RF
Wednesday 26 April Friday 16 June sity in London. Tickets are free Wednesday 17 May
Breaking barriers: How can the RTS Student Television but numbers are limited, so the RTS Scotland 2017 Awards
TV industry encourage more Awards 2017 selection process involves an 6:00pm for 6:30pm
women into technology jobs? Venue: BFI Southbank, London application form. Booking: www. Venue: Oran Mor, Byres Rd,
Panellists: Dr Maggie Aderin- SE1 8XT rts.org.uk/event/update-tv-skills Glasgow G12 8QX
Pocock MBE, space scientist ■ Book online at www.rts.org.uk and follow the ‘Register your ■ Jane Muirhead 07718 087 108
and science communicator; interest’ link to Eventbrite. ■ scotlandchair@rts.org.uk
Sinead Greenaway, chief tech- RTS CONFERENCE Topics include: multi-platform
nology and operations officer, 13-15 September commissioning; production for SOUTHERN
UKTV; Anna Patching, sound RTS Cambridge Convention portable devices; using social ■ Gordon Cooper
engineer, OB STV; Sara Putt, 2017 media; immersive TV; digital ■ gordonjcooper@gmail.com
deputy chair, WFTV (UK). Venue: West Road Concert Hall, media workflow; CV workshop;
Chaired by Maggie Philbin OBE, Cambridge CB3 9DP and King’s and directing in a digital age. THAMES VALLEY
CEO and co-founder, TeenTech. College, Cambridge CB2 1ST Individual sessions may change Wednesday 17 May
6:30pm for 6:45pm start ■ Booking opens soon closer to the date. Registration NAB review 2017
Venue: The Hospital Club, 24 Endell from 9:00am; event starts at 7:00pm-9:00pm
Street, London WC2H 9HQ 9:45am. Venue: Pincents Manor Hotel,
■ Book online at www.rts.org.uk Local events Venue: Asa Briggs Hall, Calcot, Reading RG31 4UQ
7-17 Ansdell Street, London ■ Penny Westlake
RTS FUTURES BRISTOL W8 5BN ■ info@rtstvc.org.uk
Thursday 27 April ■ Belinda Biggam ■ Daniel Cherowbrier
You’re hired! Nail the perfect CV ■ belindabiggam@hotmail.com ■ daniel@cherowbrier.co.uk WALES
Experienced media recruitment ■ Hywel Wiliam 07980 007841
consultants and TV professionals DEVON & CORNWALL MIDLANDS ■ hywel@aim.uk.com
will talk you through the ideal ■ Kingsley Marshall ■ Jayne Greene 07792 776585
structure and content, and the ■ Kingsley.Marshall@falmouth. ■ jayne@ijmmedia.co.uk YORKSHIRE
dos and don’ts, to really make ac.uk Friday 7 July
your CV shine. NORTH EAST & THE BORDER Programme Awards 2017
Using interactive examples, EAST Wednesday 17 May 7:00pm for 7:30pm
you will be guided through the ■ Nikki O’Donnell Young People’s Media Festival Venue: New Dock Hall, Royal
process of identifying flaws in ■ nikki.odonnell@bbc.co.uk 2017 Armouries, Leeds LS10 1LT
CVs, to help you analyse your Further information at: ■ Lisa Holdsworth 07790 145280
own. Don’t get left in the pile! LONDON www.sunderland.ac.uk/rtsypmf. ■ lisa@allonewordproductions.
6:45pm for 7:00pm Saturday 22 April 6:00pm co.uk
Venue: Cavendish Conference Update TV skills Venue: Media Campus, University
Centre, 22 Duchess Mews, Free, all-day training event, in of Sunderland SR6 0DD
London W1G 9DT partnership with BBC Academy, ■ Jill Graham
■ Book online at www.rts.org.uk WFTV and Richmond, The ■ jill.graham@blueyonder.co.uk
Television www.rts.org.uk April 2017 5
RTS
STUDENT
TELEVISION
AWARDS
2017
16 JUNE
1:00pm
BFI Southbank,
London SE1 8XT
www.rts.org.uk
TV diary
Waad al-Kateab discovers a different
world when she visits London after
filming the horror of Aleppo
I
have just arrived in London people are asking you to remember story to tell. A photoshoot with the
from Turkey, where my fam- your humanity.” Radio Times follows.
ily is now living after the fall They all stand and clap again for a
of our beloved city, Aleppo. very long time. I am humble. ■ Today, because I am a self-taught
I am travelling with my hus- film-maker, I am shadowing a Chan-
band, Hamza, and our first ■ After the excitement of last night, nel 4 News camera operator, who is
stop from Heathrow airport today I am relaxing with my hus- filming outside Parliament. He is
is the Channel 4 News office. band in this beautiful city. We visit teaching me the technical under-
I am feeling excited but also appre- Buckingham Palace and go shopping standing of filming and explaining
hensive. One of the first people I meet on Oxford Street. It is hard to believe depth of field.
in the newsroom is the presenter Jon that one city can have so many I also spend time with an editor in
Snow. When we are introduced, he shops and people. an edit suite and with the online team.
bursts into tears. I feel emotional, too. I can’t wait to tell my friends and There is so much to learn, but it is a
These are the people who have made family back home about this experi- calm and fun newsroom to work in.
it possible to show the world my ence. But all my friends have already
footage, the real stories and horrors of heard the news that I won four ■ I am there to learn from them,
the people of Syria. awards and my Facebook page is full but it is the staff who are asking me
of congratulations and good wishes. many questions. I tell them about
■ Tonight it is the RTS Television filming in the emergency room, with
Journalism Awards, the main rea- ■ I am being interviewed on CNN by my doctor husband and my baby
son I have come to London. The Christiane Amanpour and am intro- daughter sleeping at my side, on
Hilton hotel on Park Lane is a far cry duced as “The woman who exposed the day three young brothers were
from what I am used to. Last year, I the horrors of Aleppo”. I feel emo- brought in after being hit by a bomb.
worked in a makeshift hospital, film- tionally torn, very sad that we lost The city was experiencing the heavi-
ing images of trauma, death, grief and our city, proud of what we all did est bombardment in several days.
courage. Now, I am dining with beau- to try and save it and its people, but One of the brothers died. No one
tiful, well-dressed people in a room also determined to keep telling the expected to live much longer. And
with very big chandeliers. It is a lot to world what is happening. my camera never looked away.
take in. My films for Channel 4 News The Mail on Sunday interviews me
have been nominated for four awards. next in a hotel in London. It wrote at Waad al-Kateab is a Syrian film-maker.
