BBC reveals commissions to mark 100th anniversary

To mark 100 years of the BBC in 2022, the corporation has announced a series of sports, events and landmark commissions for TV, Radio, and Online under the banner BBC 100.

In 2022 special content will range from the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee to the Women’s Euros, the World Cup and Commonwealth Games, a host of new dramas and comedies plus Frozen Planet II, while BBC Three is set to return as a broadcast channel.

New TV and audio documentaries will consider the history of the BBC and its impact on public life over the last 100 years.
The BBC will also broadcast specials of its biggest shows around its 100th birthday. Strictly Come Dancing, Doctor Who, Top Gear, MasterChef, The Apprentice and Antiques Roadshow will all be marking the centenary in their own way.

In commissions for TV and iPlayer, comedy The Love Box In Your Living Room with Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse will take a look at the BBC’s last 100 years mixing contemporary footage with “genuinely authentic made-up stuff”. While on CBBC, children will be entertained by Horrible Histories: BBC’s Big Birthday Bonanza! in a special of the multi-award winning comedy series.

Here’s One I Made Earlier (w/t) with former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq will explore and celebrate the very best of British Children’s Programming from the past 100 years. The programme will track content from the very first radio broadcast of Children’s Hour in 1922, via the iconic Magic Roundabout, right through to Saturday morning hits such as Going Live.

Three-part series David Dimbleby’s BBC: A Very British History will trace the impact of the BBC on British life across recent decades. He will explore the Corporation’s role in major moments of political and cultural change, its conflicts with governments over the years, its own public controversies and how it continues to engage with the British people and attempts to represent a diverse and changing nation.

In the BBC’s First 50 Years (w/t) John Bridcut will look at the challenges and triumphs of today’s BBC, which have their roots in the Corporation’s first half century. The two part feature-length documentary will look at John Reith’s launch of BBC Radio in 1922; the rapid pace of technological change which has driven editorial priorities and opened up fresh opportunities; and the changing shape of British society which has fuelled the debate over whether the national broadcaster should lead or follow new social attitudes.

BBC Three will return with a renewed focus on British drama with four series written by and starring new talent and voices. In 2022 audiences can look forward to Superhoe, written by and starring Nicôle Lecky; a contemporary horror series from the Clarkson Twins set in Bolton titled Red Rose; emerging writer Ryan J Brown’s thriller Wrecked; and an adaptation of Sally Rooney’s award-winning debut novel Conversations with Friends.

Also to coincide with the centenary and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, BBC Three and BBC England are collaborating with Create Central to uncover original and untold stories from West Midlands voices for the channel.

Charlotte Moore, BBC Chief Content Officer says: “Our centenary year will be a huge treat for audiences of all ages from massive sporting events, comedy, entertainment, drama, arts and music, to documentaries assessing all aspects of the BBC’s history.

“BBC 100 will celebrate and reflect on the unique role the BBC plays in the lives of audiences across the UK as our much cherished national broadcaster from its creation right up to the present day.”

TV & BBC iPlayer

The Love Box In Your Living Room

Examined through the eyes of “Adam Adamant Curtis” and his brother “Richard Dimbleby Curtis”, comedy The Love Box In Your Living Room, “charts the intertwined socio-litical history of the British and their BBC since its quasi-religious birth on that great day in 1922”. Mixing contemporary footage with “genuinely authentic made-up stuff”. The Love Box In Your Living Room is faithfully concocted by Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse.
The Love Box In Your Living Room (1×60) is a Balloon Entertainment production for BBC Two. It is produced by Bradley Adams and executive produced by Harry Enfield and Balloon’s Bryan Elsley. Tanya Qureshi is the Commissioning Editor for BBC Comedy.

Horrible Histories: BBC’s Big Birthday Bonanza!

On Auntie’s Big Birthday, Horrible Histories celebrates the Corporation’s past century packed with fascinating facts and jokes. The first Director General, Lord Reith, reveals why he needed a postman’s help with his job application. We find out why the Queen’s Coronation made you the most popular house on the street if you had a TV, and how the launch night of BBC Two went awry, with not only a power cut, but also an escaped kangaroo!
Radio announcer Wilfred Pickles confounds Britain’s enemies with his Yorkshire accent, and how the creators of Doctor Who thought they were making a history programme. And from Bill and Ben to Tracy Beaker, Swap Shop to Blue Peter, how the BBC’s Children’s department has inspired the imagination of generations of kids.
Horrible Histories is made for CBBC and iPlayer by Lion Television. It was commissioned by BBC Children’s former Head of Content Cheryl Taylor. Executive Producers for Lion are Richard Bradley and Simon Welton, and the Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Melissa Hardinge.

