A round-up of BBC announcements, press releases and blogs, plus some highlights from our TV, radio and online output last week.
500 Words
The six winners of this year’s BBC Radio 2 500 Words competition were announced on Friday in a special broadcast of the Chris Evans Breakfast Show, live from the Tower of London.
In addition, Radio 2 announced that' Trump' is Children’s Word of the Year as revealed by Oxford University Press for BBC Radio 2’s 500 Words.
Wimbledon
Full details of the BBC's coverage of Wimbledon 2017 have been released.
BBC Music Day
BBC Local Radio, the BBC Asian Network and the British Plaque Trust announced on Wednesday 14 June that 47 new blue plaques will commemorate people or places that have influenced the musical landscape across the country.
Also, on Monday it was announced that six short monologues have been co-commissioned by BBC Radio 3 and BBC Writersroom to mark BBC Music Day 2017, featuring Liam Neeson, Tamsin Greig and others.
And on Thursday, Ozzy Osbourne, Shaun Ryder, Alfie Boe and Miles Kane surprised public transport users with guest announcements on BBC Music Day.
Listen to Britain
To celebrate the 75th anniversary of Listen To Britain, Humphrey Jennings and Stewart McAllister's poetic collage of British life, BBC Four in partnership with BFI Network, have commissioned aspiring filmmakers to capture the diversity of contemporary Britain in a series of new short films.
Appointments
BBC Studios’ Head of Comedy Chris Sussman has appointed James Farrell as Head of Development.
Announcements and blogs
Drama
On Monday, it was confirmed that multi-award-winning crime drama series Luther will be returning to BBC One. The new four-part series written by Neil Cross and starring Idris Elba, who has received a Golden Globe and Sag Award for his performance in the role of John Luther, will start filming early next year.
Then, on Tuesday BBC Two and Tiger Aspect Drama announced the return of Bafta-winning co-production, Ripper Street for the fifth and final series.
Factual
Ahead of her session at the Sheffield Documentary Festival, Clare Sillery, BBC Head of Commissioning, Documentaries, has announced a wide range of new documentary commissions from acclaimed and established directors and producers including Mark Raphael, John Douglas, Arthur Cary, Morgan Matthews, Lynn Alleway, Daisy Asquith and Edmund Coulthard, as well as emerging talent like Daniel Dewsbury and Marcus Ploughwright.
Entertainment
The clash of choirs commences as Pitch Battle brings a unique blend of sass, swagger and a pinch of mischief to summer Saturdays on BBC One.
Children's
A BBC Terrific Scientific investigation, in partnership with the University of Oxford, into children’s sleep patterns following the clock change in March has revealed that surprisingly sleep time increased and sleepiness reduced, against expectations. The investigation also revealed that the children reacted quicker in the afternoon, irrespective of clock change.
Meanwhile, it was announced that the BBC Terrific Scientific primary science initiative will culminate with a behind the scenes visit to the McLaren Technology Centre for a special BBC Live Lesson all about forces.
Radio
BBC Radio 3’s Late Junction partners End Of The Road 2017 for an evening of live music curated and presented by Late Junction, featuring Klein, Xylouris White, Mdou Moctar and more.
Radio 2 also revealed that Ed Miliband and Iain Duncan Smith are set to guest present Radio 2 Jeremy Vine show.
Elsewhere, Radio 4 announced the commission of a debut stand-up comedy series from Britain’s Got Talent finalist Daliso Chaponda.
Regional
On Friday, BBC Cymru Wales announced details of a major expansion of its political and current affairs programming for BBC One Wales.
International
BBC Learning English has launched special content for Thai-speaking learners. BBC Learning English - Thai is now live on the BBC Learning English website as well as Facebook and Instagram channels.
Meanwhile, BBC World Service and Sundance Institute have announced a new collaboration to produce a series of radio documentaries and podcasts for launch in 2018.
Blogs
Head of Music, BBC Radio 1 & 1Xtra Chris Price introduced the next round of Radio 1's Brit List initiative; Elaine Paige on Sunday producer Jessica Rickson reported on her trip to this year's Tony Awards; Matt Eastley talked to Rebecca Sandiford, Producer, BBC Music, about how the BBC is celebrating the power of music through BBC Music Day; and Alice Webb, Director of BBC Children’s blogs about the new 'Everyone's Welcome' campaign.
Broadcast Highlights
- Poldark,Sunday 11 June, BBC TWO
- Jo Cox: Death Of An MP, Tuesday 13 June, BBC TWO
- Museum Of Lost Objects: Return To Aleppo, Saturday 10 June, BBC WORLD SERVICE
- Chuck Berry: 40 Years On, Sunday 11 June, BBC RADIO 6 MUSIC
- Songs My Son Loved, Monday 12 June, BBC RADIO 2
