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March 2020 James Graham on The coughing major
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Journal of The Royal Television Society
March 2020 l Volume 57/3
From the CEO
Last month’s RTS black-tie RTS North East and the The T-word was also much to
Television Journalism Border Awards – hosted by the hilari the fore at our recent packed early-
Awards exceeded ous Jason Cook, every inch a Tyne evening event on Sky’s wonderful
expectations. Sky sider – I experienced another aspect blue-collar comedy, Brassic. Co-created
News’s Anna Botting of the UK’s screen-based innovation. by Joe Gilgun and Danny Brocklehurst,
was a warm and As Graeme Thompson points out in Brassic is an edgy show that engages
empathetic host – this edition, the North East is a region with topical issues such as mental
huge thanks to her, and congratula that is, perhaps, undervalued by our health. Don’t miss our report inside.
tions to all the nominees and winners. industry. We at the RTS are delighted I can’t wait to see James Graham’s
Outside London, I recently attended to recognise what a wonderful place it three-part adaptation of his play Quiz
two very different awards ceremonies, is to work and are thrilled to provide a for ITV. The subject of this month’s
in Cardiff and Newcastle. Both spoke showcase for its talent. cover story could be one of 2020’s
volumes about the depth of talent that Talking of the T-word, Seetha Kumar, standout TV dramas.
exists in the nations and regions. The CEO of ScreenSkills, talks passionately
RTS Cymru Awards was a buzzy event to Television about the importance of
and a fitting recognition of the extra the UK’s screen industries in nurtur
ordinary creativity that exists in Wales. ing the skills that are the foundation
Later that week, at the glamorous, stone of our global success. Theresa Wise
Contents Cover: Quiz (Delfont Mackintosh )
5 Esmé Wren’s TV Diary
Newsnight editor Esmé Wren on a week to remember
20 The world turned upside down
As Malorie Blackman’s classic Noughts & Crosses finally
makes it to TV, Imani Cottrell asks how the adaptors
6 Ear Candy: Because I Watched captured the spirit of a much-loved book
Everyone talks about the social power of TV – but
the ways it can change us as individuals are often
overlooked, says Kate Holman
22 A family affair
ITV’s critically acclaimed drama Flesh and Blood marked
a departure for the women who created it, hears the RTS
7 Working Lives: Composer
Composer Samuel Sim is interviewed by Matthew Bell
24 What makes a serial killer?
The experts behind the true-crime series Making
9 The king of empathy
As his stage play Quiz is reimagined for TV, James Graham
tells Steve Clarke how he makes his characters come alive
a Monster uncover the minds of mass murderers for
an RTS audience
12 Brexit: The next phase
How well prepared is the UK TV sector for Britain’s
departure from the EU? Kate Bulkley investigates
26 Secrets and lies
Screenwriters Jack and Harry Williams, the creators of
ITV’s Liar, reveal the knack of keeping audiences hooked
14 Working class and proud
Actor Joe Gilgun, who has bipolar disorder, reveals how his
own life informs Brassic, the hit Sky One comedy he stars in
29 First steps in TV
The RTS Futures Television Careers Fair brought
a bumper crowd to London
16 Our Friend in the North East
Graeme Thompson outlines what ‘levelling up’ looks like
from his perspective
31 RTS Television Journalism Awards 2020
Hosted by Anna Botting and sponsored by Avid, the
awards were presented at the London Hilton, Park
Lane. The winners and nominees over six pages
17 Champion for TV talent
Andrew Billen hears how ScreenSkills CEO Seetha Kumar
tells defied the BBC’s ‘glass cliff’ to reach the top
37 RTS news and events listings
Reports of Society activities across the nations and
regions, and calendar of forthcoming public events
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 2020.
smclarke_333@hotmail.com gordon.jamieson.01@gmail.com London EC4Y 8EN Overseas (surface) £146.11 Printer: FE Burman The views expressed in Television
News editor and 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 March 2020 3
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TV diary
Newsnight editor Esmé Wren
on a week to remember
I
t was around this time has done us proud by securing an received the news that the Duke
21 years ago that I first exclusive line-up of guests. It was had finally agreed to the encounter.
penned a letter to the then- with Newsnight that Zelda Perkins I knew then it could either be News-
Newsnight editor, Sian Kevill, broke her non-disclosure agreement, night’s greatest moment, or, just as
begging her to consider my following much persuasion from easily, its worst.
application for a work place- presenter Emily Maitlis. Zelda agrees The stakes could not have been
ment. Back then, I saw News- to return to the programme to share higher, but I had every confidence
night as the brand that represented the her views on the guilty verdict. in the team’s ability to rise to the
highest form of accountability and one occasion.
that could deliver change. ■ The following day brings publica-
As a budding journalist, I was des- tion of the inquiry into the Westmin- ■ To see Emily recognised as Pre-
perate to be a part of it. Fortunately, ster sex scandal. This concludes that senter of the Year for a second year
Sian took a chance on me, and here I political institutions failed to respond running is a proud moment, followed
am, decades later, as the programme’s to historical claims of child sexual by wins for both Interview of the Year
second female editor – still very much abuse but, as expected, confirms that and Scoop of the Year for the Andrew
believing everything I first saw in the there is no evidence of an organised interview.
power of the brand but, more impor- paedophile network at Westminster. But, for me, the top prize is Daily
tantly, tasked with the challenge of Newsnight does the only interview News Programme of the Year. With-
securing its place in the future news that day with the former Conserva- out doubt, the Prince Andrew inter-
landscape. tive MP Harvey Proctor, who won view was a tremendous coup for the
compensation from the Met last year programme but it really was just the
■ The week starts as every other – after being falsely accused of child icing on the cake.
a panic over resources and staffing. abuse in the disastrous Operation Over the past year, the programme
I’d normally be envious of colleagues Midland investigation. has made a huge impact with its
who have managed to get away to Italy Tackling difficult subjects is at the Brexit coverage, the investigation into
for a week of skiing over half-term. core of why Newsnight has once again unregulated children’s homes, and
This time, the coronavirus means I am become essential, rather than optional, compelling coverage from Hong
a little less so. With a senior member viewing. A programme that will take Kong. To receive the award that cap-
of staff having to self-isolate as a pre- risks, test the boundaries of the nar- tures all this brilliant work delivered
caution, it comes down to us relying, rative and conduct forensic interviews. by the whole team is the perfect way
as we do on so many occasions, on to secure Newsnight the recognition it
the goodwill of other members of the ■ And so to the RTS Television Jour- so richly deserves, not least at this
team to fill in the gaps. nalism Awards. I am confident that time of organisational change and
As luck would have it, the news our interview with Prince Andrew cost-cutting.
agenda hits us with a story the pro- will get its due recognition. Never
gramme has invested in heavily before had a member of the Royal ■ Have I achieved what I set out to do
recently – Harvey Weinstein and the Family faced an accountability as editor of Newsnight, I ask myself?
verdict on his trial. interview, and certainly not one Not until we win again next year.
