Why do so few Scottish-based people work on The Traitors?
More than seven million people tuned into The Traitors final on Friday night.It's filmed near Alness in the Highlands and classed as a Scottish production but questions have been asked about the lack of Scottish-based people hired to work on the show.The Traitors counts towards the 8% of hours and expenditure that the BBC network is required to make and spend in Scotland.Studio Lambert, which makes The Traitors for the BBC, said it's confident the proportion of the programme's off-screen talent based in Scotland will increase.
According to media regulator Ofcom the aim of "out-of-London" productions is to "support and strengthen the television production sector and creative economies of the UK's nations and regions."Earlier this month senior producer and director Peter Strachan wrote on social media about the lack of Scottish-based representation in behind-the-scenes roles.He told BBC Scotland News that while The Traitors is a fantastic show it needs to be about more than "a pretty castle" and spending money in local hotels.He said: "Is it acceptable that the BBC should be using money that's earmarked to promote growth and jobs in Scotland and spending it on a series that is basically not doing that, a Scottish commission on which hardly anyone based in Scotland is working?"
He claims about 6% of the production team on this series of the Traitors are based in Scotland.Mr Strachan added this matters because it's about people's lives, livelihoods and the development of their careers.BBC Scotland News understands Scottish actor, Alan Cumming, presenter of the US version of the show has also been pushing for greater Scottish representation in production roles.Culture Secretary Angus Robertson has asked the BBC and media regulator Ofcom for a meeting to discuss the questions raised.
'Struggling to work'
BBC Scotland News has spoken to two Scottish-based people who have worked on different series of the show.Both asked for anonymity because they're worried speaking publicly will affect future job opportunities.They question why more Scottish-based people aren't hired.One said: "As a Scottish freelancer in TV it was so frustrating… especially considering how much we are struggling for work up here."Another commented: "I quickly learned that many of my peers had never spent much time in Scotland outside of working on the show."So why are the vast majority of runners, researchers, producers and other people for specialist roles based outside of Scotland for a programme that counts towards BBC Network's quota of Scottish hours and spend?
Stephen Lambert, chief executive of Studio Lambert said the Scottish television community is "large and talented", adding the production company has worked with Scottish production staff on drama series, such as the thriller series, "The Nest", which was made in Glasgow for BBC One."But a very different set of specialised skills and experience are required to make reality shows on the scale of The Traitors," he said."We are employing and training talented people based in Scotland to work on The Traitors."But one of the reasons why the show is so popular and acclaimed is because we employ the most experienced reality show production talent in the UK."He continued: "We're confident that over the coming years the proportion of that talent who are based in Scotland will increase and it is great news for the industry as a whole that such a well-loved show is coming from this part of the UK."BBC Scotland News asked Studio Lambert to confirm what percentage of people working on each series of The Traitors are based in Scotland.They did not respond.
Spending growth
BBC Scotland News put a number of Mr Strachan's points to the BBC Press Office.A spokesperson said: "As per Ofcom's regional production definition, The Traitors qualifies as a Scotland production and is clearly made in the Scottish Highlands, as viewers will know."An Ofcom spokesperson said TV production spend in Scotland grew from £119m in 2010 to £225m in 2022 due to the talent and skills within Scotland's production sector and the commissioning practices of the UK's public service broadcasters and global streamers."Ofcom's regulation has underpinned this growth and we hope to see this continue in the coming years," the spokesperson said.
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