Kim Shillinglaw announces ambitious raft of new documentaries

Kim Shillinglaw, Controller, BBC Two and BBC Four says: “BBC Two is a fantastic showcase for the some of the most exciting and acclaimed documentary film-makers working in the UK; alongside the incredible drama writers and producers we have on the channel, they make BBC Two a real platform for the best of British creativity. I'm very proud of the documentaries we are announcing today and the remarkable talent, often tackling difficult subjects, that we are able to support.

"Using a range of story-telling techniques, from self-shooting to fixed rigs, these films have unique and privileged access to many different aspects of modern British life, from David Lammy’s tough Tottenham constituency to the rarefied world of Country Life magazine and from the private world of the divorce clinic to the community Dunblane, 20 years on from the shattering massacre at Dunblane Primary School.

"I’m also pleased to announce today that following the success of the first series of The Detectives, Executive Produced by Colin Barr at Minnow Films, I have commissioned another series from the same team.”

The Mosque sees filmmaker Robb Leech gain unprecedented access to Britain’s biggest Muslim community, to capture a unique insight into the world behind its walls and the people who make up its congregation.

East London Mosque is the largest in Europe. Over a quarter of a million people walk through its doors on the Whitechapel Road during the month of Ramadan, and five thousand fills its walls for Friday prayers. It’s the central hub of East London’s Muslim community. Yet for many outside, it’s a place of mystery and the unknown.

Director Robb Leech first followed his step-brother Rich and his conversion to radical Islam, in My Brother The Islamist (2011), and its sequel My Brother The Terrorist (2014). In this new film, Robb will explore ‘everyday’ Islam in Britain, meeting its people and experiencing their faith at first hand.

Robb’s distinctive hand-held camera style gives a very personal feel to the documentary; this proves key as Robb captures the first emotional encounter between the Mosque’s charismatic young communications manager Salman and a distraught sister of one of the three Bethnal Green schoolgirls who flew out to join ISIS jihadists in Syria.

Tottenham has generated more than its fair share of headlines than anywhere else in the country: the Broadwater Farm Riots, Baby P, Victoria Climbie, the shooting of Mark Duggan. Thirty years on from the first riots, This Is Tottenham, by self-shooting producer/director Clare Johns, takes the temperature of one of Britain’s most vibrant and challenging constituencies.

Unique and privileged access to the busiest MP's constituency surgery in the country shines a spotlight on the lives of those who live in Tottenham. David Lammy never knows what will come through his door: from pending evictions to immigration issues, parking problems to regeneration backlashes, the film follows the stories of constituents in crisis.

Ten years after his death, Best will separate fact from fiction and the real man from the ‘idol’. With access to never before seen archive and a stellar cast of interviewees, director Dan Gordon will explore how and why George Best, a footballer whose golden years were so brief, achieved legendary status.

In the depths of his spectacular fall from grace, George Best deposited a suitcase in a secure vault of his bank. It lay there, forgotten, for many years after his death. The opening of that case and the revealing of its contents will bookend a film that brings fresh and compelling insight to the story of a very familiar figure.

Combining Dan Gordon’s directorial vision with questioning, forensic analysis, the documentary plots the tarnishing of a national treasure; unpacking the highs and lows of George Best’s life on and off the pitch to make sense of a very public implosion.

This Fine Point Films Production with be exec produced by Oscar, Bafta and Emmy-winning producer John Battsek, who has collaborated with Dan on other award-winning sports documentaries including, most recently, Hillsborough.

The Divorce Clinic follows couples in the turbulent process of separating, using family mediation. By using a hybrid of rig and crews, viewers will gain access to the incredibly private world of the mediation room, following couples who once adored each other end up tussling over assets. An intense and effective process, mediation means they must make plans together, face-to-face, with the help of a skilled mediator - not argue it out in the divorce courts. Between mediation sessions we see our families at home as the practical, and emotional, reality of the changes they agree upon impacts on their lives.

The film, from Paul Hamann and Susanne Curran, is being made with exclusive access to National Family Mediation and filming in their services across the UK.

