THE National Lottery shows on BBC Television are to be produced from Scotland and Northern Ireland as part of a strategy to spread the supply of programmes for network broadcasting.
It follows an announcement from Mark Linsey, BBC controller of Entertainment Commissioning, and continues a trend for BBC Scotland in particular, which has had the productions of the Weakest Link, Question Time and Newsnight Review recently allocated to it.
Says Linsey: “Consolidating production of our National Lottery shows allows us to consistently utilise the wealth of experience and state-of-the-art facilities at our [Glasgow] Pacific Quay site, whilst tapping in to all the independent creative talent from across Scotland and Northern Ireland.”
Production of the National Lottery shows will be overseen by Glasgow-based Alan Tyler, in his new role of executive editor, Entertainment Commissioning.
Says Tyler: “This is a real and significant commitment to entertainment production outside of London and will play a key part in building the sector with both independent and in-house producers.”
Adds Anne Morrison, controller of Network Production: “The move of the Lottery shows is part of our exciting plans to build entertainment production in Scotland and Northern Ireland. By making more programmes outside London we are boosting the creative industries in those areas and ultimately benefitting all our audiences across the UK”.
Already, the National Lottery’s ‘1 vs 100’, which is currently on air, is being made in Scotland.
