The UK’s Film & TV Production Restart Scheme (PRS) will end up costing the government just £20M ($25M) while generating more than £2.25B ($2.8B) for the nation’s economy, according to an independent report analyzing its success.
28.03.2023 - 14:39 / deadline.com
The BBC’s appointment of Chair Richard Sharp “should not stand” and the process was “fatally flawed,” according to former Director General John Birt, who threw his weight behind the corporation over the Gary Lineker scandal.
The embattled Sharp, who is awaiting the result of two inquiries into his appointment, was described by Birt as “a person of obvious weight and consequence but an unsuitable candidate in one vital respect,” as he became one of the highest profile UK media figures to state Sharp should be forced to step down.
“I don’t think the appointment should stand,” Birt told the UK’s influential DCMS Committee (DCMSC) this afternoon. “This isn’t about political connections because governments of all kinds have appointed BBC Chairs who enjoy their confidence. But having known every BBC Chair for decades, governments have tended to have a good record for appointing people with an independent cast of mind, who will protect the BBC’s independence.”
Deadline revealed last week that the BBC had raised concerns about the way the government was going about appointing its new Chairman before the controversial hire of Sharp, who has been under the microscope for weeks after the Times revealed he had helped facilitate a loan for former Prime Minister Boris Johnson via the UK’s Cabinet Secretary Simon Case and Johnson’s distant cousin Sam Blyth.
Johnson had the final say on Sharp’s appointment and the DCMSC recently accused Sharp, a Tory donor and former boss of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, of making “significant errors of judgment.” He was also chided for undermining the selection process for the BBC chairmanship when he failed to disclose his links with Johnson.
Speaking today, Birt also criticized Case for being in a
The UK’s Film & TV Production Restart Scheme (PRS) will end up costing the government just £20M ($25M) while generating more than £2.25B ($2.8B) for the nation’s economy, according to an independent report analyzing its success.
Former Conservative Party MP, Chancellor and journalist Nigel Lawson has died at the age of 91.
Piers Morgan has praised a black cabbie who drove across London to return his lost phone at 2am. Former ITV Good Morning Britain star Piers has spoken out after losing his mobile. "Many thanks to @Gett_UK for tracking down the taxi containing my phone last night, and to Yasin the driver who brought it back from the other side of London at 2am," he wrote.
Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent U.S.-Lebanese actor Tony Shalhoub, who played the “defective detective” on “Monk,” is set to star as former auto mogul-turned-fugitive Carlos Ghosn in a high-profile TV series directed by Michael Winterbottom. Ghosn is the French-Lebanese-Brazilian former CEO of automakers Nissan and Renault who in 2020 jumped bail and absconded to Beirut hidden in a music case on a private jet while on trial in Japan for alleged financial misconduct. Lebanon does not have an extradition treaty with Japan. The six-part series titled “Fall of the God of Cars” is written by Winterbottom, the prolific British director of “Welcome to Sarajevo,” whose TV work comprises hit sitcom series “The Trip” and, more recently, “This is England” starring Kenneth Branagh as Boris Johnson.
EXCLUSIVE: The BBC raised concerns about the way the government was going about appointing its new Chairman before the controversial hire of Richard Sharp.
Gary Lineker will return to our TV screens later following a row which left the BBC's sport coverage in disarray. The former England international had to 'step back' from off his Match of the Day presenting duties after taking to social media to hit out at Government plans to stop small boats making the journey to Britain.
EXCLUSIVE: The BBC has apologized after broadcasting a documentary in which presenter Amol Rajan is filmed in the back of a taxi not wearing a seatbelt.
UPDATE: BBC employees will stage their biggest strike in 13 years on Wednesday after eleventh-hour talks with management failed. The walkout will force coverage of the UK government’s Budget off air and heap more embarrassment on Director-General Tim Davie, who has apologized for scheduling chaos over the Gary Lineker saga.
“Ambiguity” around social media guidelines was to blame for the BBC Gary Lineker scandal, according to Ofcom boss Melanie Dawes, who was challenged on the “creeping politicization” of UK TV news during a committee hearing this morning.
EXCLUSIVE: The BBC has scrambled to avoid further disruption to its schedules after a walkout over Gary Lineker’s suspension canceled Premier League output.
England footballing legend John Barnes says the conversation around the Home Office's controversial illegal migrant policy is being "side-tracked" by the Gary Lineker and BBC row. Speaking on ITV's Good Morning Britain, the former Liverpool player said headlines over the weekend could result in the message that Lineker was trying to get across, and the reason he spoke out in the first place, being 'lost'.
BBC Question Time host Fiona Bruce has announced she will be stepping back from her role as an ambassador for the UK's leading charity on domestic violence Refuge.
Self Esteem showed her support for Gary Lineker last night (March 11) by wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the words “Free Gary” at her Eventim Apollo show in London.The singer-songwriter – real name is Rebecca Lucy Taylor – shared on Twitter an image of herself sporting the tee at the show, writing “Solidarity” and tagging the BBC Sport presenter.She has followed in the footsteps of Fatboy Slim, who on Friday (March 10) displayed Lineker’s face on a video screen behind him. The move was met by huge cheers from fans who were watching the DJ perform in Manchester.It comes amid a row between the BBC and Lineker after the latter on Tuesday (March 7) called the government’s controversial plan to ban people arriving in the UK illegally from ever claiming asylum an “immeasurably cruel”.
The UK prime minister Rishi Sunak has found his meeting with French premier Emmanuel Macron this weekend totally overshadowed in the British media. On Saturday evening, Sunak’s office released a statement from the PM, saying:
An unprecedented Match of the Day without presenters, pundits or commentators was watched by 500,000 more people last night than the previous week.
An emergency communication tool dubbed the 'armageddon alert' system will reportedly be rolled out in the next few weeks. Millions of people will hear a loud alarm from their mobile phones as the system is tested, the Mirror reports.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has spoken out after Gary Lineker was dropped from his role on Match of the Day. The row broke out earlier this week after the former England striker took to social media to hit out at Government plans to stop small boats making the journey to Britain.
Piers Morgan has blasted the BBC's decision to pull Gary Lineker off Match of The Day. The corporation said the presenter's criticism of the government's Migration Bill was a "breach of our guidelines". The sports pundit will now be stepping back from his presenting duties until a "clear position" on his social media use is agreed upon.
More than 10 of the BBC’s highest-profile sports stars have staged an unprecedented walkout over the British broadcaster’s decision to suspend Gary Lineker. Below is a list of those who have walked out, with links to tweets explaining their reasons for joining the protest.
The BBC’s Premier League output is in freefall as mutinous presenters and pundits stage a protest over the suspension of Gary Lineker.