"I call it the shooting, because, well...I was shot." On the 13 March 1996 a gunman walked into a primary school in the small Scottish town of Dunblane and shot dead 16 pupils and their teacher in a Primary 1 gym class. One Morning In March features, for the first time, testimony from a survivor, shot as a five year-old on, growing up in the shadow of one of Britain's darkest days. In a landmark film to commemorate the 20th anniversary director Stephen Bennett interviews the families of the dead, the parents of the survivors, and the next generation of those affected, most of whom have never spoken before on camera, and constructs a powerful exploration about whether time can heal all wounds and love triumph over evil.

The producers of One Morning In March have spent over a year negotiating exclusive access to key individuals involved in the tragedy: Ron Taylor, the headmaster of Dunblane Primary School who is speaking for the first time; Debbie, the daughter of Gwen Mayor, the primary teacher shot dead; and one of the young survivors, who gives powerful testimony about a terrifying experience no child should endure. For the first time two young women from separate families talk about the sisters they would never grow to know and the gap it has left in their lives.

Yet despite the darkness at the heart of One Morning in March, Stephen Bennett has created a moving film about the power of love, hope and the unbreakable bonds of family.

Jane Treays, director of Inside Claridge's, is shining a spotlight on the enduring love affair the British have with their landscape. In Living In The Country (working title), she looks through the eyes of Country Life magazine, that 120 year old bible of the middle and upper classes, as it features cottages and castles, farms and gardens.

With just 18 percent of us living in the countryside and the majority residing in cities, towns and suburbs, many of us are increasingly divorced from a rural way of life. While many people claim they would love to live in the country, does the reality live up to the rural dream?

BBC Four

For the first time in its 29 year history, the Crown Prosecution Service has allowed cameras to document their work for a ground-breaking series, The Prosecutors.

Production Company Gold Star secured access to the Crown Prosecution Service and over the past two years has followed a number of cases for an exclusive three-part series.

In 2014 the Crown Prosecution Service brought nearly three quarters of a million criminal prosecutions (651,352) to court in England and Wales. Every case was carried out on behalf of the state by the CPS.

The CPS’s performance faces constant scrutiny. This series goes behind the headlines to see how the CPS makes decisions on who to prosecute and the processes they must go through in their attempts to secure convictions.

With unprecedented access, the cameras follow a number of cases, including death by careless driving, murder investigations, allegations of indecent assaults, the prosecution of a historic murder case and of an organised gang who target cash machines.

Alongside testimony and first-hand experience from witnesses and victims, the work of the CPS is followed from the initial decision-making (assessing whether to charge, what charge to make, and the associated dilemmas involved) to building a case, through to the trial and final resolution.

Notes to Editors

All BBC Two programmes commissioned by Kim Shillinglaw, Controller, BBC Two and Four and Maxine Watson, acting Head of Commissioning, Documentaries. The Prosecutors commissioned by Cassian Harrison, Channel Editor BBC Four and Clare Paterson.

THE MOSQUE (1 x 60’) is produced by GRACE Productions in association with Vagabond Films. It is Executive Produced by Simon Ford, Produced by Ray Tostevin and Directed by Robb Leech. The Commissioning Editor is Clare Paterson

THIS IS TOTTENHAM (2x60’ tbc) is produced by CTVC. The Executive Producers are Jane Merkin for the BBC and Wendy Robbins for CTVC

BEST (1x60’) is produced by Finepoint Films. The Executive Producer is John Battsek (Hillsborough); the Commissioning Editor is Clare Sillery

THE DIVORCE CLINIC (3x60) is produced by Wild Pictures. The Executive Producers are Paul Hamann and Susanne Curran for Wild Pictures; the Commissioning Editor is Maxine Watson

ONE MORNING IN MARCH (1x60’) is produced by Stv. The Executive Producer is Michael McAvoy; the Commissioning Editor is Clare Paterson. The Producer/director is Stephen Bennett

LIVING IN THE COUNTRY (3X60’) is produced by Spun Gold. The Executive Producer is Nick Bullen; the Commissioning Editor is Clare Paterson

THE PROSECUTORS (3x60) is produced by Gold Star Productions. The Executive Producer is Sacha Baveystock. The Commissioning Editor is Clare Paterson. The Producer/Directors are Sara Hardy and Blue Ryan

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