As with the now-infamous Prince concerning his own sexual conduct.
Andrew interview, the planning team I reflect on the moment we Esmé Wren is editor of Newsnight.
Television www.rts.org.uk March 2020 5
Ear candy
Because I
Watched
Bobby Berk
Bobby Berk
Everyone talks about the social power of TV – but the ways it can
change us as individuals are often overlooked, says Kate Holman
W
hether it’s into the lives of viewers at home. He details a mother’s slow acceptance
the spike Each episode tells a touching real- of same-sex parenting.
in sales of life story about how a specific Netflix In another edition, Helena Bonham
canned series has had a lasting impact on Carter recounts how The Crown (in
Marks & someone’s life. series 3 she plays Princess Margaret)
Spencer It could be plucking up the courage brought together two sisters living on
gin and to do stand-up comedy after being opposite sides of the world.
tonic or Google searches of priests inspired by Grace and Frankie’s Lily Laugh and cry your way through
– both inspired by season 2 of Fleabag Tomlin or breaking down prejudices the personal stories of acceptance,
– never underestimate TV’s power to via diverse stories or people depicted love, heartbreak, friendship and sis-
influence people’s behaviour. Yet, on shows such as Queer Eye. terhood from all over the world.
sometimes, it is the smallest detail of The fortnightly podcast turns the From crime dramas to comedies,
a TV series that can effect a change in attention on the viewer, as a star from the podcasts highlight the unexpected
someone’s life. each of the chosen series narrates ways that TV impacts on our lives.
Joining Netflix’s host of original one fan’s personal journey triggered Have a listen. You never know, it may
podcasts, storytelling series Because by their favourite TV show. encourage you to reflect on the ways
I Watched looks back through the Because I Watched features familiar your favourite show has made a last-
screen of the latest binge-watch and voices such as Queer Eye’s Bobby Berk. ing difference to your own life. n
6
The Bay harp, guitar and piano. I can’t play
any woodwind or brass instruments,
but I write for them. TV and film
composition allows me to bring the
rock and classical worlds together.
How did you get into composing?
I was mentored by Michael Kamen,
the Grammy-award-winning Ameri-
can composer. He heard me perform
in a psychedelic school production of
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – I was
playing electric guitar in a T Rex-style
rock band and the concert harp for
the dream sequences. At the end, he
offered me a job. I learnt more from
WORKING
Michael than anyone else.
And your TV break?
Working on a series of three-minute
shorts for Channel 4, Better than Sex
LIVES
– they were covered in music. It was
a fantastic calling card.
How has the job changed?
When I started, there were far fewer
music libraries and those that existed
weren’t up to scratch, so there were
more opportunities to break into the
industry.
Now, outfits such as Audio Network
Composer
have great composers on their books,
and productions can buy music quite
cheaply. It’s harder for young com-
posers to get their foot in the door
now. I tend to work on productions
that want more “authored” music.
ITV
And the best and worst of the job?
S
I get a huge thrill working with an
amuel Sim won two RTS themes of a programme. I have four orchestra at Abbey Road. We are so
Craft & Design Awards to six weeks to pull ideas together and blessed in London, which has the best
in 2015 for his original then, when the episodes start coming musicians in the world. People man-
score and title music for through, I write the music for each agement, though, can be tricky. I’ve
ITV period drama Home episode in a week. A script gets you walked into a production and found
Fires, and another last out of the blocks, but there’s nothing a war going on between the producer
year for the title music of The Bay. like seeing some of the programme, and director – and both were briefing
The judges described Sim’s theme as even a rough cut, for inspiration. me separately.
“haunting and atmospheric”, giving
“a Nordic noir feel to Morecambe”, What do you compose on? What’s next?
the setting of the ITV crime drama. For an orchestral or chamber music I’m working on Sky’s 10-part ancient
piece, I sketch out ideas on the piano Roman epic Domina and finishing the
How would you describe your music? or paper. For an electronic score, I second series of The Bay.
My scores are eclectic – whether they lean towards beats, synths, sound-
are melodic, textual, percussive, scapes and samples. If it’s music for What are your future ambitions?
orchestral or electronic depends on a Jane Austen period drama, I’m not It’s an interesting time for composition
the subject matter of the programme. going to go for Megadeath-style – the traditional idea of an orchestra
I’m trying to create a soundscape for guitar, although you never know.… playing themes and motifs has its
people to get immersed in. place, but now you see more experi-
Which instruments can you play? mental music coming into mainstream
What is your composing process? I started to learn the violin at three TV and film. n
I sketch out ideas after talking to the and concert harp at six. I can blag my
production or receiving a script – that way through most string instruments, Composer Samuel Sim was interviewed
time is crucial in understanding the but my main instruments are the by Matthew Bell.
Television www.rts.org.uk March 2020 7
AUDIO
NETWORK
EAR
H
M
ORE
DRA M A
For cliffhangers, falling in
love and the killer reveal.
