BBC Travels Back In Time With £220m Autumn Schedule
The BBC has moved to silence those that have criticised its commitment to public service broadcasting, with the launch of a £220 million season of historical programming on BBC1 this autumn.
The new schedule is designed to offer audiences an opportunity to consider new perspectives on historic, social and personal situations through a range of landmark dramas and documentaries. Lorraine Heggessey, controller of BBC1, said: “Opening the door to a wide variety of subjects is key to BBC1.”
Highlights of the new season of programming include Pompeii – The Last Day, a historical re-enactment of the final 24 hours before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79 and Colosseum, which uses special effects and dramatic reconstruction’s to examine how Roman gladiators worked and lived.
This autumn’s key period drama will be Charles II, which is billed as a ‘dynamic romp through history’ at a time when relationship between monarch and state was at crisis point. The series, which stars Rufus Sewell, Dame Diane Rigg and Rupert Graves, will be supported by two documentaries: The Boy Who Would be King and Oliver Cromwell.
BBC1 will also present six modern takes on Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, with stars including Julie Walters, James Nesbit and Dennis Waterman. The medieval tales have been updated to reflect Britain today with themes such as the cult of celebrity and the obsession with youth.
Other highlights include Holy Cross, a factually based drama telling the event on the Ardoyne Road in Belfast in 2001 and One Life, a series of short films offering an ‘unflinching’ view of the stories of everyday people.
There will also be a Walking With Dinosaurs Special on prehistoric sea monsters and Robert Winston will return to present The Human Mind, which looks at how the brain learns, how it creates our personality and how it deals with other people.
The BBC has come under fire recently over its increasingly populist approach to programming. Earlier this month the Corporation claimed in its annual report that it would strive to be “richer and more ambitious” than the commercial sector (see BBC Annual Report Reveals Increased Programming Budget). However, just days later it scheduled its Fame Academy talent show against ITV’s new series of Pop Idol, in a move which advertisers condemned as a ‘flagrant abuse’ of its public service duty (see Advertisers Slam BBC As TV Talent Shows Go Head To Head).
The Government has warned the BBC that it will face a comprehensive review to win the renewal of its charter, which runs out in 2006. Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, said the Corporation would have to justify to its audiences that it “uses their money and earns their support by offering services that extend the range and enhance the standards of what is available to them” (see Government Promises Review Before BBC Charter Renewal).
BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk
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