I am nervous but I hope we win. length about my plight while I was At the RTS Television Journalism
trapped in Aleppo in December. Now Awards, she was named Camera Opera-
■ After my name is called, I walk up the paper wants to hear my story in tor of the Year and Young Talent of the
to the stage and wait for what seems person. Year and won the Independent Award
like for ever as everyone in the room I feel exhausted reliving the suffer- (for The Last Flower Seller of Aleppo
stands and applauds me. In my ing of the people caught up in the on Channel 4 News and, with Channel
speech, I tell them: “There is a per- siege and the human toll of the 4 News, News Coverage – International
ished city called Aleppo. And all its Syrian war. But it is an important (for Inside Aleppo on Channel 4 News).
Television www.rts.org.uk April 2017 7
Content
Sanya Burgess asks why University Challenge is
still thriving after more than half a century on air
Fingers on
buzzers…
F
amous for its split-screen Starter for 10, the best-selling novel tone of the show as “more inquisitorial”
display, eccentric student and film starring James McAvoy and and “more of a hard-core, serious quiz
contestants, difficult Benedict Cumberbatch, is testament show than Only Connect”, whose own
questions and intimidat- to the enduring affection for the show. questions are some of TV’s toughest.
ing host, University Its author, David Nicholls, believes He says that good teams and stand-
Challenge has been an that the show remains popular thanks out individuals within those teams
almost constant fixture on our screens to the difficulty of the questions: “It’s help drive audience numbers.
for more than 50 years. the antidote to the ‘What’s the capital One of those stand-out individuals
The programme has clocked up over of France?’ school of quiz, where every- is former contestant David Stainer.
1,600 episodes and regularly pulls in one has the satisfaction of getting the Now 38, a solicitor and living in Hert-
audiences of 3 million. Its impressive answer right. Instead of that satisfac- fordshire, he captained his team in one
reign continues into the online era, tion, you have this awe and amaze- of the most controversial University
despite barely changing the format, its ment that there are people out there Challenge finals.
staging or the rules of the show. who know this stuff.” Representing Oriel College, Oxford, in
What are the secrets of its extraordi- James Fox is the MD of Remarkable 1999, Stainer and his teammates were
nary success? Is it the questions, the Television, producer of Pointless, which pipped to the crown by an Open Uni-
contestants, or the format? recently recorded its 1,000th episode. versity team with an average age of 46.
First aired in 1962, University Challenge He hopes to emulate the longevity of “As long as I can remember, it’s
was then capable of drawing audiences University Challenge: “As a fellow quiz always been the hardest show on tele-
of 11 million a week. Twenty-five years show producer, to be able to do that vision,” says Stainer. He has competed
later, it was axed by ITV in 1987, when number of episodes, year in, year out, in a number of televised quizzes,
viewing figures fell to 1 million follow- is no mean feat. The knowledge that including Only Connect. He adds: “It’s an
ing relegation to an off-peak slot. you’ve got to test people on doesn’t exciting show. There’s not much filler
The show was relaunched by the BBC run out, but trying to create brilliantly on it. You get a quick introduction,
in 1994. Its scholarly and slightly eccen- crafted questions is a difficult thing. If, then, within a minute or two, the ques-
tric presenter, Bamber Gascoigne, was in 40 years, Pointless is still on, then tions start being asked and they are
dropped in favour of a more conven- we’d all be very proud.” asked at a fast pace.”
tional TV anchor man. Jeremy Paxman Jack Waley-Cohen, questions editor The show’s format, inspired by the
has hosted ever since. on Only Connect, believes that the key to US television student quiz show College
Following a dip in ratings a few years the show’s long-running success lies Bowl, may be set in stone but, over the
ago, University Challenge has bounced with the contestants. “People love see- years, University Challenge has never
back and frequently tops the viewing ing people being really, really clever,” been far away from the headlines.
figures for BBC Two. says Waley-Cohen. He characterises the In 1975, a protest held by Manchester
8
BBC
students competing against Downing
Six of the best questions
College, Cambridge, had the former
answering all the questions in a round
by shouting “Che Guevara”, “Marx”,
“Trotsky” or “Lenin”. n What seven-letter word links: an
To this day, the show attracts exten- impure metal formed in the smelting of
sive coverage in the mainstream press. ores; a bright double star in the con-
This tends to be around certain con- stellation Leo; and a Roman consul of
testants, such as the current series’ Eric the Punic wars, held as an example of a
Monkman, who has a habit of pulling patriot who chose virtue over personal
ITV
unusual facial expressions. expediency?
