A round-up of BBC announcements, press releases and blogs, plus some highlights from our TV, radio and online output last week.
BBC at the Edinburgh Festivals 2017
Edinburgh Festivals’ 70th anniversary year is to be celebrated by the BBC with a dynamic showcase highlighting the cultural standing of this international event.
BBC launches The Biggest Weekend
This week BBC Music announced ambitious plans to host The Biggest Weekend next year - a music festival which will take in four sites, in four nations, over four days, with over 175,000 tickets available to the public.
Contains Strong Language
Taking place from National Poetry Day on 28 September to 1 October, Contains Strong Language is the biggest poetry festival devoted to new work. It features 17 new commissions spanning grime, spoken word and page poetry and is committed to representing the diversity of poetry performance in the UK.
Appointments
Kate Phillips, Controller, Entertainment Commissioning, and Dan McGolpin, Controller, Programming and Daytime, this week announced the appointment of Jo Street to the newly created role of Commissioning Editor, Entertainment and Daytime, a combined role spanning development and commissioning for both teams, based in Scotland.
Announcements and blogs
Drama
The Media pack for new psychological thriller Trust Me, penned by Dan Sefton (Good Karma Hospital, Delicious) and starring Jodie Whittaker (Broadchurch), was published. The drama premieres this August on BBC One.
Comedy
This week, Shane Allen, Controller, Comedy Commissioning announced 12 brand new comedy pilots, signalling BBC Comedy’s ongoing commitment to bringing the very best established and new talent to audiences across the BBC.
Entertainment
BBC One announced that Mel and Sue are bringing The Generation Gameback to the network for a four episode run.
In addition, details of The Big Family Cooking Showdown - a major new competitive food show with a diverse variety of home cooks from across Britain over the 12 part competition - were announced.
Factual
BBC Four announced Utopias, a season of programmes celebrating and exploring the ideas, inspirations and visionaries behind the concept of utopia: a place or state of things in which everything is perfect.
Sport
Full details of the BBC's coverage of the World Athletics Championships 2017 across TV, radio and online were released this week.
On Thusday, BBC Sport announced its live TV, radio and digital coverage of the 2017 US PGA Championship between 10-13 August, bringing one of the major events in the world golfing calendar to fans, free-to-air across the UK.
Learning
Following BBC Radio 1’s Academy in Hull, 10 young people from Hull have the opportunity to try their hand in radio and TV roles after being selected for the exclusive Radio 1’s Academy: Class of 2017, led by BBC Learning.
Radio
On Tuesday, BBC Radio 4 announced the launch of a new monthly history programme, When Greeks Flew Kites, hosted by the broadcaster and acclaimed historical novelist Sarah Dunant, with a first transmission of Sunday 30 July.
Also on Tuesday BBC Radio 1’s Clara Amfo revealed the line-up for Radio 1’s Live Lounge Month in September when some of the biggest and newest acts from the UK and beyond - including Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus, Harry Styles and Chris Martin (of Coldplay) - will be performing in the iconic Radio 1 Live Lounge.
Prime Minister Theresa May has joined in the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of Test Match Special (TMS) by recording a special congratulatory message for BBC Radio 5 live.
Meanwhile, BBC Radio 5 live Sports Extra puts Tuffers, Vaughan and cricket-loving stars to the test in a cricket match in Leeds to mark Test Match Special’s 60th birthday.
On Wednesday, Radio 4’s Controller Gwyneth Williams confirmed that Saturday Review will continue to be broadcast on Radio 4.
Blogs
Here on the blog we started a new weekly BBC iPlayer Highlights post; and Ellara Wakley, Senior Learning Manager, BBC Proms introduced the BBC's first ever 'Relaxed Prom'.
Broadcast highlights
- Ill Behaviour, Saturday 22 July, BBC IPLAYER
- Wild Alaska Live, Sunday 23 July, BBC ONE
- Horrible Histories - Explorers, Monday 24 July, CBBC
- If You’re Going To San Francisco, Saturday 22 July, BBC WORLD SERVICE
- Stonewall: The Riots That Triggered The Gay Revolution, Wednesday 26 July, BBC RADIO 6 MUSIC
