BBC One: What Jay Hunt Leaves Behind

Last week it was announced that Danny Cohen, controller of BBC Three, will replace Jay Hunt at BBC One. Hunt is leaving the corporation to Channel Four so we take a look at what Danny Cohen will inherit from his predecessor as he takes over BBC One.

In terms of drama on BBC One over the coming year there is a huge amount of returning/pre-commissioned shows by Jay Hunt and Ben Stephenson – the BBC’s controller of drama. Whether this is a good thing or not for Danny Cohen is debatable. On one hand he has a slate of popular returning dramas which will pull in the ratings and means he doesn’t have to spend his first months in office deciding the fate of countless shows. However, in terms of drama given how much of next year has already been commissioned – drama wise – it will mean Cohen’s presence in drama will take longer to come through. While there will still be some gaps in the schedules for him to make his mark the full effect of Cohen’s tenure – where drama is concerned – probably won’t be felt until 2011.

So why is the next year so full in terms of drama? Well for a start there’s the Doctor Who franchise which encompasses three shows; Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures. A sixth season of Doctor Who is currently filming for broadcast next year though with a difference; it will be spilt into two blocks. The first part of season six will air in the Spring while the remainder will air in the Autumn. The “splitting” of seasons into two halves is a common occurrence in America allowing production to catch up and also creating the ‘mid-season’ cliff-hangers to ensure audiences interest is maintained. Next year will see the return of Torchwood following its absence this year and it’ll be back with a ten-part series. Torchwood: The New World is a co-production between the BBC and Starz and will be a ‘global’ storyline with filming in Los Angeles and other locations. Actors John Barrowman and Eve Myles will reprise their respective roles though additional casting is yet to be announced.

The final spin-off in the Who franchise is The Sarah Jane Adventures which has only just returned for its fourth season! However, a fifth season has already been ordered and partially filmed with the remaining episodes to be produced next year. Strictly speaking The Sarah Jane Adventures is more CBBC than BBC One but it does air on the flagship channel in the children’s strand of programming. However, as with daytime the BBC now consider children’s television as an area requiring additional investment and boosting – to raise standards and keep that particular industry going. So Danny Cohen – working alongside the CBBC/Drama controllers – will be keen to ensure the BBC’s commitment to children’s drama and SJA plays a key role in that.

Steven Moffat will also be working on the second series of Sherlock which will either air next year or in 2012 – but most likely towards the end of next year. Sherlock aired on BBC One earlier this year to rave reviews and big audiences which is why the BBC were so quick to order a second season. Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman will return in Mark Gatiss/Steven Moffat’s modern-day adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. Also back for a second series next year with be the physiological crime series Luther which stars Idris Elba and aired on BBC One earlier this year – a second series has been ordered but reports claim it’ll consist of two hour-long specials. Historical legal series Garrow’s Law starring Alun Armstrong and Andrew Buchan has also been ordered for 2011. Two further instalments of Rock and Chips – the Only Fools and Horses prequel – have also been ordered for next year. A one-off Rock and Chips aired earlier this year to strong ratings and starred James Buckley and Nicholas Lyndhurst. Filming for the two new instalments has reportedly just begun. Merlin will most likely return for a fourth season next year though this hasn’t yet been confirmed. Ratings for its third series – still airing on BBC One – have been steady and have not spiralled down like Robin Hood did across its third season.

Upstairs, Downstairs will return to television this Christmas for three feature-length episodes. The critically acclaimed drama originally aired on ITV (commissioned by LWT) in the 1970s and was a huge hit with audiences. The BBC has revived the series as a continuation of the original rather than a remake. Actress Jean Marsh – who co-created the series with Eileen Atkins – is reprising her role of Rose Buck for the revival while Dame Eileen Atkins will also appear. The BBC are hoping the revival of Upstairs, Downstairs will be a hit with audiences just like Downton Abbey has been for ITV1. Downton Abbey has topped 8 million viewers for ITV1 and a second series has been ordered – the series enjoys a strong lead-in from The X Factor which has doubtless boosted its audience. Following the three-feature length specials the BBC has stated a full series could be ordered if Upstairs, Downstairs proves successful in terms of ratings. Last Christmas the second series of Cranford aired on BBC One to decent ratings but they were lower than its first series – but how will Upstairs, Downstairs fare in the festive period? Danny Cohen and Ben Stephenson will probably decide together the fate of Upstairs, Downstairs after it has aired.

