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Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tim Davie Says BBC Is 'Bombarded By Regions' Across The UK Looking For Investment
The BBC has been 'pushing money out of London like it's going out of fashion' but faces a dilemma when it comes to where in the UK to shift its spending, according to the Director General. Tim Davie was addressing the Creative Cities Convention (CCC) in Bradford, a city that has recently benefitted from extra BBC funding in the year it is the UK's designated City of Culture. More from Deadline BBC & BritBox Unveil Latest Agatha Christie Adaptation 'Virdee' Creator A A Dhand Reveals The Unlikely Hero That Inspired Him To "Fail Forwards" During A Decade Of Rejection Crisis? What Crisis? ITV Studios Bosses Reject Talk Of Gloom In The Scripted Market But Note British Limited Series Are Under Threat Davie said there has been a sea change in out-of-London commissioning of late and the corporation has been 'pushing money out of London like it's going out of fashion' having actioned plans to up spend by £700M ($932M) between 2021 and 2028. But he noted it is difficult to spread money between the regions. 'In a good way, I am bombarded by different regions looking for economic growth and all of these regions want money,' said Davie. 'The question is how do you deploy limited resources across the UK. The intent is there. You have to do it with the people you trust.' He stressed Bradford is a city that the BBC very much trusts, having recently made A A Dhand drama Virdee and made it the host for some of this year's Proms. He called for 'a degree of centralization' when it comes to decisions around where to spend money out of London from both the BBC and government. 'No one will come with a quarter of a billion and change the game but if you get all the money together you begin to shift things,' he added. 'There's a balance between spreading money thinly and making sure you have a base for skills. All these things need to come together alongside central government funding to make sure you get a critical mass.' The BBC is forever in the spotlight for the amount it spends and content it makes outside of the UK capital. Earlier this year it landed itself in hot water over the lack of Scottish people working on hit gameshow The Traitors, which is made in a castle in the Scottish Highlands. Davie was speaking at the CCC immediately after Dhand, a Bradford local who spoke about his 15-year journey from writing the first draft of Virdee to having it greenlit by the BBC. Others to have spoken at CCC include ITV Studios boss Julian Bellamy and Paramount UK's Sarah Rose. Best of Deadline Book-To-Movie Adaptations Coming Out In 2025 TV Show Book Adaptations Arriving In 2025 So Far Everything We Know About 'Emily In Paris' Season 5 So Far
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Virdee viewers already calling for season two of 'superb' BBC drama
Virdee fans are already pleading with the BBC for a second season after just two episodes of the Bradford-set detective drama. Based on the books by AA Dhand, who also wrote the TV series, it follows DCI Harry Virdee (Staz Nair) in his rogue approach to catching criminals, as well as tackling issues in his own family as his Sikh family struggle to accept his Muslim wife Saima (Aysha Kala). Viewers love the gritty plot, spotlight on family heartache and the show's setting, agreeing that the series continues to go from strength to strength. Virdee burst onto screens on BBC One last week and has already made a big impression, with fans clamouring for a return after just two episodes have aired. One impressed fan commented: "What a brilliant and gripping show this is. Brilliantly produced, directed and awesome actors. Opened my eyes with the Sikh V muslim race debate. Goodness and Family shine through in the end. Please be a S2." Read more: Virdee, review: this clichéd crime drama could have been much more (The Telegraph, 2 min read) Stars of BBC's 'new Happy Valley' crime drama series Virdee on Yorkshire's next big TV show (Yorkshire Live, 8 min read) BBC Virdee viewers issue same complaint minutes into first episode of new series (Leeds Live, 2 min read) They were not alone, as another viewer asked: "Virdee Season 2 @BBC?" Someone else agreed: "What a great watch #Virdee Binged the whole series on @BBCiPlayer hoping there's another series to follow?" It was a popular opinion, as another viewer added: "#Virdee is brilliant. Top quality writing and superb acting. Hope it gets a second season." Another person wrote: "#Virdee done. Really enjoyed that. Roll on Season 2 please." Virdee season two looks like it would go down well, as one person praised the show: "#Virdee is one of the most pacey and well written shows I've seen in an age. I'm hooked." Someone else wrote: "@BBCOne #Virdee just keeps getting better. Not even half way through episode 2. Full of Northern soul #Bradford" The detective drama had a slightly more mixed reception when it launched last week, but many viewers agreed that episode two had cemented the series as a must watch. One person commented: "Didn't enjoy this last week #Virdee, decided to give it another chance and actually glad that I did." Episode two began with a particularly grisly murder, leading into a postmortem that even Silent Witness fans would have found tough to watch. Virdee was hot on the case of a vengeful drugs gang who appeared to have tortured the victim before killing him, but things were also getting tense at home. The detective's Sikh family are not happy that he has chosen to marry Muslim Saima, but his doctor wife found that Bradford was a small world when her estranged father-in-law had a heart attack and ended up in hospital under her care. Next week, the drama is set to up the ante further with a high-profile kidnapping that garners national attention for the Bradford crime team. Virdee airs on BBC One at 9pm on Mondays and is streaming on BBC iPlayer.
