If you’ve ever wondered why the BBC has had to launch a national campaign to find new talent, look no further than Sky’s autumn schedule to find out where all the old talent went. Sky does not reveal how its budget compares with the BBC’s £189 million, (see BBC To Spend £189 Million On Autumn Schedule), but it is surely not too cynical to suggest that the stars must have some incentive to swap a show on a channel where top ratings mean 13 million or more viewers for one where 1 million is doing well.
Harry Enfield thinks so anyway, having left his BBC And Chums days behind him in favour of the 12-part Brand Spanking New Show which forms part of the first Sky One schedule to be created since David Bergg joined from ITV (see Sky One Appoints New General Manager). The series promises new characters and an adult edge to the act who invented Kevin, the ultimate teenager.
Another Beeb refugee is Ben Elton, who reunited with the other half of the Blackadder writing team, Richard Curtis, and the original cast to create Blackadder Back and Forth. The show, which sees Blackadder, Baldrick et al time travelling across centuries of British history, was commissioned by Skyscape to show at the Millennium Dome. The rather too modest success of the Dome means that there should be plenty of Sky viewers for whom this is an all-new experience.
In the drama department, Amanda Redman of BBC’s Hope and Glory fame is to co-star in mystery drama The Sight, while The Stretch reunites Leslie Grantham and Anita Dobson, better known to a nation of soap-addicts as Eastenders’ Den and Angie. A “hard-hitting drama set in London’s criminal underworld”, the title The Stretch evidently does not refer to an unnecessary demand in acting range for the seasoned cockney muckers.
While it may be picking off prime BBC faces, Sky should also be credited for bringing in original programming. It has backed Al Murray, who won a Perrier comedy award for his character The Pub Landlord, in the creation of a sitcom. The series, called Time Gentlemen Please also stars Phil Daniels, Julie Sawalha and Rebecca Front. Another new series will be a TV version of popular kid’s pop magazine Smash Hits
In addition to these, Sky’s formidable buying power means its Sports channels are well stocked with football games, including, of course the Premier League (see How The Premier League Will Cash-In On Kick-Offs). The Sky chequebook has also brought in US hit comedy Malcolm in the Middle for Sky One as well as films for Sky Digital including Wild Wild West, Shakespeare In Love and Little Voice.
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