In 2009, Gail Trimble – captain of the
Corpus Christi, Oxford, team – was n ‘Of unexcelled usefulness to histori- n Add together the number of letters
dubbed the “human Google”. And last ans, [its] intricate realism recorded with in the surnames of the prime minister
year, the well-arched left eyebrow of the restraint of a Jane Austen and the who came to office after the 1945 gen-
Hannah Woods, captain of the 2016 depth of reflection of a Proust.’ These eral election and his two successors.
winning team of Peterhouse, Cambridge, words describe which 11th-Century What prime number results?
had two parody Twitter accounts set up novel, the work of the Japanese lady-
in honour of her eyebrow. in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu? n What is the lowest positive integer to
Recently, the show attracted negative contain the letter ‘C’ when it is spelled
headlines after an episode that featured n The lion, hens and roosters, wild out as a word in English?
an all-white and all-male pair of teams. asses, tortoises and the elephant are, in
Casting for the show is a long and sequence, the first entities introduced Answers
exacting process. The emphasis is on in which orchestral suite of 14 move-
the ability of contestants to answer the ments, composed in 1886?
on country and context
questions. Each university has its own
modern British usage, or 10 to the 48, depending
process of selecting candidates to be n Pierre Janssen and Norman Lockyer
ctillion, which is 10 to the 27 in American and
6O
shortlisted for auditions, which are are jointly credited with the detection,
5 19
held at ITV Studios, which inherited in 1868, of which gas as an unexpected
4 Regulus
the show from Granada Television. line in the Sun’s spectrum? It was dis-
3 Helium
Giles Hutchings, 21, from Farnham in covered on Earth in 1895 in the uranium
2 Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals
Surrey, was captain of the University of mineral cleveite.
1 The Tale of Genji/Genji Monogatari
Warwick’s team in the most recent �
Television www.rts.org.uk April 2017 9
� series of the show. He sat a one- series, of which around 3,250 will knowledge changes,” he says. “The
hour test at his university, along with make it to the screen. Following a questions now are very, very different
around 100 other applicants. Those decision to include more clues in to during Bamber Gascoigne’s time,
who achieved the best scores were questions, Peter Gwyn, the executive but I suspect that they are also differ-
then interviewed and sorted into a producer, has denied that the ques- ent to the early years of Paxman.”
team by the incumbent captain. tions are getting easier. He credits those who produce the
ITV Studios whittles down around show with monitoring and adapting
130 teams to 28 via further academic the questions to keep up with the
testing and interviews that establish I THINK THAT rising competitiveness in the off-
whether the students would work
well on television. THERE HAS screen quizzing circuit. This, he says,
has resulted in a better calibre of
Hutchings believes that the pro- PROBABLY teams over the past 15 years.
ducers make a genuine effort to cre-
ate a diverse show. As a result, teams BEEN A SLOW “I remember that there was a
period when, watching at home, I
often try to attract women in the hope TENDENCY FOR thought the questions had got rather
that this will improve the chances of
ITV Studios placing them on the show.
THE QUESTIONS obscure. But the producers always
seem to realise that they need to sort
An additional challenge for today’s TO GET MORE it out and it goes back to the right
teams is the scrutiny they receive on
DIFFICULT level of difficulty,” says Stainer. “I
social media – more than 80,000
people discuss University Challenge on OVER TIME think that there has probably been a
slow tendency for the questions to get
Facebook alone. more difficult over time.”
Hutchings’ teammate, Sophie Rudd, Nonetheless, with a trophy and
attracted attention following a par- Stainer agrees. He argues that one bragging rights in place of a cash prize,
ticularly enthusiastic answer and reason for the show’s longevity is ultimately, the show is just for fun.
overall strong performance. But she because the quality and level of diffi- As contestant Giles Hutchings says,
found herself at the centre of a Twit- culty of the questions remains “I guess I just wanted to have the
ter storm when trolls began to tor- consistent. chance to go on and show off my
ment her for being transgender. “The question setters are quite useless knowledge. You can only put
Reportedly, more than 4,000 ques- skilled at adapting the questions over that to use on quiz shows, as it doesn’t
tions are commissioned for every time to suit the way underlying really help you with life in general.”
RTS London Centre training day
Update TV skills
22 April Registration: 09:00am n Sessions start at 9:45am
Booking: www.rts.org.uk/event/update-tv-skills
And follow the link to Eventbrite n Venue: Asa Briggs Hall, 7-17 Ansdell Street, London W8 5BN
n Multiplatform commissioning RTS London is holding a free all-day training
n Production for portable devices event in partnership with the BBC Academy,
WFTV, and Richmond, The American
n Using social media
International University in London. Registration
n Immersive TV
is free and, because numbers are limited,
n Digital media workflows tickets will be allocated following a selection
n CV workshop process which starts with an application email.
n Directing in a digital age BBC Academy will oversee the fair allocation
Individual sessions are subject to change of places.
10The Billen profile
Former ITV and BBC
chief Peter Fincham
has returned to
his indie roots
with Expectation.
Andrew Billen
checks the slate
Lisa Peacock
Great expectations
A
h, they remember it They then each took six months’ expensive-looking blue jacket and a
well. It was the autumn gardening leave. white shirt with its top two buttons
of 2015 and Peter Over that summer, people would undone. I interviewed him five years
Fincham, ITV’s director joke that they must be setting some- ago, when he was at ITV. He looks
of television, and Tim thing up together and, as it wore on, younger now.
