BBC Wales: Difference between revisions

'''BBC Wales''' (known in Welsh as '''BBC Cymru''') is the [[Wales|Welsh]] division of the [[British Broadcasting Corporation]]. Although based in and around [[Cardiff]], it also operates from several sites in Wales, including one at [[Aberystwyth University]]. It operates the Welsh regional variants of [[BBC One]] and [[BBC Two]]. However, the bulk of its employees are concerned with the production of new content.

Around [[2003]], BBC Wales successfully untangled the rights issues surrounding ''[[Doctor Who]]'', which had plagued the possible return of the program for most of the [[1990s]]. It thus won the right to begin producing a new, televised version of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' and its behind-the-scenes companion, ''[[Doctor Who Confidential]]''. After these shows proved successful, BBC Wales added the spin-off shows, ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]'', ''[[Torchwood Declassified]]'', ''[[Totally Doctor Who]]'' and ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]''.

This heavy output of material related to the [[Whoniverse]] prompted the largest expansion of production facilities in the division's history. In [[2006]], BBC Wales leased [http://wikimapia.org/11998795/BBC-Wales-Studios-Upper-Boat a site] at [[Upper Boat]] in Pontypridd, on which they constructed studio space entirely dedicated to the production of ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs. Called simply "BBC Studios", the site is ten times as large as the rest of BBC Wales' studio space in Cardiff, and the largest studio complex in Wales.

BBC Wales has not restricted the production of ''Doctor Who'' and its spinoffs to Welsh facilities, however, as both ''Doctor Who'' and ''Torchwood'' have utilised other British Isles locations, and BBC Cymru-sponsored ''Doctor Who'' production has also taken place abroad (to date including the United States (for second unit work on ''[[Daleks in Manhattan]]''), Rome (''[[The Fires of Pompeii]]''), Croatia (for the [[Series 5 (Doctor Who)|Series 5]] episode ''[[Vincent and the Doctor|Vincent And The Doctor]]'') and even the United Arab Emirates (''[[Planet of the Dead (TV story)|Planet of the Dead]]'').

Like its BBC parent, BBC Wales can opt to pursue another production path. Instead of making the programmes themselves, they have an ability to commission programmes from other producers. This arrangement allows them to share both risk and reward with the contracted producer. Comparatively little of its Welsh language output is produced through such arrangements, but most of the programmes it shares with the national BBC are in fact commissioned work. Among the more famous commissioned BBC Wales programmes are: ''[[wikipedia:Casanova (TV series)|Casanova]]'' (created by [[Russell T Davies]] and starring [[David Tennant]]), ''[[wikipedia:Life on Mars (TV series)|Life on Mars]]'' (co-created by [[Matthew Graham]] and starring [[John Simm]]), ''[[wikipedia:Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'' (starring, [[:Category:Actors who appeared in Merlin|among others]], [[Colin Morgan]], [[Anthony Head]] and [[Angel Coulby]]), and ''[[wikipedia:Being Human (TV series)|Being Human]]'' (created by [[Toby Whithouse]] and starring [[Russell Tovey]]). In the summer of 2009, ''Merlin'' became the first BBC Wales-commissioned series to air on a mainstream American network when its first series was shown on NBC, while ''Life on Mars'' was subject to a short-lived Americanized remake.

BBC Wales continues to grow. It has recently been announced that production of the long-running series ''Casualty'' will relocate to Cardiff. Also, in December 2009, the Welsh government approved construction of yet another studio, dubbed the BBC Drama Village, on a reclaimed site near Cardiff Bay (Upper Boat, by comparison, is located some miles north of Cardiff). Production of ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs is expected to eventually relocate to this site.[http://gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com/2010/01/new-drama-village-in-cardiff.html]