We Are England delves into the vital issues that matter most to audiences, told from their perspectives and as they see them.
The programmes for BBC One have been made from hubs in Leeds, Newcastle, Birmingham, Bristol, London and Norwich over two series. There will be 60 programmes per series and 120 per year.
Aisling O’Connor, Head of TV Commissioning for BBC England:
“We Are England is a new current affairs programme for our audience in England that will get to the heart of subjects that matter nationally, framed through a local lens. It’s so important that BBC England reflects its audiences up and down the country. This series will deliver a range and rich diversity of story and content, told from the perspective of our local communities.”
Audiences will hear from army veterans suffering with mental health problems who are retraining as HGV drivers, pastors keeping a city’s streets safe at night, and the family of Michelle Bettles, 20 years on from her murder, as police reopen the case and investigate new lines of enquiry.
We Are England, which starts on 26 January 2022, is ‘unlike any current affairs programme currently on TV’ the Beeb note, adding that ‘the series examines the changing face of England and explores the big issues people are talking about, in parts of the country often ignored’. That part sounds like it came from the GB News launch PR. The aim is, the corporation state, ‘to provide a unique and important reflection of the opinions and voices of England on a specific subject area.’
The programme will bring to air themed programmes, with each hub producing a different half-hour documentary on the weekly theme, tailored to each region. Themes for the first series range from mental health and the housing crisis to unsolved murders and young entrepreneurs striving to set up successful businesses in the face of adversity. In the final week of the first series, audiences will hear from six celebrities who take us on a personal journey of discovery to their hometowns, to understand what makes them who they are.
The series replaces Inside Out which aired a local version to each BBC region, with its own agendas – unthemed – from 2002 until 2020. The Beeb dropped the show due to that often rolled out excuse ‘budget cuts’. Prior to Inside Out each BBC, region produced their own localised weekly current affairs series such as Close Up North which was produced with three versions of that title by BBC North West, BBC Yorkshire and BBC North East, Matter of Fact from BBC East and Southern Eye from BBC South to name a few. These programmes aired on the now-defunct BBC Two regions service with Inside Out promoting the format, with one brand, to BBC One.
We Are England starts on Wednesday 26 January 2022 at 7.30pm on BBC One. The second 10-part series is due to start in autumn 2022.