BBC News
17-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Bradford stars as backdrop to new TV thriller Virdee
A new BBC drama series which has just hit our TV screens will have left anyone who has been to Bradford recently feeling more than a little sense of a six-part crime thriller set in the 2025 City of Culture began last Monday, with plenty of local landmarks starring as backdrops to the on-screen series is based on books by AA Dhand, who grew up in Bradford and was keen to make sure everyone knew about what made his home city historic buildings to popular boozers, the makers of Virdee ensured viewers got a real sense of place in the first episode - with more to follow in the coming weeks. Bradford's Victorian City Hall played a big part as the action began to unfold, unsurprising really as it still towers over the city Grade I listed building was designed by local architects Lockwood and Mawson and opened as Bradford Town Hall in one of the most memorable shots in Virdee is when its main protagonist, Det Ch Insp Harry Virdee - played by Staz Nair - and Saima Hyatt-Virdee - played by Aysha Kala - face City Hall and the landmark mirror pool in City mirror pool is said to be the largest urban water feature in the UK and at night can be transformed into an illuminated light, laser and water display. Meanwhile, just a turn of the head away, the more modern side of Bradford can be the TV series, Kala is seen with the mirror pool in front of her and Starbucks, Wetherspoons and Nando's behind her. Perhaps not quite as romantic as the Victorian architecture so prominent in Bradford, but in 2025 they are nonetheless a long established part of the city centre. Also featured in Virdee are several other locations which will be familiar to anyone who spends time in and around Bradford city of those is Sunbridge Wells, an underground tunnel complex with restaurants, cafes and tunnels were previously used as prison cells and as an air raid shelter during World War Hall, its present-day owner, said it was "really exciting for us to be shown on the BBC and be a part of this drama to basically show Bradford off"."A lot of people hear what Bradford's like, but to actually see our complex being shown in a positive light is a massive achievement for us," he said."I think it's really important people see the beautiful buildings we have and then they can come and see for themselves what Bradford's about." Another setting for action in Virdee is the City Vaults pub, a former bank that has been serving beer in Bradford for more than 30 years pub, opposite the Grade I Wool Exchange building, features Art Deco glass and wrought ironwork, including a spiral Cullen, head of marketing for City Vaults, said seeing it star as a location on a primetime TV drama was "absolutely fantastic"."It's great to be showcased in such a prominent BBC drama and we're really excited that we were one of the venues actually chosen," he said."It's a good showcase to what the City Vaults is." Before the first episode was aired, AA Dhand said he wanted to "show off" his home in its UK City of Culture said it was "vital" local people were used to make the production, with his choice of filming locations coming from a desire to "show the contrast between old and new Bradford".The writer, who is the show's executive producer, said viewers would see places showing the decline of Bradford's mill industry along with the city's "fresh, colourful and vibrant" modern features."Bradford is a really beautiful city," he airs on BBC One at 21:00 GMT on Mondays and every episode is available on BBC iPlayer to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.
BBC News
06-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Upcoming BBC drama Virdee will 'show off' Bradford
The writer behind a new BBC crime thriller filmed and set in Bradford has said he wanted to "show off" his home in its UK City of Culture year. Virdee, adapted from a set of novels written by AA Dhand, will premiere at Bradford's St George's Hall on Thursday, before airing on the BBC on Monday. The series will introduce DCI Harry Virdee - a police detective whose troubled home life stems from his Sikh family's disapproval of his marriage to a Muslim wife and the activities of his drug kingpin said it was "vital" local people were used to make the production, with his choice of filming locations coming from a desire to "show the contrast between old and new Bradford". The writer, who grew up in the city and is the show's executive producer, said viewers would see places showing the decline of Bradford's mill industry along with the "fresh, colourful and vibrant" modern features. "Bradford is a really beautiful city," he said."We go to City Park, where we have the biggest [urban] water fountains in England."This is juxtaposed in the series with the nightmarish ruins and mills that haven't been used for decades." The title character's "love for his family and his city will be challenged" as the series progresses, according to Staz Nair, who played Harry Virdee."Harry is a man who will protect what he loves and who he loves at any cost," Nair, who previously appeared in Game of Thrones, said. "This man lives by his own moral compass and his own moral code and will do whatever he has to do get the job done, even if that means surfing the line of the law." London-born Nair said he enjoyed filming in Bradford and told how during one alleyway shoot a resident came out to offer the crew some chai tea."Bradford was so welcoming, and everyone was so excited to part of it and understand what was going on, so I think that really inspired us all to continually put everything into it," he first episode of Virdee airs on BBC One at 21:00 GMT on Monday, with all episodes available to stream on iPlayer earlier that to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here, external.