MUSIC M ADE FOR
T V PROGRA MMING
With over 175,000 tracks,
find the music to tell your story at
audionetwork.com/playlists/drama
Find out more: Naomi Koh
n.koh@audionetwork.com | +44 (0) 207 566 1441
The king of
empathy
J
ames Graham was an under- Quiz, the Cough, the Millionaire Major, writ-
graduate at Hull University Screenwriting ten by investigative journalists Bob
when he became fascinated Woffinden and James Plaskett, which
by daily press reports of the casts doubt on the Ingrams’ guilt. “The
trial of a respectable home
As his stage play Quiz proposition of the book is that the story
counties couple accused of is reimagined for TV, is not what we think it is,” explains
cheating their way to the top Graham. “It’s much more complicated
prize in ITV’s Who Wants To Be James Graham tells than that. Diving into the book, it was
a Millionaire? At the time, Millionaire
was one of the biggest shows on TV,
Steve Clarke how he thrilling to have my preconceptions
disrupted and altered with new evi-
achieving audiences of more than makes his characters dence that I’d never even considered.”
8 million; at its peak, an incredible Graham is inspired to write the
19 million tuned into the programme. come alive stage play Quiz, based on Woffinden
“I couldn’t believe the audacity of and Plaskett’s book. The play is a huge
the crime,” recalls Graham, his eyes coughing discretely), were found guilty success, nominated for an Olivier
brightening at the memory. “The idea and given suspended prison sentences. Award, and eventually transfers from
that someone would try to pull off a Spool forward to 2015. The stage Chichester to the West End, in the
bank heist in front of the cameras, in career of the insanely prolific Graham course of which he adds new material.
front of a TV audience, to steal £1m has taken off. Thanks partly to This Next month, Graham’s three-part
was just incredible. Like everyone House, set in the Commons during the adaptation of Quiz, directed by the
else in the country, I thought they turbulent 1970s, when Labour strug- celebrated Stephen Frears, will be
definitely did it.” gled to govern, Graham has emerged shown on ITV. It stars Matthew Mac-
Suffice to say, Major Charles Ingram as one of the most talked-about fadyen as Ingram, Michael Sheen as
(aka the Coughing Major, as the tab- dramatists in the country. (This House Millionaire presenter Chris Tarrant, Sian
loids dubbed him) and his wife, Diana would subsequently be voted the play Clifford as Diana Ingram, and Mark
(sitting in the Millionaire audience, she of the decade.) Bonnar as Paul Smith, Chair of Celador
and a family friend apparently alerted He is given a book by theatre pro- Television, Millionaire’s producer.
Ingram to the correct answers by ducer William Village, Bad Show: The “I had a bit of imposter syndrome �
Television www.rts.org.uk March 2020 9
Matthew Macfadyen plays
Charles Ingram in Quiz
� when I first walked into Stephen complete fraud; he’s going to know way Graham’s scripts? “Very involved,” he
Frears’s living room,” admits Graham, more about film-making, politics and replies. “I’d only written one of the
who looks younger than his 37 years. culture than I do. But he was so gener- scripts when I first met him.
He is sitting in the London offices of ous about what I was trying to do. “When he read, that he instantly asked
Left Bank Pictures – Quiz’s producer “He asked very precise questions. where the other scripts were. I told him I
– and, in his dressed-down way, could He’s not one of these directors who hadn’t written them yet, but I was trying
easily pass for a postgraduate student. gives prescriptive or inhibitive notes very hard. He fed his thoughts into the
The idea of Graham suffering from that limit you. He would ask questions first script, which had a knock-on effect
imposter syndrome is truly baffling that opened up possibilities.” on how I wrote the other episodes.”
but it does speak volumes about his The idea of turning Quiz into a TV It will be for the critics to judge how
humility. His many other triumphs series came from Left Bank co-founder the TV series stands in relation to the
include RTS-award winner Coalition, and CEO Andy Harries. “He came to stage versions of Quiz. What is clear is
the story of the machinations that led see the stage show and instantly that Graham has jettisoned a lot of the
to the Cameron-Clegg Government in wanted to do it,” remembers Graham. original material from the versions
2010, and, of course, Brexit: The Uncivil Getting Frears on board was some- shown in the theatre, including their
War, in which Benedict Cumberbatch thing of a coup. He’d worked with potted history of British TV game shows.
plays a deeply troubled Dominic Cum- Harries on the Oscar-winning film In another departure from what audi-
mings, then largely unknown outside The Queen, starring Helen Mirren. Quiz ences saw in the theatre, Graham has
the Westminster bubble. is Frears’s first TV series since the given roles to some of the TV executives
He continues: “I was nervous at first award-winning A Very English Scandal mentioned in the play. Two of the key
because Stephen is such a screen legend featuring Hugh Grant as Liberal leader people who helped nurture Who Wants
and I know he is critically astute. I Jeremy Thorpe. To Be a Millionaire?, ITV’s director of pro-
thought: he’s going to think I am a How involved was the director in grammes, David Liddiment, and his
10post-Trump, internet/social-media heartening that someone like Graham
world, where nothing feels quite trust- might help to calm things down by
worthy or stable any more. trying, in his dramatised versions of
“Here is a story about an alleged recent events, to understand people
crime, where there are many different whose views are diametrically opposed.
interpretations about how [the Ingrams] “I almost think that the most radical
did it [and, indeed,] whether they did it. thing we could be doing at the moment
“It was born out of the age when is creating work that is empathetic and
television, news and media were tolerant of different views and dissent,”
changing radically. Whether it was the he says. “I hope Quiz is a warm-hearted,
advent of the 24-hour news cycle, the charming version of that. It’s not the
emergence of social media, or reality TV Brexit movie at all. It’s not going to
blending drama with truth and fact with divide people in a similar way, but it
faction, I think it comes from the ori- does pose a question: are they innocent
gins of what we’re dealing with today.” or are they guilty? Does our justice
He adds: “It’s really exciting both to system work or are there flaws in it?
return to a story I was obsessed with “Are we, as citizens, culpable for
as a younger man, and to be given sometimes being whipped up as a mob
another institution – because I love in judging people by our emotions,
institutions, whether it’s newspapers rather than our brains? I think it does
or Parliament or a referendum cam- present big questions but, ultimately,
paign – and for, in this case, television in an entertaining story.”
to be a vessel to explore all the nerv- Given the abuse Graham received
ousness I was feeling about truth.” for Brexit: The Uncivil War, does he ever
Quiz shares with his other writing regret portraying Cummings as a sym-
the empathy and even-handedness pathetic, if maverick, figure?
towards his characters that is a defin- “There’s a difference between being
ing characteristic of his work, perhaps sympathetic and antipathetic. With
the defining characteristic. Brexit, I was never going to please
Graham has described the story that everybody. I didn’t think that I wouldn’t
inspired Quiz as “the most British story please anyone, but I knew I wouldn’t
in the history of the world”. Quizzes, please everyone.
particularly pub quizzes, are quintes- “As a writer, I don’t know how else
sentially British and, as Paul Smith to do it, how else to bring people to
likes to say, they feed into two defining life, [how else] to get inside their head,
national obsessions – drinking and to get under their skin, to try to under-
always wanting to be right. stand what makes them tick.
