A round-up of BBC announcements, press releases and blogs, plus some highlights from our TV, radio and online output last week.
Comic Relief
DJ Sara Cox, completed her epic 24 hour 80s dance challenge for Red Nose Day and raised £1,071,264.
New Board
On Friday the BBC announced its appointments to the new Board.
Brexit coverage
Tony Hall, Director-General of the BBC sent a letter to Julian Knight MP regarding coverage of the Brexit debate.
Announcement and blogs
Drama
On Monday we published the media pack for BBC Three’s five by five, a series of short films from new writers, featuring new and established on-screen talent working side by side. Set in London, the five standalone films feature chance encounters between characters which question identity and change perceptions.
Experienced Welsh actor John Ogwen, will join Pobol y Cwm as Josh and will be seen on screen for the first time on S4C on Friday 7 April. Also in Wales, filming has commenced in Newport, on a major psychological thriller series, Requiem, created and written by Kris Mrksa and directed by Mahalia Belo.
On Friday it was announced that Academy Award winner Adrien Brody (The Pianist), has joined the cast of Steven Knight’s multi-award winning BBC Two gangster epic, Peaky Blinders.
Comedy
On Tuesday we published the media pack for a television adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s novel Decline And Fall, starring Jack Whitehall (Bad Education, Fresh Meat), Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives), David Suchet (Agatha Christie’s Poirot), Douglas Hodge (The Night Manager), Stephen Graham (The Secret Agent, This Is England), Vincent Franklin (The Thick Of It), Gemma Whelan (Game of Thrones, The Moorside) and Jason Watkins (Taboo, W1A). Decline and Fall will air on BBC One in Spring 2017.
Radio
Grant Stott, a well-known voice on radio in Scotland, will join BBC Radio Scotland to present new shows later this year and award-winning Belfast blues and soul queen Kaz Hawkins began her new show on BBC Radio Ulster on Sunday 26 March.
Nations and regions
The iconic BBC Roath Lock Studios in Cardiff Bay celebrates its fifth birthday this month.
Commissioning
On Sunday James Runcie, BBC Radio 4’s Commissioning Editor for Arts, announced a raft of new arts commissions for the station as part of the BBC’s commitment to arts and culture.
Patrick Holland, Controller, BBC Two and Kate Phillips, Controller, Entertainment Commissioning, announced the commission of The Mash Report (working title) from Princess Productions. Hosted by Nish Kumar, The Mash Report is an up to the minute, satirical news show working with The Daily Mash - Britain’s most popular original comedy website.
Factual
In a brand new six-part series from the makers of The Real Marigold Hotel, five men and five women arrive in Tuscany to see if their dream to make a new start in the Italian countryside can become a reality in Second Chance Summer.
Music
On Wednesday the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra unveiled its concerts for the 2017/18 Season.
Blogs
On Monday Director of Radio and Strategy James Purnell explained why guaranteeing the prominence of iPlayer on all major TV platforms is important.
The 2017 Royal Television Society Programme Awards were presented at a ceremony in London on Tuesday evening, the BBC had wins in 13 of the 26 categories, incuding RTS Channel of the Year for BBC Three.
BBC Writersroom Wales launched in Friday with a one-day festival in Cardiff. Development Producer Rachel Williams told us what this means and some of Writersroom's plans for Wales.
Broadcast Highlights
Depeche Mode headlined the 6Music Festival 2017
- Happy 100th Birthday Dame Vera Lynn, Saturday 18 March, BBC Two
- Carnage, from Sunday 19 March, BBC iPlayer
- Crimewatch, Monday 20 March, BBC One
- Deadliest Place to Deal, Wednesday 22 March, BBC Three
- Flog It! 1000th Episode, Friday 24 March, BBC One
- Free Thinking Festival, Saturday & Sunday 18 & 19 March, Radio 3
- 6Music Festival, Friday 24 March, BBC Radio 6 Music
