Insiders at the Corporation’s Mailbox HQ are warning that production of “Doctors”, the last regular series to be made in the city, is being switched to Manchester as part of a major investment in the North-West.
Hopes that it might be replaced by another hospital series “Casualty” have been dashed, leaving the Second City to concentrate on lifestyle shows and occasional documentaries.
Officially, the BBC says the decision hasn’t yet been taken, and there’s no formal announcement due until March.
It’s estimated that 60 jobs at the Corporation's Drama Village in Selly Oak are at stake, and Suzie Norton, chief executive of the local film and TV agency Screen WM fears the worst.
“We have a major situation on our hands here” she said.
“I’ve had very strong indications that as part of the move to Manchester, the BBC needs to move more content there.
“As well as losing ‘Doctors,’ ‘Dalziel and Pascoe hasn’t been recommissioned and isn’t likely to be, nor has the Afternoon Play series.
“That means the Drama Village, which was launched with such a fanfare when Pebble Mill closed down, would have nothing to do.”
Salford in Greater Manchester is due to become the BBC’s major production centre outside London, and will become home to the Corporation’s Sport output, Radio Five Live, Children’s BBC and the New Media department.
Norton is so outraged at the downgrading of Birmingham’s role that she’s leading a delegation to the North-West next Tuesday to quiz Director General Mark Thomson.
“He's organised a conference where he'll be telling everyone what a great job the BBC is doing to create more jobs and programmes in the regions, but Manchester shouldn’t grow at Birmingham’s expense” she said.
“This isn’t just about the immediate jobs that would be lost, it’s also about losing a vital training ground for local talent.
“People who crew TV dramas in Birmingham learn their trade and can then work on feature films in the area, so this will have a big knock-on effect.”
Staff at the Mailbox are still reeling from the loss of Radio 2’s overnight output to London. That followed the decision to broadcast Adrian Chiles One Show from the capital even though it was successfully piloted here.
Norton claims, “there’s mounting evidence that Birmingham is viewed as a broadcasting backwater by the Beeb. We have to make a fuss.”
BBC spokesman Peter Salmon said, “The BBC is committed to boosting existing expertise in the Nations and Regions and to continue the process of developing centres of excellence right across the UK.
“Details of exactly which series will move will be confirmed in the next few months and it would be inappropriate to speculate before the decision is taken.”
Read more on this story in The Stirrer column tomorrow and every Thursday in the Birmingham Mail and the Black Country Mail.