Is Quiz also a very British story “I have a – possibly flawed, possibly
because the British are – or perhaps naive – theory that everyone thinks
ITV
were – famous for their sense of fair that what they’re doing is right and
play? “That’s exactly what it is and it good, and we just happen to disagree
entertainment commissioner, Claudia answers why we became utterly trans- with them. I think there is a small
Rosencrantz, both appear in the series fixed by this story 15 years ago – and subsection of people in this world who
– played by Risteárd Cooper and Aisling why I hope an audience will be trans- are selfish and look out for themselves,
Bea respectively. fixed by it today. It tapped into some- but I don’t think that’s most people.
What, then, attracted him to the thing innately British about our sense “Even though, for example, I voted
story of an apparent crime committed of injustice when people don’t play by remain and thought that Brexit would
on a TV game show? The subject mat- the rules. We are the nation of queuing, be a bad thing for our country, what
ter seems far removed from the world who invented cricket with its rules of would be the point in simply allowing
of Westminster and Whitehall, where fair play and good sportsmanship. my prejudices to cover up my writing?
Graham so often sets his stories. Is “But there is a less attractive side, “It was a great privilege to actually go
there a connection between this and the tabloid press and its impact on the inside the head of someone who disa-
his other work, other than him having justice system; its joy in building peo- greed with me. I have to believe that
written it? ple up and seeing them come crashing Dominic Cummings thinks that Brexit
“I would still say that it’s political. I down again. That’s part of tabloid cul- will be a good thing for his country, his
think everything is political, even if it ture, whether it’s Meghan Markle or family and the people he loves.
doesn’t feature politicians and the cor- anyone else.” “Reasonable people can disagree
ridors of power,” he says. “I was sur- So, not so very far from Ink, Graham’s with that, but there is no point in
prised when I felt so attracted to the story of how Rupert Murdoch turned simply presenting people as two-
idea of this story, but I think it was The Sun into Britain’s biggest tabloid, or dimensional villains. It’s lazy writing,
because it tapped into the anxiety that I Brexit: The Uncivil War and how both sides dramatically inert and politically
was feeling at the time – and that we all of the referendum campaign manipu- unenticing. I don’t know how else to
currently feel – about truth and reality, lated truth for their own ends. write, other than to imagine that what
and the threats to that in the post-Brexit, In our polarised political culture, it is people think is positive and good.” n
Television www.rts.org.uk March 2020 11Brexit
The
next
phase
Economics
How well prepared is
the UK TV sector for
Britain’s departure from
the EU? Kate Bulkley
investigates
G
etting clarity on what potential no-deal Brexit means that around the likelihood that, in time,
Brexit will mean for the there are few unknown issues and, their Ofcom licences to broadcast
UK audio-visual (AV) according to many executives in the channels from the UK to continental
sector is, at this stage, creative industries, none with the Europe will become ineffective.
a near impossibility. potential to derail one of the most The number of channels based in
What is clear is that the prominent drivers of the UK’s eco- the UK dropped by 5% in 2019 due to
past three years of Brexit politicking nomic performance. Brexit, according to the European
have been accompanied by a huge Indeed, some in the sector are looking Audiovisual Observatory.
amount of contingency planning for ahead to the potential benefits that an EU rules on content portability is
a no-deal Brexit. update to the UK’s Communications Act something else the TV business is tak-
Add to that the continued strength 2003 could provide. A new act would ing in its stride. In a no-deal scenario,
of TV and film production in the UK, not have to comply with the EU’s UK citizens will lose the ability to
thanks largely to a skilled talent pool, Audiovisual Media Services Directive access their subscription content while
UK tax breaks and significant invest- (AVMSD). travelling in mainland Europe.
ment from the likes of Disney, Netflix “There are arguments to say that, if If the UK falls out of the EU’s con-
and Sky, and the consensus is that the we could tailor a better regime for the tent portability agreement, EU citizens
sector is well placed to withstand any UK’s media ecosystem, we could do travelling to the UK will be unable to
fallout from Britain leaving the EU. even better,” suggests a major broad- watch their TV services in Britain.
There are issues that need to be caster’s senior policy expert. “Losing portability is not something
ironed out, of course, particularly A number of media companies, we see as a big challenge to our busi-
around talent and access to European including Viacom, Discovery, the BBC ness,” said a senior broadcaster.
markets for programme sales. With and NBCUniversal, have already taken There are, however, concerns over
no-deal still on the cards, some adver- steps to deal with one of the bigger the potential impact of UK content no
tisers still appear cautious about their Brexit-related issues. They have either longer qualifying under European
spending, although that is being relocated their European broadcasting programming quotas as “European
eclipsed by new worries over the eco- licences – and in some cases their HQs works”. Under existing rules, UK con-
nomic impact of the Covid-19 virus. – from London to mainland Europe, or tent competes on an equal footing with
Reassuringly, the long visibility of a they have devised other ways to get European content. But, post-Brexit,
12‘WE NEED A SYSTEM
THAT IS COST-EFFECTIVE,
MANAGEABLE AND EASY
TO UNDERSTAND’
ever exports relating to quotas on you can’t do that with the proposed
the Continent.” points system. Some kid with a great
Today, EU countries account for idea won’t qualify, so you would be
about a third of British programming losing a big opportunity.”
