Round-Up Week 20 (14-20 May 2016)

A round-up of BBC announcements and press releases and blogs, plus some highlights from our TV, radio and online output this week.

BBC Online Review

Following a review launched last autumn by James Harding, it was confirmed that the BBC’s online activities will focus on six flagship areas to ensure they remain high quality and distinctive. Read the full report the BBC Online Creative Review. 

RAJARS

The RAJARS (Radio Joint Audience Research) for Q1 2016 were released on Thursday and Radio 3 achieved its highest reach in three years with 6 Music shaving another record quarter. Regionally, BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle remains the most listened to radio station in Northern Ireland.

Edinburgh Festivals 2016

The new BBC venue in Edinburgh’s Old Town - which replaces Potterrow - will launch on Friday 5 August, the opening day of the Edinburgh International Festival, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. It will run throughout August, playing host to live and recorded TV, radio and digital programmes and content.

Awards

Seventeen-year-old cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason wins BBC Young Musician 2016.

Announcements

Drama

In Sherlock news it was announced The Detectorists' Toby Jones will joins Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman in the fourth series of BBC One's sleuthing drama. Ahead of series three of the network's The Musketeers BBC Drama released a media pack featuring cast interviews. 

Meanwhile BBC Three announced it has acquired international drama Cleverman, a thrilling new high-stakes Australian drama that sees a species from ancient mythology living among humans and battling for survival in a world that wants to silence, exploit and destroy them.

Documentary

In a busy week for documentary announcements, Patrick Holland, BBC Head of Commissioning, Documentaries, introduced five new documentaries for BBCs One, Two, Three and Four. It was also announced that the BBC will celebrate the Sixties with series of regional documentaries about life in 1966.

Comedy

BBC Three has commissioned a second series of Witless, the Kerry Howard and Zoe Boyle-fronted comedy.

Children's

CBBC revealed a stellar line up for its TV adaptation of Jill Murphy’s The Worst Witch as filming of the 13-part series gets underway. Also CBBC and FremantleMedia Kids & Family (FMK) announced this week that Danger Mouse is returning for a second series animated adventures.

It was also announced that on 30 May British Astronaut Tim Peake will read a CBeebies Bedtime Story to little ones across the country while in space, 200 miles above Earth.

Entertainment

A Top Gear media pack, featuring interviews and details of the new series was published. 

Factual

BBC Dementia Season launched with a range of new online tools to mark Dementia Awareness weeks around the UK.

A brand new BBC One Daytime series hosted by Sheree Murphy, The Big Chef Showdown, will see 16 chefs - all with Michelin stars to their name - mentor amateur home cooks to do battle in the kitchen.

Meanwhile BBC Four revealed a brand new prime-time series, The UK’s Best Part-time Band, where comedian Rhod Gilbert embarks on a road trip across the country, on a mission to find the UK’s Best Part-time Band.

Arts

BBC Four this week also announced a host of new arts commissions to be shown in the coming months, from art historian Jacky Klein and historian and art dealer Dr Bendor Grosvenor delving deep into the storerooms of museums around the country to reveal some of the nation’s forgotten art to a behind-the-scenes look at the world of collecting and a celebration of the joy of making things by hand.

Sport

Full details of the weekend's FA Cup Final coverage was revealed, as well as the new Premier League deal for Radio 5 live.

Music

BBC Philharmonic announced its new season at the Bridgewater Hall 2016-2017.

Digital

The BBC and the Wellcome Trust have announced The Big Food Survey, a major initiative encouraging students to get involved in the UK’s biggest ever food and health survey for 12 and 13 year-olds.

Meanwhile, BBC Radio Cymru has announced it’s to trial a ‘pop-up radio station’ during the autumn, offering even more choice for listeners.

International

On the second anniversary of the coup in Thailand, BBC Thai will be broadcasting live on Facebook, looking back at the events of 22 May 2014 and reflecting on the current situation and mood in the country.

Broadcast Highlights

Saturday saw the Women's FA Cup Final on BBC One as well as the Eurovision 2016 - Grand Final, Ken Bruce also followed the action live on BBC Radio 2. In a night of finals BBC Four broadcast the BBC Young Musician 2016 - Final.

On Tuesday, BBC Four showcased Zoo Quest In Colour, uncovering extraordinary new-found colour film of the best of David Attenborough’s early Zoo Quest adventures - first broadcast in December 1954, and with it the remarkable story of how this pioneering television series was made.

Meanwhile on Thursday in Paxman In Brussels: Who Really Rules Us?Jeremy Paxman took an impartial look at the fundamentals of what actually goes on between the UK and the EU, in this one-hour documentary for BBC One.

On Friday No Such Thing As The Newsa topical, television-version of the award-winning QI podcast No Such Thing As A Fish started - and About the BBC Ed Jon Jacob spoke to the QI elves for the blog.

Meanwhile regionally on BBC One and BBC HD a new documentary The Best Bottoms in the Landaired. Performing A Midsummer Night's Dream – one of Shakespeare’s best loved comedies – a professional cast from the Royal Shakespeare Company have been touring the country, but there’s something unique about this production. Alongside the cast of professionals, six actors from a local amateur company will play the Mechanicals, a group of parts which includes the famous role of Bottom. With unprecedented access, BBC English Regions captured all of the action in nine 30-minute regional documentaries, and series producer Ed Barlow blogged about his experience.

On Radio Eric Satie was Composer of the Week, from Monday to Friday on Radio 3, a new series of From Our Own Correspondent began on Radio 4 on Thursday, also on Thursday on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra was Test Match Special: England v Sri Lanka - Day One, with live ball-by-ball commentary from the first day of the first test between England and Sri Lanka at Headingley.