Nadiya Hussain and Alan Shearer to present new programmes for BBC Factual
Alison Kirkham, Controller Factual Commissioning, announces ambitious new programmes across BBC One and BBC Two.
Published: 23 February 2017
The new commissions demonstrate the on-going ambition of the Factual commissioning team to showcase the very best talent on the BBC and to tell brave and important stories
Alison Kirkham says: “Factual on the BBC has had an outstanding start to the year. Following the success of Planet Earth II and the return of the much-loved Real Marigold Hotel on BBC One, we’ve had the powerful and timely series Hospital bringing audiences to our factual content, the breadth of which is not found on any other broadcaster. The new commissions I’m announcing today demonstrate the on-going ambition of the Factual commissioning team to showcase the very best talent on the BBC and to tell brave and important stories.
"I’m delighted that Nadiya Hussain is embarking on a very special culinary road trip around the UK for BBC Two, while Alan Shearer is exploring the potentially devastating link between football and dementia on BBC One. BBC Two tells the shocking story of Bill Cosby’s fall from grace in an extraordinary new documentary and Special Ops: 1943 painstakingly recreates the lives of Churchill’s secret soldiers, in a new series that brings this little-known part of history back to life, in a vivid new way.”
Recent scientific reports from around the world have revealed a potentially devastating link between football and dementia - a result of brain damage caused by heading the ball. Alan Shearer, one of Britain’s best known footballers, believes this is a story that needs to be told, which he does in this new documentary for BBC One.
Now, aged 46 and having been retired for 10 years, Alan is still the Premier League’s top goal scorer - with 46 of those goals from headers alone. Concerned by recent reports and having watched previous footballing ‘greats’ succumb to the ravages of dementia, Alan wants to find out the truth.
In this documentary Alan investigates the latest scientific research from Britain and around the world, including studies into Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a condition formerly believed to exist primarily among boxers.
Alan says: "After seeing the movie Concussion, I was intrigued. I was aware of former football players, legends who I grew up watching, suffering from dementia. Could this affect football and footballers too? The more I read about it, the more I felt this was a subject that could no longer be ignored."
Alan will meet footballers and their families affected by dementia before turning himself over to science. Undergoing a variety of cutting edge medical tests, including bio marker blood tests and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) Alan will uncover what condition his body and brain is in.
The science is not straightforward. Alan seeks out medical opinion that casts doubt on the direct link between dementia and brain damage caused by heading the ball. He also challenges football’s governing bodies to confront the issue, which is causing outrage among footballing communities who feel it is being ignored.
Dementia - Football’s Silent Shame? is a 1x60’ for BBC One, made by BBC Sport. It was commissioned by Charlotte Moore, Director of Content and Tom McDonald, Head of Commissioning Natural History and Specialist Factual. The Commissioning Editor is Craig Hunter, Commissioning Editor - Science and Factual, Scotland, the Executive Producer is Carl Doran and the Producer is Jo McCusker.
SB2
BBC Two: Nadiya’s British Food Adventure
Nadiya Hussain embarks on a culinary road trip around Britain in a brand new series for BBC Two, which sees her travels the length and breadth of the country seeking out all that is great about British food today. In each episode Nadiya visits a different region to discover some of our most exciting food pioneers, before taking us into the kitchen to create her own delicious recipes.
After winning The Great British Bake Off in 2015 and exploring her Bangladeshi roots in The Chronicles Of Nadiya in 2016, this series sees Nadiya on a voyage of discovery across Britain, from the Highlands of Scotland to the coasts of Devon and Dorset, to find and taste the very best that the country has to offer.
Nadiya wants to find inspiration from local heroes who are creating unique 'food stories' and reviving artisan food traditions, meeting the passionate farmers, growers and fisherman who are the backbone of the British food scene. Using their local ingredients to form the basis of her new recipes, she will create inspiring and accessible dishes that showcase the very best of British.
Nadiya says: “Our country’s regional cuisine is much more than tried and tested traditional dishes - there are quirky and clever food producers out there who are reinventing British food in unique and exciting ways. I can't wait to meet these local food heroes, to find inspiration in the most unusual food stories and unlikely ingredients and then come up with some brand new recipes in the kitchen, adding my own special twist."
Nadiya’s British Food Adventure, an 8x30’ series for BBC Two, is made by BBC Studios. It was commissioned by Patrick Holland, Channel Editor BBC Two and David Brindley, Head of Commissioning, Popular Factual and Factual Events. The Commissioning Editor is Catherine Catton and the Executive Producer is Paolo Proto.
EK
This film tells the extraordinary story of how Bill Cosby finally came to face a criminal trial for sexual assault a decade after the accusations were made. On 5 June 2017 Bill Cosby is due to face trial in his home state of Pennsylvania, charged with sexual assault on a woman named Andrea Constand, amid accusations of similar behaviour from dozens of other women.
One of Hollywood’s brightest and wealthiest stars, a role model to African-Americans and philanthropist for Black causes, Bill Cosby was an American icon. In 1965 he came to prominence as the first black American actor to appear in a starring role in a mainstream drama, and in the 1980s the eponymous Cosby Show, with Bill’s alter ego Cliff Huxtable as the lead, was his career’s crowning glory. The impact of the show was seismic, redefining the way African-American families were represented on television.
But throughout his career Bill was allegedly privately drugging and raping women with impunity. Accusations from numerous women had fallen on deaf ears for more than a decade, but ironically it was Cosby’s own public pronouncements on morality which finally brought both a criminal case and public disdain.
When Hannibal Buress, an African-American comedian, publicly denounced Cosby as a rapist in 2014 without reprisal, dozens of women came forward alleging similar behaviour. However, because their cases happened such a long time ago Cosby will face a criminal trial for only one of them.
This film explores why it took so long for allegations about Bill Cosby to be taken seriously, and hears extraordinary testimony from the journalists, co-stars and the accusers who fought for years for this side of the Cosby story to be heard. Interviewees include Richard Pryor’s widow Jennifer Lee Pryor, as well as accusers, fellow Cosby actor Lili Bernard, and former actor and playboy bunny Victoria Valentino.
Cosby, a 1x60’ for BC Two, is made by Sugar Films. It was commissioned by Patrick Holland and Clare Sillery, Head of Commissioning, Documentaries. The Commissioning Editor is Jamie Balment. The Executive Producer is Lucy Pilkington.
SB2
BBC Two: Special Ops: 1943
During the 1940s a crack team of undercover agents were plucked from civilian life. They were intensively trained to go behind enemy lines in Europe, where they ran resistance cells, gathered intelligence and undertook sabotage missions. Their enormous contribution to the war effort is still largely unknown. This new 5x60 series for BBC Two, Special Ops: 1943 will tell the story of the Special Operations Executive by painstakingly resurrecting their training programme, revealing how a group of ordinary men and women helped save Europe from within.
Using once-classified training manuals, secret mission plans and personal testimony, the series will bring one of the most exacting training schools back to life. For three weeks, modern-day Britons will try to master the complex cover stories, 1940s code breaking and sabotage skills that went into being an SOE agent. The chosen few will make it to ‘finishing school’ where they will be tested by dummy missions to see who has what it takes to pass the course. Those that do will undertake an emotional journey in the UK and overseas to discover what happened to the real agents and to honour their incredible bravery and sacrifice.
Special Ops: 1943 is made by Wall To Wall. It was commissioned by Patrick Holland and Tom McDonald; the Executive Producer is Cate Hall and the Series Producer is Michael Fraser.
RH2