exports, according to Pact. But, even if Another potential loss to producers
the rules do change regarding quota concerns their access to European
qualification, it may still not reduce the media funding schemes such as Crea-
volume of UK content sales to Europe. tive Europe. It offers distribution bene-
Ultimately, buying decisions depend fits to producers of independent
on the quality of the programmes. feature films and routes to develop-
Broadcasters and platforms need qual- ment finance. UK animation and
ity content that can please audiences documentary makers have tapped
and advertisers. “European broadcasters these funds.
will have to look to see if there are But Pact argues that they are a mod-
alternative sources capable of delivering est part of the low double digits of
the same levels of viewing,” says McVay. millions available across the TV and
Another issue concentrating minds film sector. “Government will have to
in the event of no-deal is: will talent take a view on all the programmes that
and production crews be able to move are part of the European club and on
freely across the borders of EU states? whether they will support these funds,”
At the very least, navigating any new says McVay. “The corollary is: if we
visa rules will add administrative time aren’t going to stay in these schemes,
and costs and mean more work for HR can the money that the UK has put
departments. into these European mechanisms
there is a fear that UK content will be In an industry where budgets are come back to our AV sector, rather
treated as “foreign acquired” content. tight, this could have a disproportionate than going into roads or another part
That could make it more difficult to impact on smaller indies and shows of the economy?”
sell UK-produced shows in the EU. that require certain skills, for example, An issue with particular conse-
“Our continental competitors are in special effects and animation. But quences for online players is whether
already making noises, asking why the McVay believes the sector will cope: the UK, post-Brexit, maintains the EU’s
UK should get benefits such as quali- “We need a system that is manageable, copyright directive. This requires plat-
fying for these quotas when it is no cost-effective and easy to understand. forms to license content for private
longer part of Europe,” says John But production teams are used to cop- users, as opposed to the old rules
McVay, CEO of Pact, the independent ing with complex logistics and where platforms were required to take
producers organisation. administration.” action to remove content only after an
“It’s not an immediate issue,” he That said, the British Government’s infringement notice was filed by a
maintains, “but, given some of the proposed points-based visa system is copyright holder.
comments by the French CNC based on skill levels, educational quali- There is little visibility on this so far
[National Centre for Cinema and the fications and pay levels. These criteria but, given Ofcom’s new role regulating
Moving Image] and some others are not best suited to the TV sector online content to prevent harm, it is
recently, they clearly think that pun- where, under present proposals, many reasonable to assume that there will
ishing the UK is good for their own of the required skills will not qualify. If also be proactive policing for copyright
local production industries.” the rules are not modified, it will take breaches.
Alice Enders of Enders Analysis time to upskill the UK workforce. Ultimately, though, the UK is firmly
thinks this loss of access is potentially Then there is the problem of the established as the world’s second most
the biggest issue for TV businesses UK’s ability to attract talent. “A lot of important English-language content
based here if the UK fails to reach a value creation in the AV space involves producer and exporter after the US.
trade deal with Brussels. “Our potential people who are disruptive and innova- According to one senior broadcaster,
removal of the European works quotas tive,” says Ingrid Silver, a media part- the UK has more pressing domestic
in our law would nullify a condition of ner at law firm Reed Smith. “If you challenges, such as Ofcom’s PSB
the Convention on Transfrontier TV want to replicate the Silicon Valley review, that are likely to have a bigger
legislation of 1989, and thus impair for environment, where talent flourishes, impact than Brexit. n
Television www.rts.org.uk March 2020 13Working class
and proud
Actor Joe Gilgun, who has bipolar disorder,
reveals how his own life informs Brassic,
the hit Sky One comedy he stars in
B
rassic, Sky One’s tale of “I’ve had a colourful past,” admitted
Lancashire lads on the Gilgun. He was a child actor on Corona-
scam, brought the chan- tion Street for a few years in the mid-
nel critical acclaim and 1990s but, when his role was written
its highest ratings for a out of the soap, he “went off the
comedy show in almost bloody rails and got up to all kind of
a decade last year. The madcap comedy shit for many years”.
with a sensitive side, which The Guardian It is the actor’s experiences from this
called “a hilarious, warm, brutal mel- period of his life that run through Bras-
ange”, returns to our screens this month. sic. Gilgun returned to acting a decade
In advance of its second outing, a later, building a career that took him
sold-out RTS early-evening event from Emmerdale, to Shane Meadows’
heard from writer Danny Brocklehurst, three This is England films, to E4 sci-fi
executive producer David Livingstone comedy-drama Misfits and BBC Films’
and actor Joe Gilgun, who brought his Pride, which tells the story of the gay
effervescent personality to the stage. and lesbian activists who supported
Brassic not only stars Gilgun, it is also the 1984-85 miners’ strike.
based on stories from a difficult period On the set of the award-winning
in his life. But, as he was at pains to movie he met the actor Dominic West,
point out, it was never his intention to who plays Vinnie’s narcissistic doctor
mine the misery of his experiences in Brassic. West encouraged the film’s Livingstone’s company, Calamity Films
– the opposite, in fact: Brassic was executive producer, Livingstone, to (whose credits include Pride, Judy and
intended to be a celebration of work- listen to Gilgun’s “crazy stories”. Despite Last Christmas) to make the show, the
ing-class life, warts and all. being hindered by serious dyslexia, indie’s first TV series.
“Any show that represents the work- Gilgun wrote them down “on acres of Brocklehurst and Gilgun sent ideas
ing classes is fucking miserable. Some wallpaper”, recalled Livingstone. back and forth via long WhatsApp
of the happiest people I know are Gilgun recalled Livingstone’s reac- messages – “podcasts, basically”, said
working class; some of the smartest tion when the exec read them: “These the writer, who added structure and
lads I know are working class,” he said. are the ramblings of a fucking lunatic.” writer’s polish to the actor’s stories.
