Bristol City Council fights to keep Casualty
Bristol City Council has joined the battle to keep TV's Casualty in the city and protect the £10-million a year in revenue it generates.
It is using its connections and its media know-how to put pressure on BBC chief Mark Thompson to ditch plans to move production to Cardiff, the Bristol Evening Post can reveal.
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The council's involvement behind the scenes – driven by Casualty's importance to the city's economy and its culture – emerged at a meeting of the quality of life scrutiny commission.
Councillor Colin Smith (Lab, Bedminster), who is his party's chief whip on the council, asked what was being done to stop the hugely popular hospital soap leaving Bristol.
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And when Councillor Rosalie Walker, a member of the council's ruling cabinet, bemoaned general cutbacks in local media, David Bishop, the authority's strategic director for city development, said: "We haven't lost anything yet. We have a very strong hand and we are playing that hand at a very high level."
Later, he told the Bristol Evening Post chief executive Jan Ormondroyd and other "senior representatives of the council" had held talks with BBC director-general Mark Thompson.
"Mr Thompson is visiting all the regions to talk about the BBC's regional plans," he said.
"They talked about Casualty. The council's interest is about the local economy and maintaining and developing the BBC's involvement locally."
The Post last week revealed the Saturday night drama was set to move to Cardiff.
The show has been filmed in the city since 1986 and pumps £10m a year into the local economy.
BBC executives said the series would need new accommodation in the near future and moving it to Cardiff would help the organisation "meet its commitment to building a creatively and economically sustainable centre of excellence for drama in Wales".
Mr Smith said yesterday he welcomed Mrs Ormondroyd's talks with the BBC. "We can only keep our fingers crossed, but I'm optimistic," he said.
"We have a strong hand to play."
He said the council's own film and media unit provided valuable support and facilities for TV and film crews working in the city.
And Mr Smith felt the case for Bristol would be pressed particularly effectively because of the strength of Mrs Ormondroyd's new top team of officers.
He said the Bristol officials had "the ear" of people at the top of the BBC and in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in London.
Comments
by Adam Foster-Fahy, Bristol, UK
Wednesday, October 22 2008, 7:14AM
“Bristol is Casualty's dirty little secret.
Casualty really does represent so much about Bristol's culture and is so importnat to so many Bristolians, and yet the programme isnt even set in Bristol. We're just a cheap London-ish backdrop.
And £10million? Of licence fee payers money? Go to Cardiff and get a better deal, Beeb!”
by margaret, bristol
Tuesday, October 21 2008, 7:38PM
“good to hear that our bristol city council is backing the fight to keep our beloved casualty series here in bristol, i agree that casualty SHOULD remain here in bristol, it's a great programme! despite some critics out there that think otherwise, i do hope that the decision will be reversed, and that casualty does stay here in bristol, to which this programme belongs, bristol is it's rightful place!, i will be watching this space!, and with fingers crossed!, hoping that us bristolians to which love this programme, will get victory in seeing it stay in bristol!.”
by Mike B, Bristol
Tuesday, October 21 2008, 4:35PM
“If the Council gets involved you just know "It will never happen", just as they are messing up our Highways and creating enormous congestion with Traffic-lights every 30 yards, they will surely mess-up any chance of Casualty staying in Bristol . . . so it's "Good Bye Casualty" from us ;-)”
by Michael Satherley, Bristol
Tuesday, October 21 2008, 4:02PM
“Casualty is Bristol and this has been established as the norm for this program, just as Shoestring was many years ago. Well done Bristol City Council. If we don't stand our ground on this, someone will want to move the Suspension Bridge elsewhere - there'e crackpots everywhere !”
by john, briz
Tuesday, October 21 2008, 3:40PM
“What shoddy journalism - come on BEP does this programme generate £10m or £20m in 'revenue' for the economy - this article says both! - has either number been quantified??
All ratepayers should be proud to learn that Bristol City Council has 'connections' and 'media know how' - lets hope the new top team of officers are equally talented at managing a City of 400,000 people.”