麻豆官网首页入口

We have to continue to make sure we earn that invitation into peoples’ homes every day - reaching into living rooms with stories that touch hearts as well as minds, that will be talked about up and down the country.

Check against delivery

Quite the warm up act… Thank you Tony

Hello. Thanks everyone for coming tonight.

Two years ago I stood in front of many of you here and talked about my aspirations for 麻豆官网首页入口 Factual and what I believed we could all accomplish together

And over two incredible years, you all, we all have achieved extraordinary things:

• Taking creative risks,
• Preserving the role of specialism in the TV landscape - be it history, or science or documentary
• Creating space for debate to flourish

From Stephen Lawrence to Surgeons, Hospital to the House of Assad, Muslims Like Us to the Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan; I don’t believe any other broadcaster in British television has such an extraordinary breadth of output in factual, or strives to deliver on such an ambitious set of commitments - week in, week out.

Thank you/new ambitions

So tonight, before anything else, I want to thank you all. I want to say thank you to all the producers, directors, execs and presenters in this room. The work you deliver is extraordinary and we all, in factual commissioning, are grateful and privileged to work with you. None of this is possible without these partnerships.

I also want to pay tribute to the work of the brilliant factual commissioning team who are all here tonight, so ably lead by Clare Sillery, Tom McDonald and David Brindley.

Tonight, just over two years since I began in this role , I want to talk about how we can continue to build on our shared creative success and what I believe will lie at the heart of the factual of the future.

TV as a friend

I’ve always believed making TV is a privilege. Viewers invite us into their homes, their living rooms, alongside them on their sofas.
We’re invited in like a friend, we need to respond like a friend - the very best kind.

Of course, that means bringing pleasure, laughter, joy, and relief. That’s massively important to me. And, let’s be honest, joy has probably never been more needed…

But our closest friends, offer us something else too. They stimulate us. Make us think about ourselves and the world differently. Some of them even hold us to account - the very bravest of mine at least. And just as the best kind of friend is that brilliant combination of challenging and fun, so is the best kind of television. And that’s the kind of content I believe in. It’s also the kind of content where our modern 麻豆官网首页入口 leads the way. Big entertained audiences brought to big important subjects.

Impact in natural history

There’s no better example of delivering that impact than what we’ve achieved in natural history over the past few year, from Planet Earth II to Dynasties.

It’s TV that has delighted and amazed, putting factual at the heart of the nation's Sunday night viewing - certainly in my house we were riveted by brave iguanas; wowed by fish that can change gender; and moved by penguins struggling to make it up that icy ravine. (And my kids weren’t even double screening so I knew we were doing something right…)

In Blue Planet II’s case and extraordinary three quarters of a billion people around the world watched at least one episode. Just think about that - three quarters of a billion - that’s global reach indeed.

But it’s also content that has started some of society’s most important and urgent conversations and seen a material change in behaviour.

Plenty of other broadcasters are now following our lead, SVOD and terrestrial alike, but we’re determined to keep moving the conversation forwards, with TV that drives rather than reacts to the debate. That’s what makes the 麻豆官网首页入口 special - to anticipate and stimulate the national conversation. Not motivated by commercial imperatives or what’s in fashion.

And make no mistake, five years ago television about the environment was most definitely not in fashion - there was no sense that big, engaged audiences could be brought to this subject. But we’ve proven that factual programmes can simultaneously inspire and enthral.

Natural history announcements

Tonight I’m proud to unveil the next wave of programming that forms part of that ongoing conversation with viewers.

Alongside Blue Planet Live, War On Plastics, and a timely film on climate change. Chris Packham’s new project will examine the population explosion as we head towards a world of 10 billion by 2050. And Liz Bonnin will explore meat consumption - described by the UN as ‘the worlds most urgent problem’.

And one of our most loved brands, Springwatch is launching one of the biggest citizen science projects ever attempted aimed at mapping the health of UK wildlife.

I’m also proud to be able to announce a new landmark series in the ‘planet’ brand - Green Planet. A series that will confound our expectations and prove that plants can be as aggressive, competitive and dramatic as animals or indeed people who work in TV!