“I was sick to death of us being The actor agreed: “They were the ram- “There was so much good stuff from
depicted as long-suffering. Sure, blings of a lunatic – we needed this Joe’s life and great, funny ideas, but
there’s a bit of suffering that goes on bugger here [Brocklehurst] to [make what you’ve got to do is shape it,” said
and some of it is hand to mouth, but sense of them].” Brocklehurst. “We had to take that great
that’s not to say we’re all fucking mis- “Even though I was a fan of Joe from source material and turn it into a series.
erable. That’s a middle-class view of Misfits, a little bit of me thought, ‘Oh “It was such a strong starting point…
what it is to be working class.” God, an actor with ideas’,” recalled but then, like with any series, you talk
Brassic, defined as broke, penniless, Brocklehurst. “But we got on and I so much, come up with new ideas and
without means, boracic lint, skint, on could see really clearly that the stories embellish things, so it becomes its own
the bones of yer arse, was created by and ideas Joe had for the show were new thing as you go down the road.”
Gilgun and Danny Brocklehurst, who brilliant and funny. They were in a Throughout his life, Gilgun’s dyslexia
wrote all but one episode of the first tone that I’d written in a long time has made reading and writing difficult.
series. The latter, a journalist at the ago [on Channel 4’s Shameless] and I “What I have got is bloody good ideas.
Manchester Evening News before he wanted to do again. I could see there I was made to feel bloody stupid and,
turned to screenwriting, has written was a show here that excited me, and I for years, I believed that. Only in the
RTS award-winning dramas such as felt we could collaborate really well.” last five or six years have I started to
Clocking Off, Shameless and Come Home. Sky One agreed and commissioned realise that I’m not,” he said.
14Joe Gilgun as Vinnie,
second from right,
in Brassic
Sky
These ideas, he added, are like a “big,
tangled ball of wool; my head doesn’t ‘I WAS SICK acting. [Brassic] is very, very personal to
me. I knew my idea was a good one. I
work in a linear way at all. I have the TO DEATH believed it would go on TV. I have other
ideas but I can’t put them together.”
Livingstone admitted to anxiety OF US BEING ideas – they will happen, absolutely
they will. I believe in myself. For the first
about whether Brassic’s mix of broad DEPICTED time in a lifetime, I know my own worth
comedy and sensitivity would work on
screen. “It isn’t something you see AS LONG- – I’m not dumb and I want more.”
For Gilgun, “the whole process has
every day,” he said. But, the executive SUFFERING’ been honestly life-changing”. It took
producer added: “It really held together five years – from the actor telling sto-
– if it can make you cry and roar with ries to Dominic West on the set of Pride
laughter, then that’s a good spot to be in.” truthful about it, we can be as funny and scribbling down his ideas on wall-
“The tears, the sadness,” reckoned as we like”. paper – for Brassic to reach the screen.
Gilgun, “ground the madness of the “I have serious mental health prob- “It was exciting while it was happen-
show. We didn’t want to make it too lems,” said Gilgun. “I have these fuck- ing but it went past in a blur and,
heavy, but a lot of the positive feed- ing meltdowns, like the shit you see on before you know it, it’s on the fucking
back came off the back of the poignant the [programme]. I get very frustrated TV and it’s massive,” said Gilgun. “It’s
moments.” and angry. When I go on a down… I’m difficult to put into words; it’s been a
Gilgun’s character, Vinnie, like the pissed off; I can’t control how I feel. It life-changing thing.” n
actor, has bipolar disorder. “Joe has doesn’t matter that you’ve got a nice
been very public about his own bipolar, flat. I don’t finish a day at work and go Report by Matthew Bell. The RTS early-
but we were worried at first about deal- home, and everything goes away. I am evening event was held at H Club London
ing with that in a comic environment,” bipolar – that’s me. on 30 January and chaired by television
said Brocklehurst. “The medicine Vinnie is on, I’m on. journalist and broadcaster Emma Bul-
However, after some thought, the The shit Vinnie does, that’s the man I limore. It was produced by the RTS, Sky
writer decided, “as long as we’re would have become if it wasn’t for and Premier Communications.
Television www.rts.org.uk March 2020 15OUR FRIEND IN THE
NORTH EAST
P
Graeme Thompson
icture the scene: As a result, the 2020 RTS North East
one of the North’s outlines what and Border Awards, held at the end of
most popular visitor
attractions, nestling
‘levelling up’ looks February, had as many non-broadcast
and student categories as TV.
on the riverside site like from his One of the biggest cheers of the
of a 7th-century
priory, once home to
perspective night went to the team behind Tees
Valley Screen, which picked up a
the Venerable Bede, suddenly thrust prize for work in supporting talent,
into the media spotlight thanks to ambition and growth across the
another noted chronicler of history Middlesbrough area.
– Boris Johnson. It builds on the talent pipeline pro-
Well, that was because, at the end duced by the region’s six universities
of January, the National Glass Centre - Teesside, Sunderland, Durham,
– part of the University of Sunder- Newcastle, Northumbria and Cum-
land – found itself hosting a symbolic bria. The institutions offer plenty of
“end of the EU era” Cabinet meeting. support, incubators and incentives to
The site was closed to visitors as a try and retain graduate talent – but
fleet of government cars swept on to the lure of bigger and brighter cre-
campus to deposit the PM and his ative hubs can be irresistible.
Paul Hampartsoumian
senior team. It is a more positive story for cre-
The cameras rolled as Johnson met ative tech in the region, which has
staff and students and tried his hand grown 45% in the past five years, with
at glass blowing before sitting down a gross value added of around £3bn.
for Cabinet in a closed-off section of It’s the highest growth outside Lon-
the café beside the Northern Gallery don – more than 200 new companies
for Contemporary Art. established in the North East last year,
Amid the photo opportunities, stu- to Leeds – raising hopes that a com- attracted by highly skilled creatives
dents mused on the PM’s pledge to missioning centre east of the Pen- and relatively cheap running costs.
