Round Up Week 12 2014

Jen Macro takes her turn to give us the lowdown on what's been going on at About the BBC.

People in glass houses, so the saying goes, shouldn’t throw stones, but to my knowledge, there’s no adage prohibiting presenting a radio show from one. Since Saturday, Radio 3 have set up home for just over two weeks in London’s Southbank Centre as part of a major new arts partnership. A pop-up studio has been built in the foyer of the Royal Festival Hall from which the presenters are broadcasting their shows as per normal, the difference being that listeners can also view them through the glass facade.

The station’s residency at the riverside arts centre coincides with the Pull Out All The Stops Festival which opened on Tuesday and shows off the fully restored Royal Festival Organ, which celebrates its 60^th anniversary this year, it was first played in concert in 1954. I went to have a quick nose around when we had all that sunshine last weekend, I’ll be going back for Live in Concert on Sunday, and we hope to have a behind the scenes update on the blog next week.

Radio 3 aren’t the only BBC employees in a glass house this week, well, maybe it’s more of a perspex box, but still. Outside New Broadcasting House the great and good of BBC Radio have been giving it their all on the treadmill and cycle machines. Yes, exercise, a concept I tend to steer clear of if possible, is rife on the NBH plaza. It’s all running shoes and sweatpants out there. It is however for a mighty good cause, Sport Relief, (be sure not to miss the David Beckham/Only Fools and Horses sketch on the Sport Relief Appeal Show tonight on BBC One).

BBC Radio Around the World has seen a number of presenters and staff up and down the country put through their paces this week as they attempt to run, swim and cycle 25,000 miles, (equal to the circumference of the earth) to raise money for Sport Relief. On Monday Radio 1’s Nick Grimshaw cycled 1,000 miles in 12 hours (with some help) and Petroc Trelawney, pictured above, mentioned on his show that he managed to burn off 100 calories which he informed us was about the equivalent of a croissant (much like the one Jon got me yesterday as part of the blog-writing arrangement he and I have agreed upon).

This lunchtime there was network rivalry between two colleagues, Charley Stone and Lolo Wood representing Radio 3 and Radio 4 respectively, who pledged their allegiance by donning a t-shirt with their station’s moniker, and then battled it out in the box, in what was perhaps the politest grudge match I’ve ever witnessed:

Anyone who walked through the plaza yesterday, or watched live online, will have seen Radio 2’s Jo Whiley hard at work. Jo achieved her goal of running for 26 hours non-stop. When I went past last night, she had Sara Cox and Gok Wan in the box with her, and a band about to start playing, none of which put her off her stride. #GoJo.

I’m quite excited that I’ll be able to relive my teenage years when Whiley reunites with old cohort Steve Lamacq from Monday 7 April on 6Music, where they will be recreating their old Radio 1 show The Evening Session. It will be part of a season of programming across 6Music, Radio 2 and BBC Four celebrating 20 years since the arrival of Britpop. Hang on, 20 years? It seems like only yesterday I was defending Blur to my Oasis loving friends and thinking of buying a Vespa (other brands of moped are available). How time flies.

Steve Lamacq is one of the four DJs playing a treasure trove of new music in the late night hour long slots - 6Music Recommends - which started last week. This week Lamacq hosted a South By South West special, featuring some of the bands who went to the festival in Austin, Texas with the help and support of BBC Introducing, which is the perfect fit as the festival features new and emerging talent. I wasn’t jealous at all that I didn’t get to go, as Instagram photo after Facebook update from my friends who were out there appeared, affirming what an amazing event it was. Yep, not jealous at all.

So, with radio covered, I’ll briefly turn my attention to two TV highlights this week. New comedy from the team behind Twenty Twelve (which I adored) W1Abegan on Wednesday on BBC Two, and in a very real sense, will be carrying on being broadcast on that channel, and indeed the iPlayer, until such time as it no longer is. Set in the upper echelons of BBC management, much of the series was filmed at New Broadcasting House (postcode W1A). Obviously, as we tweeted, it is a comedy, not a documentary, so any similarities are purely coincidental, but when I saw two fold-up bikes outside the Frankie Howerd meeting room yesterday afternoon I did wonder if Head of Values, Ian Fletcher and Director of Strategic Governance, Simon Harwood were in there, thinking big thoughts.

The other highlight is one I haven’t actually seen yet, but I am really looking forward to finding out whether DI Lyndsay Denton is guilty or not in the final episode of Line of Duty. I am a big fan of series creator Jed Mercurio’s work, and his blog about the experience of writing this, the second series of the police corruption drama is well worth a read, as are the scripts from the series which are available to download from the Writersroom website. Anyway, I have a date with iPlayer pencilled in for Saturday night, I need to get through the next 24 or so hours without discovering the verdict, so, no spoilers please. Thanks.

Jen Macro is digital content producer for the About the BBC website and blog.