Tonight The Secrets, a series of five stand-alone dramas from new writers, starts on BBC One at 10.40pm and continues throughout the week. Here, BAFTA winner Dominic Savage, who directs all five, talks about the process of developing the series.
When the BBC and Working Title proposed this strand and asked if I would become a part of it, I jumped at the chance. What interested me was the nature of the concept; writers new to television, creating something original, five very different stories, and a potentially great cast.
So we set about the process of finding the writers - Nick Payne, Sarah Solemani, Ben Ockrent and Elinor Cooke - then working with them on ideas and the scripts and developing the strand into a dynamic and exciting piece of television that had a coherent theme running throughout the episodes.
It’s vitally important that new writers with distinctive voices are brought into television and given the chance to properly speak, to express, and tell their story. They are the life blood, the future of television drama and a series like this is vital for them to show what they are capable of.
That’s what this series is all about. That’s exciting. It’s exciting that each film is a standalone idea, and a part of a strand that deals with similar subject matter. Subject matter that makes for great drama: Family secrets.
The beauty of the process was that the series was absolutely going to happen from the start. It was green-lit, so the writers didn’t have to go through the difficult and lengthy process of normal development, and the trying to get an idea accepted.
The writers, within the theme of the series, were given the freedom to come up with the idea that they really wanted to make, knowing it was all going to happen pretty soon. That gave them the chance to be bold and original, and ultimately more creatively free and distinctive.
It’s great that these stories are personal to the writer and yet challenging to an audience. These are films that have something to say, that are about something difficult and thought provoking, something real and human. I think, with all of the stories, the audience is able to put themselves in the place of the protagonist and ask themselves what would they do in their position.
At the same time the business of realizing the writers work faithfully and bringing it to the screen successfully was vital. To really make these stories into films was my challenge.
The business of getting a script from the page onto the screen is tricky process, and to me it’s a personal and highly creative journey. These films couldn’t just be an interesting experiment, they had to be able to cut it with the best, and I believe they do.
The half hour time length of each film is of great benefit I believe. It imposes a useful discipline in which the writer has to operate. It means the writing has to be succinct, and sharp. It has to tell the story effectively and has to keep the audience gripped throughout. It works well, in that the piece can then afford to be particularly direct and bold. The fact that they are on BBC One as well shows confidence in the future of new writing that is authored, but will appeal to a broader mainstream audience.
I think this series does all these things, and I hope those audiences will enjoy all that The Secrets offers.
Dominic Savage, Director
- Find out more about all the writers and cast of The Secrets on the Media Centre
- Read a blog from producer Guy Heeley on the TV blog