Hincks, President of Fincham and Hincks did indeed He thinks that the DNAs of Talkback
Endemol Shine Group, were having begin to talk seriously about the kind (The Day Today, Ricky Gervais, Grand
breakfast together. At least, that’s how of production company, the kind of Designs) and Endemol Shine (Changing
Fincham recalls it. Hincks insists it “creative company”, they might start. Rooms, Big Brother, Charlie Brooker), will
was a drink after work. That detail And here Fincham is, in a mews graft well to each other. If one was to
doesn’t matter. The news they shared, building in Notting Hill with Expecta- make a guess, mine would be that,
as Fincham explains, did. tion over its front door, talking to me although they will stretch over most
“Tim said: ‘Can I tell you a secret?’ about his new life. And his eight years entertainment genres, comedy, under
And I said: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘I resigned at ITV and, before that, his shorter Nerys Evans from Channel 4, may
yesterday.’ And I said: ‘Can I tell you a spell at BBC One; and also of his early provide their first hit.
secret? So did I.’ By the purest of days at Talkback, where its founder, Although Hincks and Fincham
coincidences, we’d been to see our Griff Rhys Jones, insisted that, in show have never worked for the same
respective bosses and said, ‘I want to business, the “show” must be more employer, they are old friends. The
leave.’” important than the “business”. This is name, Expectation, is a play on No
In both cases, the resignations were a formula that Fincham, 30 years on, Expectations, the amateur band (Fin-
kept from the industry until the fol- intends to stick to. cham on keyboards, Hincks on gui-
lowing January, and neither actually He is 60, but looks younger: slim, tar), that they have played in for years.
left their jobs until March last year. full head of hair, today in jeans, Their first investor is BBC �
Television www.rts.org.uk April 2017 11� Worldwide, which has taken just co-founder, Mel Smith, initially treated
I DON’T THINK THAT under 25% of the company. Its head, Fincham “like an office boy”. Yet Fin-
THE RIGHT WAY TO Tim Davie, joined the BBC virtually the
same week Fincham did in 2005. He
cham loved those two decades – the
informality, the days of make-do, and
APPEAL TO THE ITV can probably be counted a friend, too.
The key to their joint vision, Fincham
his own creative contributions.
Even after the company was sold to
AUDIENCE WOULD insists, is that the company is led by its FremantleMedia in 2000, in a deal that
BE TO TALK DOWN creative decisions.
He tells a story from his early days at
made him a millionaire some times
over, he stayed for five more years.
TO THEM Talkback about a meeting with a BBC “When I left Talkback, yes, of course,
executive, at which Fincham agreed to it had changed and it had grown. It
replace someone for a show’s second wasn’t me and a couple of other peo-
season. He confessed to the executive ple sitting around a table trying to keep
that this would be awkward, since the warm, as 20 years earlier,” he says. “It
person being dropped was a friend. was more that I felt that I needed to do
The response was anything but sym- something else.
pathetic: “He told me: ‘Well, there’s a “I had very young children at the
lesson you’ve learnt – don’t get too time. I was exhausted. I thought I would
friendly with the animals.’ And I take a break and then start another
Peter’s thought, ‘That’s such a giveaway
phrase.’ That says: ‘We’re the zookeep-
independent company. Then, I got
offered the job of controlling BBC One
progress ers and they are the animals, the dumb
animals.’ Absolute nonsense. The ani-
– impossible to turn down.”
At Television Centre, he made it his
mals are the people who the viewers task to make the channel “less misera-
Peter Fincham, Co-CEO (with Tim watch, and like.” ble”. The mission, with hits such as
Hincks) of Expectation Now, it seems that Fincham was How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?
(what he would not call) an animal all and Robin Hood, went well, and then
Married to Clare Lewthwaite, former along. Even for the decade he was a very badly wrong. Badly briefed at a
TV executive and charity chief; two zookeeper at the BBC and ITV, he was press conference in 2007, he claimed a
sons, two daughters always partly an “indie in exile”. forthcoming documentary would show
Lives Notting Hill, London “I was nearly eight years as a direc- the Queen walking off in a huff from a
Born 26 July 1956 tor at ITV. I think that was long portrait session with Annie Leibovitz.
Parents Arthur and Joan Fincham enough. Some would say too long. I This was a great story and utterly
Education Tonbridge School; don’t know. It’s certainly long enough. untrue, as the press soon discovered.
Churchill College, Cambridge (BA Coming to the end of that, I was able The BBC press office phoned Fin-
English) to think, ‘What do I want to do next?’ cham to warn him that a camera crew
I had a very clear sense that I did not was intending to stake out his house
1986 Producer, Talkback want to move up the corporate ladder.” – and that it was from BBC News.
Productions Nor did he want, as the current jargon Being in the centre of a media storm
1986 Managing Director, Talkback has it, to “go plural”, with board mem- was, understandably, “not much fun”.
Productions berships here, consultancies there. He In due course, he resigned.
2003 Chief Executive, took inspiration from his father, a char- Looking back, what he is proudest of
TalkbackThames tered accountant who, aged 61, threw in at the BBC was sticking to his guns and
2005 Controller, BBC One his lot with a client, Richard Forshaw, inventing The One Show against some
2008 Director of television, ITV and helped turn the Dutton Forshaw powerful vested interests with their
2016 Left ITV car dealerships into an empire. Arthur own shows at 7:00pm. “I think you
Fincham died a few years ago, aged 101, wouldn’t easily imagine the BBC One
Hits The One Show, Broadchurch, but he always said that those 10 years schedule without it.”
Downton Abbey were the best of his life. When he left, he thought (you guessed
Flops Red or Black?, Daybreak Not that Arthur, who educated Peter it) that he might start an indie, only this
Hobbies Piano – rock (with No at one of the most expensive schools in time Michael Grade, Executive Chair-
Expectations) and classical the country, Tonbridge, ever regarded man of ITV, made him another offer he
Watching The Bureau (Amazon); TV as a proper career in the sense that could hardly refuse: to be his director
OJ: Made in America, Catastrophe, his two lawyer sons had real jobs. of television.