Here’s One I Made Earlier (w/t)

Here’s One I Made Earlier is a very special programme which explores and celebrates the very best of British Children’s Programming from the past 100 years, to mark the BBC Centenary.

From the very first radio broadcast of Children’s Hour in 1922, via the iconic Magic Roundabout and the chaotic fun of Tiswas, right through to Saturday morning megahits such as Going Live and SMTV, Here’s One I Made Earlier promises to treat viewers to the ultimate story of one of the most important TV genres.

Blue Peter’s longest serving female presenter, Konnie Huq, will guide viewers through this extraordinary cultural and historical adventure, featuring not only nostalgic highlights from the past century, but also showcasing how Children’s TV has been at the forefront of change, social progression and inclusivity.

Along the way, Konnie will be joined by a host of famous faces, who will help her examine seminal moments from the past 100 years in this unmissable telly treat.

Here’s One I Made Earlier (1 x 60’) is a Mighty Scotland Production for BBC One and BBC iPlayer, commissioned by Kate Phillips, Director of Entertainment Commissioning. The Executive Producers for Mighty Scotland are Lynn Sutcliffe and Kirsten Highet. The Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Rachel Ashdown.

David Dimbleby’s BBC: A Very British History

As the BBC celebrates its centenary, it finds itself facing unprecedented challenges, from questioning of its funding model to fundamental shifts in broadcast technology and viewing habits. The BBC is among Britain’s most loved and yet criticised institutions: envied around the world, and always under intense scrutiny at home.

Whether receiving praise or criticism this publicly funded institution, at the very heart of our national life, is a lightning-rod for all of Britain’s frustrations, injustices, success stories and celebrations.

In this new three-part series, David Dimbleby will trace the impact of the BBC on British life across recent decades. He will explore the corporation’s role in major moments of political and cultural change, its conflicts with governments over the years, its own public controversies and how it continues to engage with the British people and attempts to represent a diverse and changing nation.

In each episode, David will look back over key moments in the recent history of the BBC, making use of illuminating archive, long-forgotten broadcasts, first-hand testimony and oral history as well as drawing from his own personal experience within the corporation. The series will explore what the BBC stands for in the modern world and, looking to the future, will assess the new challenges it faces.

David Dimbleby’s BBC: A Very British History w/t (3×60) for BBC Two and BBC iPlayer was commissioned by Patrick Holland, Director, Factual, Arts & Classical Music and Clare Sillery, Head of Commissioning, Documentaries, History & Religion. It is being made by BBC Studios. The Documentary Unit the Executive Producer is Denys Blakeway. The BBC Commissioning Editor is Hamish Fergusson.

The BBC’s First 50 Years (w/t)

In two feature-length documentaries The BBC’s first 50 years will explore how the challenges and triumphs of today’s BBC have their roots in the corporation’s first half century. Ever since John Reith launched BBC Radio in 1922, the rapid pace of technological change has driven editorial priorities and opened up fresh opportunities – and the changing shape of British society has fuelled the debate over whether the national broadcaster should lead or follow new social attitudes. At the same time, the BBC’s international broadcasting has exported British values, while giving domestic audiences a window on the world.

Mixing extraordinary material from the BBC archive with revelatory testimony collected by film maker John Bridcut over a number of years, these programmes feature occasionally comical eye-witness accounts of the way the BBC developed, often at breakneck speed.

The BBC’s first 50 years range from the earliest outside radio broadcasts, through pre-war television to the launch of a second TV channel, colour television, local radio, and the lead-up to the first news-on-demand service. Along the way came the challenges of political impartiality, the coverage of sex and violence, and the protests of those who believed the BBC’s ambitions risked overturning life as they knew it.

The BBC’s First 50 Years (w/t) for BBC Two and BBC iPlayer is made by Crux Productions and The Garden Productions. The Series Producer is John Bridcut and the Executive Producer is Magnus Temple. The Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Mark Bell.