“level-up” spending to win round com- nines might have an impact further Computer games, visual effects, VR/
munities feeling left behind by succes- up the A1. AR and animation are thriving, with
sive metro-centric administrations. The area between North Yorkshire big name players such as Ubisoft,
The UK2070 Commission, led by and the Scottish Borders is home to ZeroLight and Sage. And the BBC has
Lord Kerslake – formerly the UK’s more than 2 million people but announced plans to open a major
most senior civil servant – has just accounts for less than 2% of televi- tech innovation hub in Newcastle.
published a report showing that the sion production in the UK. So, to answer the students’ ques-
UK is now the most unequal large According to screen agency North- tion, what would “levelling up” look
country in the developed world. Areas ern Film + Media there are more than like? Improved infrastructure,
such as the North East have suffered 370 registered crew available, along devolved decision-making, more
most from decades of political and with some 1,000 film-friendly loca- emphasis on the quality-of-life
economic neglect. tions – such as the Tees Barrage, advantages of working outside the
Take television and the creative which played a key role in the flight capital, plus recognition from com-
industries. Over the past 15 years, of George MacKay in the movie 1917. missioners and investors that areas
programme-makers and creatives In reality, however, most local crew such as the North East need support
here have seen production and com- and production teams struggle to get to reach critical mass. Sounds like a
missioning increasingly focus on TV and film work unless they are vote winner to me. ■
London, Manchester, Cardiff and prepared to travel or lucky enough to
Glasgow. be picked up by long-running shows Graeme Thompson is Pro Vice-Chancellor
Which is why there’s much excite- such as ITV’s Vera, Lime’s Geordie Shore at the University of Sunderland and Chair
ment about the move of Channel 4 or CBBC’s The Dumping Ground. of the RTS Education Committee.
16Champion
for TV talent
ScreenSkills
I
t is the best of times: the production boom in television. At the
television business is boom- The Billen profile same time, over the years, the BBC
ing. It is the worst of times: had less and less money for training,
there is a skill shortage, so Andrew Billen hears and, although people delivered homi-
wage costs are soaring. Yet lies about “inclusion”, it was never a
shouldn’t that make it the how ScreenSkills CEO “powerful driver” in recruitment.
best of times again? Won’t television
be forced to find and train a new
Seetha Kumar defied And then there was Creative Skill-
set itself, set up by the screen indus-
generation of programme-makers the BBC’s ‘glass cliff’ tries back in 1992 as just plain Skillset.
who won’t all be white and middle Under the post-1997 Labour govern-
class? This, I tell Seetha Kumar, the to reach the top ments, it had received consistent
ambitious chief executive of Screen- government funding. The David
Skills, is a battle she can win. have a moment in time to do it. I just Cameron-led coalition replaced that
“You make it sound so simple,” says think, as always – and I say this to with project funding and, by 2015,
Kumar. She is in her office close to people internally – anything worth- when Kumar arrived, even that had
Euston station where her skills-body while and challenging is never easy.” only two years left to run.
charity works to ensure that film and The difficulties in Kumar’s own “We had a brilliant board, and the
television find the people to make the career in television, since she moved board wanted change,” says Kumar,
magic happen. She has been telling from India to London in her twenties, the first BAME woman to receive an
me how the industry needs to think become a big, knotty strand in our RTS Fellowship, “but I genuinely
through a new “skills pipeline”, scrape interview. It was certainly not the wasn’t entirely aware that (a) the
the opacity from its gateways, end the best of times when, in 2015, Kumar, project funding was going to end, or
biases that exclude and, before all that, a former 20-year BBC staffer, was (b) that internally there was a problem
nurture a “whole-child” approach in headhunted from the educational that some of the contracts hadn’t
schools, where creativity and technical publisher Pearson to run what was been paid for a period of time.”
skills are meshed, rather than divided. then known as Creative Skillset. Contracts? “From the Government.
So she still thinks it could all go It was, she says, “a perfect storm”. There was a hiatus in payment.”
wrong? “No, I hope that you’re right. I The advent of multichannel, tax The Government hadn’t signed the
think we should win. There is a genu- breaks, rising demand for high-end cheques? “There was a hiatus, OK?
ine economic and social purpose to drama and the imminent arrival I’m going to put it very politely.”
effect change in our industry, and we of the streamers had created a So her first instinct was clearly to �
Television www.rts.org.uk March 2020 17� resign? “Weirdly, I’m not a quitter.
I had worked in big corporates most
of my life, so this was a very different
experience. When I first arrived, I was
a bit like, ‘OK, what’s going on?’. I was
shocked, I have to be honest.”
The other problem was that Creative
Skillset’s canvas had became too broad.
It was working in sectors such as adver-
tising, publishing and fashion. Kumar
rechristened it ScreenSkills and refo-
cused it so that it targeted – well,
Seetha, screens. Throughout 2017, staff left and
were not replaced but, at the end of the
sequentially year, ScreenSkills won a £19.5m contract
from the BFI and appointed a dynamic
new head of film, Gareth Ellis-Unwin.
So all is well now? “It’s not as simple
as that. ScreenSkills got through the
hump and we are rebuilding. I think
it’s got good industry support, brilliant
skills councils and we can track
exactly what we do. However, if we’re
going to change our industry seriously
and get it to grow and stay growing,
particularly in key hubs across the
ScreenSkills
nation’s regions, we need a 10-year
plan for skills and talent – and I think
we should lead it.”
The funding facts are these. When
Seetha Kumar, CEO, ScreenSkills Kumar arrived, the organisation was Cambridge Convention last year, how-
funded to the tune of £28m, the major- ever, Sir Lenny Henry said it was time
Brought up Mumbai and Delhi ity coming from government, with to scrap diversity schemes and initia-
Lives London; two children £5.3m from the BFI and £3.5m from tives. He argued, instead, for diversity
Educated Jawaharlal Nehru Uni- industry. This year, the total is just tax breaks and contestable funds for
versity, New Delhi, studied modern £13.3m (£6.8m from industry; more diverse programming.
Indian history than £5m from the BFI; and some cash “Where I agreed with him is on the
from other sources, including from multitude of initiatives,” she says. “But
Late 1980s First jobs in TV in UK Arts Council England and, unusually, for me, the issue is really not to have a
1996 Series producer and creative £500,000 from DCMS to run a specific plethora of initiatives that will take you
director, BBC Crime and Health, creative careers programme, but that anywhere, but to link them back to
including editor of Crimewatch UK. goes next year). pathways to where the needs are.