The Jump Peter had showed a worrying incli- No controllership is an unalloyed
On working with Smith and Jones nation towards La La Land since Cam- success, and there is some evidence
at Talkback ‘I became more than bridge, where he was the Footlights’ from the ratings, at least, that Fin-
the office boy but, initially, it was musical director and pianist. After a cham’s creative renewal at ITV eventu-
quite a small office’ few years in the wilderness, he joined ally ran out of puff. It was real enough,
On returning to independent Talkback, then a radio commercials however, particularly in drama, where
production ‘It’s wanting to be on house, set up by Footlights leading he commissioned two of the most
the field of play rather than in the light Griff Rhys Jones. notable dramas of recent times, Down-
stands watching the action’ One senior executive once claimed ton Abbey and Broadchurch.
to me that Jones and Talkback’s He remembers reading Julian
12Broadchurch
ITV
Fellowes’ script for the first Downton people say that, that’s fine and I’ve wouldn’t contradict this – was to
and thinking how, after the first epi- moved on from that life.” blame myself.”
sode of a drama, you are lucky to be These were happy years at ITV and He does, I say, seem happier than
invested in two characters – and here the BBC, he insists. His four children when I last interviewed him, even
he was interested in 10, just from the by his wife, Clare, whom he met while though the pretext of that piece was
script. she was at a commercials production the renaissance of ITV. “I feel that the
His decision to reinvent ITV News at company that shared a building with burdens of office didn’t sit that com-
Ten as a vehicle for a star anchorman Talkback, were the right age to enjoy fortably on my shoulders. I always felt
and his expensively poached corre- them. He took them to The X Factor. His that I empathised too much with the
spondents is, perhaps, a less happy oldest daughter danced with Bruce people who made things.”
memory. As we talk, we are into the Forsyth. Along the way, he found time He talks about renewing a series that
third week of a grand experiment by to learn the classical piano to Grade 8, was not quite right, against his better
Fincham’s successor, Kevin Lygo, to pedalling off to his teacher on Saturday judgement, and seeing it fail all over
supplant the news with a chat show. mornings, and ended up playing a duet again, because viewers no longer give
He says he knows where I am going in public with Myleene Klass. second seasons second chances.
with this, and believes Tom Bradby I ask whether being independently He also talks about cancelling pro-
offers “something different”. He will wealthy cushioned him from some of grammes. One, The Bill, was made by
not comment further, out of respect for the pressures that other TV chiefs suc- his own former company, Talkback-
his friend and rival Lygo – and out of cumb to. I could not be more wrong Thames: “It was something I was
self-respect, too. “I quite sincerely wish – but, by asking the question, I dis- responsible for. I was very, very con-
ITV the best of luck.” cover, I think, the real reason that he scious of the consequences of that, and
There is one view of his ITV reign, I left ITV. it wasn’t what I went into television to
say, that holds that he was just too snob- “The answer is no, to be honest. If do, to execute that power. I’m perfectly
bish to really understand his audience. I had a show that I was nervous about, happy to have laid that power down
He looks genuinely hurt when he I would be just as nervous,” he insists. and let somebody else take it.”
says: “Well, I’m sorry to hear people The disappointments would still hit There are some events, it seems, of
say that because I don’t think it’s the him in the stomach? “Of course, they which a conscientious and decent
case at all. I don’t think that the right would. Oh God! Anything that you television executive will retain perfect
way to appeal to the ITV audience have high hopes for that doesn’t quite recall. My expectation is that Expecta-
would be to talk down to them, let’s work, I think it was always my inclina- tion will create rather more happy
put it that way. But, you know, if tion – and I hope that other people memories.
Television www.rts.org.uk April 2017 13When TV
is the tip of
the iceberg
L
ike an entire generation Facebook very excited about this. That
of wildlife film-makers, Natural history would’ve been hard to manage with
Alastair Fothergill was the BBC. There’s no doubt that this was
drawn to television by
David Attenborough. His
Alastair Fothergill tells one of the advantages of working with
Netflix.” Netflix, he suggests, is the
1979 series, Life on Earth, Pippa Shawley why his perfect fit for the kind of high-budget,
showed the young Fothergill that natural natural history series Silverback was
history programming was “a good way latest project, Netflix’s set up to make.
to be paid to be near animals”.
Fothergill, who was recently made a
Our Planet, is his most Our Planet will explore the habitats
of the earth, highlighting the value of
Fellow of the RTS, spent almost three ambitious documentary those places to the world’s ecology. At
decades at the BBC Natural History Unit the same time, the producers recognise
(NHU). This included a five-year stint as “halo” of extra digital content, expand- that viewers don’t want to sit through
head of department, when he landed ing on the environmental concerns an hour-long lecture on climate change.
several global hits, including The Blue raised in the TV series. “There’s an amazing conservation
Planet, Planet Earth and Frozen Planet. This extra dimension is appealing to story out there about the value of habi-
He went on to found his own pro- Fothergill: “A lot of people talk about tats and why they’re important,” argues
duction company, Silverback Films, web activity and not a lot of people put Fothergill. He says that the digital con-
with his former NHU colleague Keith any real money into it,” he says. “What’s tent around the series will go into more
Scholey. His team is now working on exciting about this is that we have detail about the challenges in conserving
Netflix’s first natural history series, Our really significant investment in it.” these places.
Planet. “It’s by far the biggest thing I’ve Originally, Fothergill hoped that the While Fothergill won’t be drawn on
ever done,” says Fothergill. “And the TV BBC would be interested in the series, how much the streaming service has
series, literally, is the tip of a massive which he sees as a continuation of the put behind the series, he says that the
iceberg.” topics covered in Planet Earth. The BBC, budget compares “very well” with what
In addition to the eight-part series however, was worried that the WWF’s the BBC would offer. Our Planet is Net
for the streaming service, Netflix and involvement might breach its editorial flix’s second major British order, after
Silverback have partnered with the policy guidelines. Left Bank’s The Crown.
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to create a He adds: “We’ve got Google and Fothergill has just returned from a
14Since joining the BBC 30 years ago,
Fothergill has seen the gender balance
within his genre change completely.
Women now hold jobs that were tradi-
tionally dominated by men. There is
still some way to go, however. Men still
significantly outnumber camerawomen.
