Top Gear will help us kick-start TV production after the Covid crisis

The UK’s film and television industry has long been the jewel in the crown of our creative sector. It’s a unique national asset which allows us to punch way above our weight worldwide. As the Coronavirus struck, it was the fastest growing part of the British economy.

Since then, TV production has been forced to an abrupt halt. Filming has paused on big BBC shows like Line Of Duty, Peaky Blinders and Call the Midwife. We have cut back on broadcasts of EastEnders while new episodes could not be made, just as ITV has done with Coronation Street. Live events have been postponed or cancelled, leaving huge holes in the schedules. Collapsing ad revenues have brought major challenges to the wider market.

As the UK takes its first tentative steps to ease the lockdown the question is: what can we do to kick-start the TV industry and support our brilliant production sector nationwide?

At the BBC, we’re determined to do everything we can. We’ve been looking very carefully at how we can safely put some of our shows back into production, and I’m pleased to announce that we plan to begin filming again on both EastEnders and Top Gear by the end of next month. We’re also exploring ways to re-start filming on more dramas and other major BBC shows as soon as possible.

This is great news for viewers, but it’s also essential for the success of the many independent companies around the country who make these programmes and who have felt the economic shockwaves of this pandemic. It’s a sign of what we do to support this sector in every part of the UK that getting our shows back on the road will include filming from Cardiff to Dumbarton, Birmingham to Belfast.

Of course, we will be working within government guidelines. Crews will be strictly limited. Cast members will do their own hair and make-up. Social distancing measures will be in place. The filming now underway on our new productions of Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads monologues is showing what’s possible under Covid-19 restrictions. The BBC’s coverage of VE Day and this week’s Hospital specials from the coronavirus front line are examples of how well we can rise to the creative and technical challenge.

We want to serve our audiences and help TV production get back on its feet, but the number one priority will remain the safety and well-being of production teams and those who work with them.

That’s why the UK broadcasters and independent producers are working together. We want to work out how we can produce great programmes in the weeks and months ahead. We’ve made a start but we will need to think more about what we can do differently.

How we make shows will continue to evolve in the months ahead as lockdown restrictions are eased and government advice develops. But we all want the whole industry to safely return to production. Our shared goal is to find new ways of working to help fire up the engines of British TV production - safely and sensibly.

The BBC is determined to do all we can to support this aim. We have always been the cornerstone of the UK’s creative strength – the lead investor in, and platform for, British voices and talent across the UK. But delivering on our remit to make world-class content for all audiences depends on a thriving and diverse independent production sector.

That’s why within a week of lockdown we donated £700,000 to support The Film and TV Charity to help freelancers affected by the hiatus in filming and production. Within two weeks we produced a five-point plan designed to maintain the health and viability of our producers in all parts of the UK during a period of unprecedented disruption.

This package of measures included a doubling of investment in our Small Indie Fund – from £1 million to £2 million. This supports small and emerging British producers, two-thirds of which are from around the UK’s nations and regions and a quarter of which have diverse leadership. Our measures also targeted support towards the most vulnerable companies and those most immediately affected by lockdown. And they included a plan to supercharge development by injecting more money into keeping the pipeline of quality ideas and programmes flowing in both the short and the long term.

I am proud of how the whole sector has responded to the Covid-19 crisis. Like others, the BBC has had to improvise, experiment and reprioritise to keep services up and running. We have worked hard to provide audiences with not only the news and information they need, but the comfort and companionship they value.

Shows like The Repair Shop, Race Across The World, Masterchef and The Great British Sewing Bee have all achieved their highest ever audiences. Dramas like Normal People and Killing Eve have provided must-watch escapism for millions. The Graham Norton Show, The Ranganation, Have I Got News For You and the Mash Report have all adapted to lockdown to provide much-needed humour and entertainment.

It’s a reminder not only of the creative excellence of the UK’s television industry, but also of its importance to British audiences. Now is the time to make sure that this remarkable national success story, built on a thriving independent production sector reaching every corner of the UK, can continue through the coronavirus crisis and beyond.

This piece first appeared in The Telegraph on Thursday 14 May 2020.