The Collaborators
5 live and the BBC Philharmonic orchestra got together on air on June 10th and produced a special edition of the Mayo and Kermode Film Review featuring some great pieces of orchestral film music.
There was a later concert the same day on Radio 3 with longer pieces by the orchestra. You can still hear those shows via the BBC iPlayer and download the podcast. We also put together the highlights in a television programme which you can find under the red button until Sunday 19th June.
Here's the background to how it happened...
The Collaborators
FADE IN
Interior of the BBC Club; it's empty but for the bartender polishing glasses and woman sitting alone nursing a glass of whisky. The door swings open, we see a man silhouetted in the door frame. He makes his way over to her table and sits down.
MAN (hesitantly): You look like the sort of dame who might be up for a....collaboration.
The woman turns to him, raises an eyebrow.
WOMAN: Oh yeah? Who's askin'?
MAN: The name's Wigley...Richard Wigley...General Manager of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.
WOMAN: Oh yeah? Who told you where to find me?
MAN: I figured as the BBC North Project Workplace Design session was over I'd find you here.
WOMAN: Oh yeah? And what makes you think I'd be interested in what you have to offer Mr.....Wigley?
MAN: Just a hunch I guess...a crazy dream...I've got 98 people with instruments and I wondered if we could make sweet music together?
The woman leans forwards... she's interested...
MAN: If you could get those 2 renegade boys of yours to show up...
WOMAN: You mean Mayo and Kermode?
MAN: That's them, Kermode and Mayo...if you could persuade them to show...
WOMAN: We could make a 2 hour programme featuring the best film music and chat with an accompanying live concert on Radio 3!
MAN: Exactly
WOMAN: I'd heard about your reputation Mr Wigley...but I didn't reckon you were this good.
The woman stands up, drains her glass and slams it down on the table.
WOMAN: Dammit Mr Wigley, let's do it, let's make it happen!
CUT TO FOUR YEARS LATER
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Rhian Roberts is Head of Development, BBC Radio 5 live and 5 live sports extra
Comment number 1.
At 18:26 13th Jun 2011, what wrote:...extremely badly written, unfunny and (about) a subject few care or cared about
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Comment number 2.
At 09:01 14th Jun 2011, Pickle wrote:I enjoyed the concert. It was a good two hours of radio. The above points regarding the blog I agree with though.
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Comment number 3.
At 10:03 14th Jun 2011, ryanw wrote:What a lazy piece of "journalism"... I'd like to know what a "Head of Development" does.
What a shame that a very interesting and legitimate suggestion for a blog post was totally ignored last week -- a post about the commissioning of third-parties to produce programming and the pros/cons -- in favour of drivel like this.
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Comment number 4.
At 13:22 14th Jun 2011, what wrote:I can only conclude the person who may have subbed/ok'd this piece was off on their 3 month holiday. Re. "Wittertainment" (!) if it had any future value it wouldn't recently have been sold off.
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Comment number 5.
At 19:57 14th Jun 2011, ryanw wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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Comment number 6.
At 07:22 15th Jun 2011, ryanw wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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Comment number 7.
At 17:27 15th Jun 2011, carrie wrote:I looked up Rhian Roberts. Her tweets are pouring as I write. If this work above is what she does, it is a reflection of the fact she is spending most of her time doing the equivalent of doodling. Disgraceful.
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Comment number 8.
At 18:57 15th Jun 2011, what wrote:ryanw asks what is Head of Development. Good question. Appropriately vague and yet grandly titular. Don't know, but if Newsbeat needs 52 people for two 15 minute segments of pop-news, then 5live need at least a couple of hundred Heads of Development
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Comment number 9.
At 21:34 15th Jun 2011, ryanw wrote:52 people for Newsbeat? You cant be serious?! There's certainly some parts of the BBC that need culling.
Head of Development.. yes, is that personal development? professional development? building development? programme development?
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