And I want to give you a taste tonight of our natural history landmark for Autumn 2019: One Planet, Seven Worlds. An epic, Sir David Attenborough series. And we’re honoured to have him here with us tonight. Take a look...

Impact in mental health

Our ambition for impact goes beyond just natural history. Over the last few years we’ve committed to shining a light on mental health helping take on taboos, challenge the stigma and bring the conversation out of the shadows.

But again we’re conscious these issues are not easily solved. So this May there will be a new season to mark Mental Health Awareness week.

In three powerful films: Nadiya Hussain, Alastair Campbell and David Harewood will give us visceral and personal accounts of their struggles with mental health.

Each of them is incredibly brave. And I want to thank them for that courage and honesty. I know that these films make a difference. And that is always core to our ambition.

Young audiences/digital

Mental health matters to all audiences. But with the challenges of today’s online world perhaps even more so for young audiences.

The likes of Louis Theroux and Stacey Dooley have proven that young viewers do have an appetite for complicated thought provoking programming. We just have to reach out to them where they are.

Which is why I’m so delighted this mental health season sits across so many platforms - One, Two, Three on 麻豆官网首页入口 iPlayer and on social. Digital is always core to our strategy and never a bolt on.

And that’s exciting for programme makers and commissioners alike. In this digital world the first drop is just the beginning - the life span of content has never been longer and so the impact promises to be even richer and more enduring.

Bringing the nation together

I don’t need to tell you though that these are fragmented times for our country and our industry. Part of our potency at the 麻豆官网首页入口 is still our ability to bring the nation together. They’re moments that create powerful shared cultural experiences. Wherever you are, in front of your television, on your tablet or on your phone.

Certainly when I think of the most significant moments in my working career - whether covering the horror of 9/11, or just months ago sitting in a truck, in a car park, in Windsor waiting to go live - I think of the responsibility those moments bring.

We reached over 22 million people with our coverage of that Royal Wedding. 20 million joined us across the weekend commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One.

These moments remind us, certainly remind me, of the power of content. That, even now, there is far more that unites us than divides.

Over the coming years we, at the 麻豆官网首页入口, will continue to actively seek out these shared national moments

World War Two

And so, later this year we’ll be covering the ceremonies to commemorate D-Day, 75 years on.

After his incredibly moving Who Do You Think You Are?, Robert Rinder will return with a series exploring the experiences of other families through the Holocaust. As the grandchild of holocaust refugees myself, this commitment - and all our commitments to mark World War Two milestones over the next five years – fill me with personal as well as professional pride.

And if you haven’t yet seen Arthur Cary’s profoundly moving The Last Survivors I would urge you to seek it out on iPlayer. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Holocaust survivors speak in quite that way before.

Delivering on our vision

It's always been important to me that we are a department with integrity and in turn it means that people have been generous enough to trust us with their most intimate stories - be that filmmakers, contributors, or famous faces.

Tonight I re-affirm that commitment. We want to be the home for creatives to do their most personal work: From Mobeen Azar’s Home Town to George McGavin’s incredibly brave Living With Cancer. And thank you both for being here tonight.

To seek out the untold stories: The Dad That Gave Birth and War in the Blood which follows a truly groundbreaking medical trial.

To take on the most challenging subjects and embrace complexity: Ed Balls on the small matter of the future of Europe… Good luck with that Ed!

With that in mind, let me give you a glimpse of what’s in store…

Conclusion and thanks

It makes me so proud to see the quality and range of those programmes. But there is no room for complacency.

We have to continue to make sure we earn that invitation into peoples’ homes every day - reaching into living rooms with stories that touch hearts as well as minds, that will be talked about up and down the country.

I urge you all to think of us as the home for your most ambitious, your most entertaining, your most moving ideas. Our ambition is to make television that is central to peoples’ lives. Programmes that, like the best kind of friend, make you laugh, make you cry and make you think.

Thank you very much. Enjoy the rest of the evening. On Danny Dyer’s advice - its jaeger bombs all round later…

Related Media Packs

• 麻豆官网首页入口 announces new factual commissions