成人论坛

It's been a week full of good, old-fashioned heroism - when astronaut Tim Peake became the first Brit on the International Space Station, an event covered masterfully by our in-house 成人论坛 Science team. That countdown puts the 成人论坛 Studios launch in April into perspective, I suppose.

We’ve done lots of thinking about the future and what it might bring, but amidst all that production teams have found time to keep making gripping content - like Luther's return to 成人论坛 One just this week. It's been a year when some of the nation's favourites reinvented themselves to massive audiences - from EastEnders’ innovative live 30th anniversary episodes to the 13th series of Strictly –the final just round the corner -for my money one of the best series ever. And we produced some unforgettable live moments -  and not just from space -like Steve Backshall losing his cool at the sight of a blue whale on Big Blue Live, the historic flypast for the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and Adele's return to the stage for 成人论坛1's unforgettable special.

It’s that range that makes 成人论坛 Studios such a special thing – the ability to move effortlessly from hard-hitting to laugh-out-loud, from global fandoms to local stories, music to drama. In the end it’s a question of thinking outside the box too – and that’s what our new plans for 成人论坛 Studios should be all about as part of the 成人论坛's commitment to the UK creative sector in Charter Renewal.

We all get trapped in boxes – they can hem us in and hamper our imagination, and we have to keep forcing ourselves out of them. The box could be a London-centric mindset – until you think about the incredible breadth of content being made by 成人论坛 teams across every part of the UK. It could be the linear broadcast box-in-the-corner-of-the-living-room – until you see the ground-breaking digital innovation bubbling up throughout our production teams. The box could even just be the office – and getting out and about, talking to the writers and producers, on set, in the mixing studios and make-up rooms, is always the best way to broaden our horizons.

With that mantra in mind, I went off for a day of exploration with my leadership team – destination: Birmingham. It's not always been the trendiest of television locations but these days there are signs of real creative revival.

Great things started at 成人论坛 Birmingham – Top Gear and The One Show for example – and big things are happening there now too. At the Drama Village we examined the marvellous Doctors, serving up a dose of daytime drama to the nation day in day out. It’s a real petri dish for talent too – working with over 800 actors a year and nurturing new writers – often from the Midlands – who go on to the likes of Land Girls and EastEnders. The global success of its stable-mate Father Brown, as well as newcomer The Coroner shows the appeal of the quintessentially British stories that 成人论坛 Studios does so well.

We also visited the 成人论坛’s Digital Guerrillas in their base in trendy Digbeth, and heard about their own mission to think beyond the confines of traditional TV – whether it’s the inventive #ramadaninaday that got young people talking on social media about what Ramadan means to them, or the exciting interactive project for one of the 成人论坛’s hottest upcoming dramas, Thirteen. Together with the Digital Storytelling Team in London, who are working on exciting new short form projects with 成人论坛 Three and VR work with Science we are starting to see a different way to make content and connect with the audience. You can see some more highlights from our digital year in the video below:

After hearing about the central role that Birmingham will play in the 成人论坛’s Shakespeare season in 2016, we had a bit of a cultural change of pace and finished the day at the huge 成人论坛 Music Awards at Birmingham’s NEC – screaming along with the teenage girls as One Direction took the stage in a massive production from 成人论坛 Entertainment and Events.

The story of 成人论坛 Studios in Birmingham is one of entrepreneurialism – teams finding ways to get things done against the odds and outside the traditional means - stuff we will need aplenty in the new world. It’s also part of the case for a uniquely distributed in-house production – one that doesn’t just make programmes all around the country but is truly woven into the fabric of British places and British life, reflecting all our stories to the nation and the world. But we can’t take this for granted – these local ties are often delicate, and without the regeneration that 成人论坛 Studios will bring, the whole enterprise could unravel. 

成人论坛 Studios is more than the sum of its parts, but every part is precious – and every part will be spreading a bit of festive joy across the UK this Christmas: Mrs Brown’s Boys from Glasgow, the Christmas Big Sing from Salford, Still Open All Hours from Doncaster and London, as well as Doctor Who and the epic War and Peace, from 成人论坛 Wales - the latter launching in the new year, a masterpiece in period drama.

Linear or digital, serious or light-hearted, local, regional, national or global – I hope there's no box big enough to contain the creative ambition for 成人论坛 Studios. And as we head towards our launch in 2016, that’s something to celebrate. 

Peter Salmon is Director, 成人论坛 Studios.

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