BBC Studios

From Kate Winslet, Jodie Comer and Tom Hiddleston to writers like Sarah Phelps and Abi Morgan, actors and offscreen talent frequently cut their teeth on soaps like BBC Studios’ Casualty and EastEnders.   Indeed at the Edinburgh TV Festival - Supported by Screen Scotland this week, BBC Studios’ EastEnders Executive Producer Chris Clenshaw joined a panel highlighting how soaps not only deliver 700 hours of must-see content each year and reflect society, but also serve as a vital training ground for new talent across the UK.    We also teamed up with the Edinburgh TV Festival’s The Network to give entry level delegates a taster of what it’s like to work on a soap and the opportunity to attend a scriptwriting masterclass with BBC Studios’ Head of Drama Productions, Kate Oates, alongside Training Exec Kris Green. As part of the workshop, EastEnders’ Emma Barton and Perry Fenwick, who play Honey and Billy Mitchell, brought the delegates’ storylines to life with a live read through in front of a Festival audience, complete with doof doofs!    And for anyone interested in hearing more about how famous television and film icons began their journeys in soaps, we have a brand-new podcast announced this week called We Started Here, hosted by EastEnders actress Lacey Turner. As well as lifting the lid on her own experience, Lacey will be joined by prolific talent to find out how they broke into the industry - the auditions, the interviews, the failed attempts, the highs and the lows and how it provided them with the essential skills and experience to launch their international careers.  We Started Here will be available on all podcast platforms later this year.   #BBCStudios #EdinburghTVFestival #Scripted #EastEnders #WeStartedHere

We’re sorry to share the news of the sad passing of much-loved creator of Sister Boniface, co-creator of Shakespeare and Hathaway and master of cosy crime, Jude Tindall.   Jude was a brilliant writer, scripting countless episodes of Sister Boniface, Father Brown, Casualty, Land Girls and Doctors. Those who had the privilege to work with her will know just how passionate she was about her shows and how generous she was in helping to develop the next generation of writers and producers. She’ll be deeply missed by the BBC Studios Drama team and our thoughts remain with her family. With Sister Boniface Series 1 starting on BBC One this Friday, the first episode will be dedicated to Jude’s memory.

What a brilliant summer for drama fans!    New crime drama The Jetty starring Jenna Coleman has been captivating audiences. Produced by our label Firebird Pictures, it’s BBC One’s top performing new drama of the year so far, with more than 6 million viewers watching over seven days. Created and written by Cat Jones it examines sexual morality, age of consent, grooming, identity and memory.    It’s also great to see A Good Girls Guide To Murder, starring Emma Myers and made by our invested indie Moonage Pictures, flying on Netflix, following its successful launch on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer last month. It debuted at number one and 7.4 million from over 180 countries have watched it in just five days. Based on the smash hit crime thriller by Holly Jackson, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder was adapted for TV by lead writer Poppy Cogan.    On top of that our new factual drama from BBC Studios’ River Pictures - Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story - launched on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer last week. Written by Georgia Lester and starring Nadia Parkes, it brings to life the extraordinary story of model Chloe Ayling, who thought she was heading to a modelling shoot in Italy only to find herself in a terrifying situation.   And this Sunday, get ready for the much-anticipated second series of Sherwood, starring David Morrissey and Lesley Manville, premiering on BBC One. Produced by our label House Productions, its writer James Graham is delivering the prestigious MacTaggart lecture at Edinburgh TV Festival this week. The first series was a massive hit, winning BAFTA and RTS awards and was one of the biggest dramas of the year.    Congratulations to those involved - there’s so much to enjoy.

Tara Maitra, BBC Studios’ Chief Commercial Officer, Global Media & Streaming, has been recognized as a 2024 Cynopsis Media Top Women in Media ‘Corporate Visionary’ honoree! The annual Cynopsis Top Women in Media Awards celebrates the leading women who are driving innovation, creativity, and positive change throughout the media industry. Congratulations Tara! 🏆 👏

I’m delighted that the BBC’s long-term Net Zero targets to reduce all emissions by at least 90% by 2050 have been verified by the globally respected Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi). https://lnkd.in/euwhzqeW It builds on our near-term targets approved by the SBTi in 2021. This accreditation is an endorsement of the BBC’s ‘deep decarbonisation’ strategy – to set targets that are underpinned by science and cut our emissions as quickly as we can. It includes the way we make programmes and services, our buildings and operations and our supply chain. As part of the BBC Group, BBC Studios has an important role to play in achieving these targets and it’s work that we’re already undertaking. For example, we’ve used generator telematics on BBC Studios Productions to track and reduce energy consumption and when we need fuel, the more carbon-efficient certified HVO is becoming standard. And of course, last year 98% of BBC Studios’ UK productions were once again on track to achieve their BAFTA albert carbon action plans. These are the kind of innovations that have cemented our reputation as a world leader in operating sustainably on and off screen, and our continued innovation in the field will be key to achieving our ambitious goal to achieve true Net Zero by 2050.