Fothergill is quick to champion the
work of Sophie Darlington. She was a
key part of the team on BBC One’s The
Hunt, recently nominated for an RTS
Programme Award, and is now work-
ing on Our Planet.
Then, there is the fact that natural
history is still dominated by the white
middle class. Fothergill’s plummy
tones are indicative of his own back-
ground – he was educated at Harrow
before going on to study at the univer-
sities of Durham and St Andrew’s.
“There’s no doubt that one of the
things we need from people is what
we call ‘muddy-boots experience’,” he
says. “You can have a first in zoology,
but you’ve got to know how to behave
around an elephant.”
Natural history film-makers have
often been criticised for presenting the
world through rose-tinted spectacles,
but Fothergill emphasises the impor-
tance of showing audiences what goes
on outside their living rooms.
“How can you possibly care about
The Hunt
BBC
the natural world if you’ve never seen
it?” he asks.
month-long trip to Antarctica, where in to hear the soothing tones of David While stunning photography is cru-
his team was filming Adélie penguins Attenborough. “The very fact that there cial to a hit series, it is important that
for a Disney theatrical release, the were no people there, not even David a programme has more than beautiful
latest in a flow of projects for its wild- Attenborough, was actually quite a good shots of wildlife. Fothergill pushed for
life strand, Disneynature. tonic,” says Fothergill. “It was a way to episodes about global warming and
Silverback currently has three films escape.” conservation in Frozen Planet and The
in production for Disney, as well as Attenborough has been synonymous Hunt, respectively.
landmark series for both Netflix and with British natural history program- “In the end, I’m not a journalist,” he
the BBC, so it’s a busy time for the ming for many decades, having pre- says. “My skill, if I have any skill, is
50-strong team. sented wildlife programmes since the delivering top, blue-chip, landmark
The disquiet surrounding Brexit and 1950s. Now aged 90, the veteran broad- natural history.”
the election of Trump is partly respon- caster is still in high demand. The issue He believes that there are some
sible for the popularity of BBC One’s of what will happen to natural history essential elements to a good series: “In
recent Planet Earth II, he believes. programming after he dies is one that the UK, I think you have to recognise
It would not be the first time the has been discussed for many years. that the audience is very sophisticated.
genre has provided a welcome refuge “He is going to leave a massive, mas- They’ve seen a lot of natural history.”
from the news. On 11 September 2001, sive hole,” says Fothergill, who has Each new programme, therefore, has to
Fothergill was live on The Gloria Hunni- been fortunate enough to work with be bold, comprehensive and risk-taking.
ford Show, promoting Blue Planet, when him on many occasions. But one of the And the show’s premise needs to be
the second plane flew into the World benefits of owning a production com- simple: “If you can’t explain the series
Trade Center in New York. The series pany, he says, is being able to back in one line, you’re dead in the water.”
was due to air the following day. He new talent. There is clearly still an appetite for
recalls: “I was almost embarrassed to “Keith [Scholey] and I wanted to Fothergill’s brand of high-budget doc-
think it, but I did think, ‘Oh, bloody employ very good people, but also just umentary. In his view, “What could be
hell, we’ve worked for five years and pleasant people. Life’s too short. You nicer after Strictly on a Sunday evening
it’s all gone up – literally – in smoke.’” get to a stage in your life when you’re than to go into the beauties of the
The BBC aired nothing but news just bored of dealing with idiots. You natural world, before a nice bloke takes
coverage until 8:00pm the following can manage that better when you’ve his shirt off in Poldark? I mean, it’s the
evening, when 12 million people tuned got your own company,” he laughs. dream evening, isn’t it?”
Television www.rts.org.uk April 2017 15S
aad Mohseni, Chair and modern media, which is playing a
Chief Executive of the modest part in modernising his coun-
Moby television group, try. This year is the 12th season of
has been called the Afghan Star, the local equivalent of Pop
Afghan Rupert Murdoch, Idol or The Voice. Mohseni is delighted
and, despite obvious that, for the first time in such a con-
differences in scale, the comparison servative country, millions of Afghans
is far from crazy. have voted a woman into the final.
There are many obvious echoes. “You do have some battlefield losses
With his siblings, Mohseni has built but, in the bigger picture – what is
from nothing an international media happening to the country, the people
group operating not just in Afghanistan – we have made a lot of progress since
but in Iran, Ethiopia, India and the 2001,” says Mohseni.
Middle East, and which is increasingly He notes that showings of Sesame
targeting sub-Saharan Africa. Street have attracted an “extraordinary”
His flagship Afghan channel, Tolo number of adults, watching with their
– Dawn – is the biggest television children. From the show, adults learn
station in Afghanistan and, overall, the about the importance of children going
company produces nearly 7,500 hours to school. “The impact of the sort of
Moby
of content a year and dubs a further things we are doing will be incremen-
4,000 hours into six languages. tal, but they will be real and, when
The London-born Mohseni, who is combined with a whole series of other
50, was brought up in Australia after Profile things, will help to change society
his diplomat father was exiled follow- – whether providing female role mod-
ing the Soviet invasion.
He has obvious drive and curiosity,
Saad Mohseni – els in soap operas or as singers, doctors
or reporters,” he argues.
and is willing to take risks and challenge Afghanistan’s first He sees no conflict between making
taboos – particularly in Afghanistan – money and being an agent of modern-
on the role of women on television media mogul – tells isation. In India, for example, Moby has
and in society. Mohseni even set up his
own football competition, the Afghan
Raymond Snoddy actively defended and promoted the
rights of the LGBT community.
