BAFTA Boss Celebrates British TV Industry In 'Rude Health' But Says 'Choppy Waters' Could Arise Amid Drama Funding Crisis
BAFTA boss Jane Millichip has celebrated a British TV industry in 'rude health' but said 'choppy waters' could arise 'if we lose control of our value chain.'
Speaking to Deadline as the likes of Baby Reindeer, Rivals and Mr Bates vs the Post Office were rewarded with multiple BAFTA TV noms, Millichip said the industry 'has to look at' options to address the UK drama funding crisis such as improved tax credits, streamer levies or more support for the freelance community.
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'I'm the first one to celebrate studios opening up across Britain and big films coming here but the other vital factor is what sits under that and that is a strong domestic sector,' she said. 'I think we all need to pay some attention to that in the coming years. We have to really look at [all options] because if we lose control of our value chain then we could be in choppier and choppier waters.'
Millichip stopped short of backing high-profile proposals for a streamer levy to help solve the scripted funding crisis but said 'the BFI [British Film Institute] is looking into this so we wait with interest to see what they come up with.'
In recent weeks, storied British creatives including Jack Thorne, Peter Kosminsky and Jane Featherstone have raised concerns over the future of local British drama such as ITV's Mr Bates, which picked up six BAFTA noms.
The barriers are breaking down between shows commissioned by the broadcasters and the streamers, Millichip noted, as she pointed to two local Netflix projects that could perform well at next year's BAFTAs – Toxic Town and Adolescence – both of which are dominating the global charts at present.
'What is interesting is you are seeing barnstorming commercial shows across linear but also some really strong British drama on the streamers,' she added. 'There is less of a distinction in terms of the shows we're seeing across the full piece.'
Millichip said today's noms demonstrate that 'British TV is in absolute rude health' and cited diversity gains such as Baby Reindeer's Nava Mau, the first openly transgender acting nominee, and half the nominated directors being women. She also flagged that half of the performing categories are first-time nominees including Rivals' Danny Dyer and celebrated movie actor Jonathan Pryce, who picked one up for Slow Horses.
When it comes to representation, Millichip said BAFTA has made improvements by opening up the diversity of its membership rather than taking a tick box approach to award submissions.
'The way we lean into this is publishing the diversity of our membership and we have set targets around membership so I think it's more of a systemic piece of work we are engaging in,' she added. 'This will lead to a more diverse play across the piece.'
'Life and Death in Gaza'
One big winner from today is BBC doc Life and Death in Gaza, which has picked up four noms – impressive for a documentary.
That show has been criticized after one of its most prominent voices was identified to have celebrated the murder of Jews in past social media posts, which was flagged in a recent report into the BBC's coverage of the Israel-Hamas War.
BAFTA will clearly be keen to avoid a repeat of what happened at this month's Royal Television Society awards, which first canceled an award honoring journalists in Gaza and then reinstated the gong following backlash.
Millichip stressed that Life and Death in Gaza 'has qualified through our criteria.'
'We are not aware of anything that would deem it not a credible entry,' she said. 'If that info arises then we will look at it.'
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