2002 Head of life skills, BBC Factual And on diversity? “I just think, across “I’ll give you an example. In
and Learning the piece, if you look at the research unscripted, we’ve been running a
2005 Executive editor of Africa that Ofcom has done, that we are mak- series-producer programme and, as of
Lives across the BBC ing very slow strides.” mid-March, we have probably more
2006 Launches BBC HD Is the industry racist? “I don’t think than 100 alumni. Their progression has
2008 Controller, BBC online. the industry is racist. There are inci- been fantastic. Many of them are series
dents where people have behaved in a producers, if not higher.”
Watching The Marvelous Mrs Maisel racist way, they have bullied or behaved Kumar admits, however: “In my
Reading Amitav Ghosh’s Ibis trilogy unpleasantly, but I would say it’s unfair lifetime, even when I was at the BBC,
Podcasts The Catch and Kill with to say the industry is racist. It’s not.” I have seen what I call ‘initiative-itis’.
Ronan Farrow; Where Should We It just mirrors itself? It’s attracted to People want to do the right thing. They
Begin? what it recognises? “That’s a human announce it. They get the press. My big
Hobbies Latin dance/dancing, the- instinct.” question is: what happens to these
atre, reading, cinema, meditation There is now a consensus that the people? And what’s the return rate?”
They say ‘An outstanding senior market, as well as justice, demands She has two children, both
executive and creative leader’ – more opportunities for minorities, yet grown-up (neither are in the industry)
Donald Steel, former BBC head there is a disagreement over how those and was herself brought up in Bombay
of press opportunities can be created. Screen- (she does not call it Mumbai). Her late
She says ‘It is a tough industry if Skills identifies skills gaps, provides father worked in government and was
you’re not picked or sponsored. career information, mentors, trains, cautious about his daughter embarking
I had none of that. So I know.’ offers bursaries and even holds work- on anything less than a very respectable
shops on unconscious bias. At the RTS career.
18because they knew I would make sure
it worked, whether it was HD or online.”
Despite the support of Lorraine Heg-
gessey, Jane Lush and Mark Thompson,
she could feel the lack of a sponsor.
“And also, sometimes, I think the
BBC could have been braver in taking
more risks with me. They gave me jobs
that were what I call ‘glass cliff’.”
What does that mean? “It says you’re
at the edge of the cliff and it’s glass, so
it could crack.”
They wanted her to fail? “No, but the
jobs had a high risk of failure. They did
not want me to fail. If anything, I should
take it as a compliment. The point is, as
a person, as a creative, do you only
want to do those [kinds of] jobs?”
And then there was the condescen-
sion. “I remember somebody saying to
me once, ‘It’s quite extraordinary that
you managed to achieve what you
have when you have crossed the
oceans and the divide.’ I just thought,
Blackmagic Design
‘What the hell?’”
Who was that? “Somebody at the
BBC. Someone senior.”
Patronising? “Really patronising,
extraordinary comments. I remember
someone else lecturing me about
Her mother did not work but was recommended her to someone at the diversity, a white man, and I just said:
well educated and a big reader. She told BBC. She was recruited for a pro- ‘I’ve lived it.’ But I thought: ‘How dare
Seetha something that determined her gramme on the Bhopal gas disaster, you?’ However, at the end of the day,
life: “Do what you love and what you but it was a short-term contract and it you’ve got a limited amount of energy;
believe in. Nothing else matters.” was India again. Happily, the producer, you use it positively or negatively.
After university in New Delhi and Elizabeth Clough, promised it would Negative energy never wins.”
a short spell in print journalism, she lead to greater things and kept her She asks whether I would feel upset
arrived in London in the 1980s for promise. Kumar moved to Taking Liber- if I was told I had “come a long way”. I
what she describes as “family reasons”. ties, the series that investigated miscar- say I am not sure. “I guess it depends if
One plus was that our television was riages of justice. you’d already fought every step of the
much better than India’s. Her BBC career thenceforth looks, way and felt quite bruised and raw.
“I found England, the UK, not a at least on paper, spectacular. She was When I joined there weren’t many
happy, friendly place. It was London editor of Crimewatch UK and is credited people who looked like me. I would
in the mid-1980s. It was tough, so I with holding the team together when say, to be fair to most people, some of
hoovered up TV. TV was my best its presenter, Jill Dando, was murdered. it is also about how I felt because I was
friend. I watched everything from Sons In 2003, she ran the domestic abuse the outsider.”
and Daughters, which was daytime stuff, season Hitting Home and, two years later, Kumar left Pearson after three years,
to Granada’s World in Action. I thought it executive-edited the award-winning, unconvinced of its strategic direction
was fantastic.” cross-media season Africa Lives. (she was right – profits have fallen as
Television was less keen to hoover She launched BBC HD and then students have fled the printed word)
her up, however, and she doubts if she switched, in 2008, to lead BBC Online, but mainly because of the pull of tele-
would have made it in had she not “so where she revolutionised the meas- vision and her desire to be of use to it.
desperately wanted it”. “I applied for urement of user consumption. She left “I realised that, actually, I really, really,
every job. I wrote endless letters. the corporation, which she still loves, missed this world, which was a won-
Nothing.” in 2010 as one reorganisation too many derful thing to know.”
Finally, she got work as a researcher loomed. Pearson offered her a job that I ask if she wore a sari after she came
on a programme an independent was addressed her passion for education. to London. She says she didn’t, partly
making about India. Even that break “But it was bumpy,” she says of her because she wanted to fit in. Nowadays,
made her angry: Brits felt they could BBC decades. “It felt quite lonely. You the richness of her life is to feel British
become experts on India with a little could ask the same of somebody who and Indian at the same time.
help from a native, but not let an was white whether they felt the same. As to where her spiritual home is,
Indian work on a British show. Who knows? I just felt that personally. there is no doubt in my mind: it’s
It was Alex Graham, founder of Wall But I got a reputation for delivering. television, and she wants it crowded
to Wall, who spotted her tenacity and So sometimes things came my way with talent. n
Television www.rts.org.uk March 2020 19You can also read