BBC Studios revamps ever-growing consumer products & licensing business!   BBC Studio’s Brands & Licensing division has been going from strength to strength under Nicki Sheard’s leadership. Nicki has been appointed as CEO, Brands & Licensing, and the title reflects not only the team’s recent successes under her leadership, but also the incredible reach of our brands globally including Bluey, which has grown to become the #2 preschool toy property in the US.   Nicki will also oversee our newly created Global Consumer Products team to be led by Suzy Lee Raia, SVP, Global Consumer Products and the Global Licensing team under Stephen Davies’ leadership as SVP, Licensing.  Having two distinct global teams for Consumer Products and Licensing will allow us to drive to create a global centre of excellence for consumer products activities and a deeper focus on high-potential licensing opportunities such as gaming, education and the monetisation of our archive. Find out more here ➡ https://lnkd.in/ez_CXMUj

The BBC News channel livestream is now available across Australia! 👏   This is the first time Australians have been offered unrestricted, full and free access to the channel. Australians can tune in now on BBC.com and the BBC app for the latest coverage of the biggest news stories in the world as well as wide-ranging content on everything from culture to tech to travel. Find out more here: https://lnkd.in/g9jZai9a #BBC #News #Australia #Livestream #BBCStudios   

BBC Studios has named Zai Bennett as new CEO and Chief Creative Officer for BBC Studios Productions, BBC Studios’ global content-making division. 🤝   Bennett’s remit - that will span the company’s UK and international production units (including the world-renowned Natural History Unit), owned labels and invested indies across its Global Entertainment, Factual, Scripted, Kids & Family and Audio genres - will see him bring a creative-first approach to driving the production business forward.    He will be tasked with building high value, distributable IP, maintaining BBC returning series and key brands, securing new commissions - and expanding BBC Studios’ international format pipeline through development capabilities in existing markets as well as expansion into new territories. Retaining the producer’s position as provider of scale original streamer series, whilst also continuing to be the biggest supplier of content to the corporation, will also play a crucial part in his new role.     He joins from Sky where he is currently Managing Director of Content and will take the reins of the UK’s most awarded production company, with BBC Studios Productions responsible for seven of the top 10 performing shows in the UK across 2023.    At Sky, Bennett is principally responsible for its portfolio of entertainment services such as Sky Atlantic and Sky Max, Sky’s premium brands, Sky Cinema and Sky Kids as well as Sky’s Free To Air services like Sky Arts. He has ordered hugely successful award-winning dramas, such as This Is England, hit comedies like Brassic and popular entertainment like Rob and Romesh Versus (to name a few). Bennett took Sky Arts FTA in 2020 helping make the arts more accessible for all and launched Sky’s factual services like Sky Documentaries which recently won the factual BAFTA for the second year in a row for Lockerbie.    Zai has also held senior roles at Channel 5, ITV and the BBC. You can read more about the appointment and Zai's incredible CV here: https://lnkd.in/gdxTPheW   He takes up his new position in November and will report into CEO Tom Fussell, joining BBC Studio’s Executive Committee.

The last financial year saw BBC Studios make key acquisitions as well as record investments in content and services to bring audiences together around the world.   🤝 Acquiring BritBox International 📺 7 of 2023’s top shows in the UK 🌍 Planet Earth III | Eurovision | Bluey 🏆 The UK’s most awarded content studio 📈 Highest-ranking TV company in Glassdoor’s ‘Best Places to Work’ list   Thank you to everyone who made it happen!    Find out more about our Annual Review here: https://lnkd.in/e8XJ9gFS

From Inside No. 9 to Planet Earth III, BBC Studios’ content took centre stage at China’s Shanghai TV Festival. An opening keynote speech by President Global Markets, Nick Percy, spoke to the theme of cultural exchange and how content can shine a light on cultures around the world. Nick also joined a signing ceremony to mark a pre-sale deal for the BBC Studios Natural History Unit’s next landmark Asia, alongside our partners Shanghai Media Group and Phoenix TV. We were also delighted to have BBC Studios Natural History Unit Creative Director Mike Gunton join the Festival to speak about Planet Earth III, which achieved 300 million views across seven platforms in China and the world-leading work that the Natural History Unit does. And the showstopper for the week was an appearance by creators and stars of Inside No 9, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith. The darkly comic anthology series is popular with millions of Chinese fans, where it’s shown on leading streaming platform Billibilli and has been reproduced as a stage show. Steve and Reece were also in Shanghai to attend a sold-out fan event. It’s been an incredible week for us at the festival supporting our partners with incredible content moments. #ShanghaiTVFestival