A round up of BBC announcements, press releases and blogs, plus some highlights from our TV, radio and online output from the last week.
The Apprentice is back
Lord Sugar returns for a 14th series of The Apprentice, on BBC One at 9pm and airing weekly on Wednesdays from 3 October 2018, also available live and on-demand on BBC iPlayer.
BBC Music Day 2018
The fourth annual celebration of the power of music took place yesterday (Friday 28 September), with Kylie Minogue and many others featuring across BBC television and radio.
Announcements and blogs
Drama
Eva Green and Eve Howson were announced as stars in a new six-part BBC Two drama, The Luminaries, adapted from the 2013 Man Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name by Eleanor Catton.
Interviews with the leads of The Cry, a four-part BBC One drama with Jenna Coleman, were announced, meanwhile BBC One’s Bodyguard ended with its highest overnight audience of the series, with a peak of 11m viewers making it the biggest drama of any channel since 2011.
Entertainment
The longest running children’s TV show in the world - Blue Peter - celebrates 60 years on the BBC with a birthday extravaganza on Tuesday 16 October, featuring Ed Sheeran, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, classic presenters Valerie Singleton, Peter Purves, Anthea Turner, Konnie Huq and Tim Vincent and more, to be broadcast on CBBC and BBC Two.
BBC Sports Personality of the Year will be put out for competitive tender as part of the Charter requirement to open up more of the corporation's TV programmes to competition.
Writing
BBC Writersroom has set up The Writers Access Group, a brand-new initiative to give talented disabled writers the chance to expand their writing skills and to be offered opportunities in TV and radio at the BBC.
International
On 8 October BBC World Questions comes to Vienna, to host a debate on the country’s political and economic future and to find out what Austrians themselves have to say about world events.
Blogs
This week's blogs were: North and South: a year of BBC News Korean; Tackling fake news all the year round: BBC School Report expands; Morecambe And Wise: undiscovered; Delivering a vibrant future for UK radio; Tearing up the running order: what it's like as a Radio 5 live producer; and: Explosive Bodyguard finale has everyone on the edge of their seats - best reactions; plus the weekly BBC iPlayer Highlights 29 September-5 October 2018.
Broadcast highlights
Billy Tate in the fourth and final episode of real-life series The Mighty Redcar
- The Mighty Redcar, Thursday 27 September, BBC TWO and BBC iPlayer
- Black Earth Rising, Monday 24 September, BBC TWO and BBC iPlayer
- Bargain Hunt (BBC Music Day), Friday 28 September, BBC ONE and BBC iPlayer
- The Conversation: Defiance, Monday 24 September, BBC WORLD SERVICE
- Desert Island Discs Revisited - Comedy Writers: Victoria Wood, Sunday 23 September, BBC RADIO 4 EXTRA
- Late Junction - Suzanne Ciani And The London Contemporary Orchestra, Thursday 27 September, BBC RADIO 3