Premier League, and then televised it. how he built his empire The Moby executive accepts that he
The Afghan Rupert
The most obvious link with Murdoch stage with men. She, meanwhile, had probably “pushed the envelope” too
is that 21st Century Fox has a 48% stake to flee to Canada with her children. hard in the early days on women’s
in Moby, which has revenues of around Is that how it inevitably is in Afghan- rights and attacks on corruption. The
$80m, and is backing the group’s istan? “I am not saying that we have to approach led to raids on the compa-
expansion in some of the world’s most make sacrifices but, unfortunately, it is ny’s offices and people being beaten
challenging television territories. never going to be smooth, and Afghani up. His brother Zaid, a lawyer, who
A small story from a decade ago stan has many issues to deal with,” runs the operation in Afghanistan, was
illustrates both the optimism and the Mohseni concedes. among those arrested.
darker side of Afghanistan. Moby and its staff are considered Mohseni is based in Dubai but is in
An Irish-American journalist, Ste- military targets by the Taliban and, in Afghanistan most weeks. “Once you
phen Landrigan, decided in 2005 to January 2016, seven production work- get into the rhythm of things, it gets a
put on the first production of Shake- ers on the company’s news channel lot easier,” he says, noting that the
speare – Love’s Labour’s Lost – in Dari, were killed and many seriously injured Western-educated President Ashraf
the Afghan dialect of Persian. in a suicide bombing in Kabul. Ghani is more liberal than his prede-
The open-air production in Kabul Did it shake his resolve? “Not really,” cessor President Hamid Karzai.
was a sensation. Mohseni couldn’t go says the Moby Chairman. “You become Barbara Gibian, an American lawyer
due to work but his wife, Sarah, did. more determined to do what you need who worked in Afghanistan on a US
“We gave it a lot of publicity. It was to do. Afterwards, you reflect on what programme that invests in small
on our news. It was a great thing you have done and ask whether we Afghan businesses, knows Mohseni
because it had these women perform- will ever emerge from any of this. well and describes him as charming,
ers,” says Mohseni. Later, the husband When will we see the light at the end smart and full of himself.
of one of the actresses was murdered of the tunnel?” “What they have done is really
because his wife had appeared on Some light, at least, is being shed by remarkable. They have persevered in
16Puppeteers Sima Sultani
(left) and Mansura Schirsad
with the puppet ‘Zari’ in the
Moby Group’s Kabul studio
Alamy/Moby
Murdoch
Even in Afghanistan, people are
increasingly using mobile devices.
In Iran, Moby gets hundreds of thou-
sands of viewers via VPNs (virtual pri-
vate networks – which allow users
secure access to services over the inter-
net) and a weekly show that has more
than 1 million followers on Instagram.
spite of a lot of difficulties. They have were looking for opportunities in Although linear television will
pushed the limits and, I think, have Afghanistan. They were able to launch remain important, Mohseni says that
been very good for Afghan society and the country’s first commercial radio Moby is becoming increasingly plat-
for women,” says Gibian. station, playing Afghan and Western form agnostic. “What we have learned
Programmes that work well in pop, in a country where music had, across the region is that we have to cut
Afghanistan include local versions of until recently, been banned. different versions for different plat-
Yes Minister, The Office and Deal or No Deal. A key figure in the growth of the forms,” he explains. For an individual
Young men – and the average age of company has been Tom Freston, the programme, this can mean 30 seconds
Afghans is 18 – like programmes such former Viacom CEO, who lived in for Instagram, two minutes for Face-
as 24 and Homeland, but soaps, particu- Afghanistan in the 1970s. Mohseni calls book, a six-minute version for YouTube
larly from Turkey and Korea, go down Freston “the godfather” of the company. and then 30 minutes for satellite.
well throughout the region. “For men, It was Freston, who remains on the Mohseni believes that Moby has big
it’s action. For women and families, its Moby board, who introduced Mohseni opportunities in these developing
drama – divorces and break-ups every to Murdoch. And, extending the web of markets and is convinced that a port-
three minutes. It’s got to be a lot spicier relationships, it was Mohseni who rec- folio of media assets across a dozen
in terms of the storyline,” says Mohseni ommended Vice Media founder Shane countries, where advertising is growing
– although, overall, a certain amount Smith to Murdoch, who then bought a rapidly from a low base, will bring a
of covering up of flesh is required. 5% stake in the news company. Now, good return on investment.
Moby is a media company created Moby is in a joint venture with Vice and “If you get it right, it could be amaz-
partly by accident. After the fall of the plans to launch a Vice service in Arabic ing – but you have to be prepared to
Taliban in 2001, Mohseni, who rose this summer aimed at the Middle East. sweat,” says the Afghan Rupert Mur-
through the ranks at Australian stock- Moby has linear channels but uses doch. And face some risks that few
broker Bell Potter, and his siblings online and mobile to reach audiences. others would be happy to take.
Television www.rts.org.uk April 2017 17Politics
A man
Lisa Campbell profiles
Damian Collins, an MP
who is gaining fans in
of influence
the TV sector
F
ive months into the role of
Chair of the Culture, Media
and Sport Committee of
the House of Commons,
and Damian Collins MP
has consolidated a reputa-
tion as a well-informed politician with
a decent grasp of key issues, ranging
from fake news to the complexities of
press regulation, post-Leveson.
His recent appearance at the Oxford
Media Convention enhanced that rep-
utation, with a speech stressing the
seriousness of the fake news phenom-
enon. Collins launched his fake news
inquiry in January. With submissions
having closed in early March, it’s the
most pressing issue in his in-tray.
“He did very well to spot the contro-
versies around fake news early on,”
says John Whittingdale, who was Sec-
retary of State at the DCMS until The-
resa May sacked him. He was himself
Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport
Committee for a decade from 2005.
“It’s exactly the kind of issue that the
select committee is best placed to
explore, as it allows you to draw from
lots of different contributors that oth-
ers can’t, and to hold a public hearing.”
So it was unsurprising that it domi-
nated Collins’s Oxford keynote – as
well as much of the convention itself.