Another period drama returning next year will be Lark Rise to Candleford for a fourth series. In its Sunday slot it hasn’t quite topped 8 million viewers ala Downton Abbey but it continues to perform steadily with an average audience of 6.3 million viewers – nearing 7 million viewers for several episodes of its third season. Hustle will also be back next year for its seven season but will it be the last year? Ben Stephenson has previously indicated that some long-running BBC dramas could be axed in order to free up space/funding for newer shows and Hustle, Silent Witness, Spooks and Waking the Dead are all seen as potential victims of the axe. Waking the Dead will return next year for its 9th season which will reportedly been its last. Although the BBC has denied this is the case it is still widely speculated Waking the Dead will end after its 9th season. If Spooks, Waking the Dead, Silent Witness and Hustle are all cancelled there will be considerable space in the 2012 schedules for Cohen to begin to really make his mark on BBC One. However, losing four long-running, award winning and popular shows in a go is a little risky and controversial so it would be more sensible if the BBC were to axe them to do it slowly – one a year for instance. New dramas for 2011 include new sci fi series Outcasts starring Jamie Bamber and Exile, Taken and South Riding to name but a few.

It is hard to imagine that Strictly Come Dancing and The Apprentice won’t be back given their strong performances so far in their current series. Junior Apprentice has been re-commissioned for a second series next year so its hard to imagine parent series The Apprentice won’t also be back. This year it was pushed back to the autumn because of the general election and Lord Sugar’s involvement with the previous government. When it will air next year, if indeed it does return, is a good question. If it aired in the Spring, as it has done before, filming would likely have to begin in the New Year fairly quickly to be ready in time for transmission. However, the BBC may see how its new series performs in its new Autumn slot and keep it there if ratings are good.

Factual programming can argued as one of the defining features of Cohen’s time at BBC Three with a notable increase with programmes such as Women, Weddings, War and Me filling the schedules. Jay Hunt has also noticeably increased factual output on the BBC One especially on prime-time – The Young Ones for example. It is therefore likely that Cohen will continue this trend and shows such as The One Show and Countryfile are prime examples of the BBC’s continual success. The One Show continues to perform well for BBC One with an average audience of over four million viewers avoiding a major drop in ratings following the departure of Christine Bleakley and Adrian Chiles. New presenters Alex Jones and Jason Manford have both settled into their new roles well and the audience have accepted them. Sunday evening’s Countryfile, despite a backlash against the revamp (to attract younger viewers), has seen ratings top 6 million viewers – another success for the BBC.

As for BBC One’s news output it continues to rate above that of ITV with several more million viewers tuning in for the news programmes on BBC One – especially with the 10pm bulletin which is usually two million viewers or more up on ITV’s News at Ten. The launch of Daybreak on ITV1 hasn’t dented the ratings for Breakfast, on BBC One, at all. In fact last week ratings for Breakfast climbed to 1.8 million viewers while Daybreak’s fell to just above 600,000 viewers. Since the launch of Daybreak the ratings for Breakfast have held steady at 1.4 million viewers but the proposed move to Salford could change all of that. It will be the Salford move that could reverse the fortunes of Daybreak – which is London based – as will celebrities and politicians be prepared to travel outside of London for a brief interview on Breakfast? The likelihood is no and as such Daybreak could see a reversal of fortunes with more important people appearing on it over Breakfast – but the move is some way off yet so its probably too early to speculate.

Despite impending budget cuts and possible coalition plans to change the licence fee – or even scrap it entirely – Danny Cohen inherits a relatively healthy BBC One. It has a large drama slate for next year with a mixture of critically acclaimed returning shows and some new dramas, it has found continued success with The One Show and Countryfile, there’s been a rise in factual in prime-time and its news continues to rate above that of its rivals. Perhaps its only weak spot is comedy with the axing of Last of the Summer Wine proving to be a tad controversial – but also at the same time necessary – and comedies such as Reggie Perrin, The Old Guys and even My Family struggling to top 4 million viewers. If there is one area which perhaps needs a bit of immediate TLC its comedy. Only time will tell how BBC One will look under its new controller, Danny Cohen.