“We may be at a tipping point where
fake news is crowding out legitimate
news and you have to regard that as a
challenge for democracy,” he warned,
highlighting how Donald Trump links
the term to “anything he doesn’t agree
with”.
The MP expressed his deep concern
at the banning of CNN and the BBC
from White House press conferences,
stressing that this dangerous turn of
events would “undermine confidence area where he differs from me is that One part of Collins’s Oxford speech
in the whole media industry”. I believe the market will provide the proved highly prescient. This was the
Described as being a more liberal best solution. People will know where idea of “controlling the money supply
Tory than some, Collins’s recommenda- to go to read reliable reports and, if online”, with advertisers needing to be
tions may prove more interventionist, they go elsewhere, it’s at their own able to control where exactly their
and not rely purely on market forces. risk. I think he sees a greater role for messages appeared.
As Whittingdale points out: “One some kind of intervention.” This would ensure that brands didn’t
18become tarnished by appearing on broadcasting executive. “He is popular now,” the MP asserted, comparing
fake news sites and funding their and this is absolutely essential for the Entwistle to Murdoch, who appeared
activities, albeit unwittingly. select committee to work. Everyone ignorant of phone hacking at the
Collins stated: “Brands need to say has to get on with each other.” newspaper group he went on to run.
that we won’t spend until we can clear Indeed, in a recent Guardian inter- The expectation of many in the
up where it’s going… that’s the most view, Collins was dubbed “Mr Nice industry is that Collins will be similarly
potent weapon we have against fake Guy”. Some have questioned whether robust when it comes to the many
news – if brands realise there is repu- this sport-loving family man, who likes other pressing items in his in-tray.
tational damage if they appear next to nothing more than a walk in his local However, little is known about his
illicit material.” Kent countryside, has the ambitious views on some of the big broadcasting
Fast forward nine days and Havas streak needed to claw his way further issues – whether it’s US ownership of
announced that it was pulling all its up the political pole. ITV or Channel 4 privatisation.
advertising spend from YouTube and However, one senior news figure David Abraham, CEO of Channel 4,
its parent, Google – the first big global argues: “There are people who are says it is hard to get a sense of Collins’s
marketing company to do so. good at climbing the greasy pole but leanings. “He’s extremely measured
And in a growing crisis for the tech and balanced. His views are evidence-
company, members of the Commons’ based,” he says.
Home Affairs Committee wrote to This suggests that he is the ideal
Google to express disappointment that man to chair a committee whose role
the Government and major brands is to dispassionately weigh up options
were still being placed alongside on both sides.
“inappropriate” content. Likewise, those who have dealt with
Given Collins’s background in adver- him, even on a fairly regular basis, say
tising, it is little wonder that he is au fait that he retains an air of professionalism
with the intricacies of media buying at all times and gives little of himself
and its influence. He joined M&C away. One politician notes that he
Saatchi in 1999, moving into issues- seems to keep his head down in TV
based marketing. In 2005, he headed up circles – outside of his enthusiasm for
campaigns around political, social and sport, it is impossible to tell whether
economic issues, when he set up Influ- he’s a Strictly fan or prefers Corrie to
ence Communications within the group. EastEnders.
His political career – which began in “He did come on a set visit to The
2010, when he was elected as MP for Crown, which he seemed to thoroughly
Folkestone and Hythe – shows that he enjoy,” says Pact CEO John McVay.
is equally passionate and knowledge Among the looming big issues is
able about phone hacking, online bul- WE MAY BE AT A Sky: both Ofcom and the Secretary of
lying and football finance.
He was a member of the Culture, TIPPING POINT State, Karen Bradley, are assessing its
proposed takeover by 21st Century Fox.
Media and Sport Committee from July
2010 to late 2012. In July 2014, Collins
WHERE FAKE NEWS “The other big issue – a huge issue
that remains – is Section 40 of Leve-
was appointed as Parliamentary Private IS CROWDING OUT son 2,” says Whittingdale. “The select
Secretary (PPS) to the Foreign Secre-
tary. He was previously PPS to the
LEGITIMATE NEWS committee has an important role in
assessing the effectiveness of Ipso [the
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. press regulator].”
His personal interest in the creative For McVay, however, there is an even
industries is also evident in the Con- they are not necessarily people who bigger issue: “Damian has to make sure
servative Arts and Creative Industries are going to be the most robust when the Government understands just how
Network, which he launched the year it comes to outside organisations. important it is to get the right solution
before he was elected and which he “My impression is that Damian is a around the European Commission’s
now chairs. man of principle and therefore should Digital Single Market.
The group brings together individuals be able to stand up to those powers “If it’s allowed to progress, it could
CreativeBrief.com
who work in the arts and creative outside of government regulation.” severely affect the UK’s earnings in
industries with the DCMS ministerial Collins was one of the “hostile MPs” Europe. Rights owners have been press-
team and MPs and senior figures in the who formed part of the select commit- ing government for some time. This is a
Conservative Party involved in devel- tee in 2012, when then-BBC Director- business-critical issue and we need to
oping policy in this area. General George Entwistle was grilled act now.”
Those who have had close dealings about whether the corporation had The indications are that Collins will
with Collins describe him as measured tried to cover up Jimmy Savile’s serial act quickly, whatever the situation.
and thoughtful. They note how his sexual abuse. Says Abraham: “There are questions
affability and cross-party support have It was Collins who seized upon still hanging over the conclusion of the
helped him survive turbulent times in Entwistle’s haziness over what he knew Government’s review of options for
Westminster. of Newsnight’s Savile investigation, sub- Channel 4 – and I get the impression
“He’s not one of those politicians on sequently pulled by the BBC. that he doesn’t like unanswered
the make,” says one senior “You sound like James Murdoch questions.”
Television www.rts.org.uk April 2017 19You can also read
