A THREE-part documentary about the independence referendum and another looking at 20 years of the Scottish Parliament are among the programmes unveiled yesterday for the new BBC Scotland channel.
Yes/No – Inside The Indyref will feature key players from the opposing campaigns during the 2014 Scottish referendum – which has continued to influence political discussion across the country.
The series offers remarkable insight into the operations of the campaigns, with senior figures from both sides giving their views on their highs and lows as they tried to persuade voters to back them on September 18, 2014.
In candid interviews they lift the lid on where their operations hit the spot or suffered setbacks during the months of impassioned debate and argument. The first episode looks at the events which led to the announcement of a referendum, the part played by social media, how the teams developed their strategies and the drive to rally big names to their cause.
Another of the channel’s new shows features award-winning journalist and broadcaster, Alan Little. He’s no stranger to our screens reporting from locations across Africa, the Middle East and Europe, but his latest offering will originate from closer to his Dumfries and Galloway roots.
He will travel across Scotland for the documentary Children of the Devolution – meeting people in their 20s, 40s and 60s, to find out how their lives have been affected in 20 years of the Scottish Parliament.
Singer-songwriter Emeli Sande is also on the move, starting from her home town of Alford, near Aberdeen and travelling to Inverness, Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh, selecting buskers to perform with an orchestra.
The 31-year-old will choose her five favourite street performers to join her and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra on stage in concert at Glasgow City Halls.
Sande said: “I’m so excited about getting out onto the streets of Scotland to hear first-hand the talent that’s out there.
“Plucking the talent found on street corners and putting it into a big melting pot with a full-on symphony orchestra is going to be mind-blowing.”
Jamie Sives, who starred in Game of Thrones, will team up with Line of Duty and Shetland actor, Mark Bonnar, for the four-part drama Guilt, which is written by Neil Forsyth and set in Edinburgh. It follows two brothers who accidentally run over and kill an old man while driving home from a wedding.
Bonnar said he is “hugely excited” to be part of the show, adding: “Neil has managed to write a captivating and breathless thriller which, even in its darkest, most dramatic moments, maintains a pitch black sense of humour.”
The new channel will go on air at 7pm on Sunday, February 24, but broadcaster and The National columnist, Lesley Riddoch, said that while the programmes seemed interesting, any one could have been broadcast on BBC Scotland’s existing UK network opt-out slots: “To compete with existing channels, this new station needs to give viewers a strong sense of what they’ll get on BBC Scotland.
“Aiming to have something for everyone runs the serious danger of providing nothing for anyone in particular.
“Since the channel emerged from the battle over a Scottish Six news programme, the standard of its news offering will be particularly important.
“I don’t envy the channel bosses – BBC Scotland is being set up as a time when several younger generations are simply not paying the licence fee and watching Netflix instead.”
BBC Scotland director, Donalda MacKinnon, said: “Our commissioning team has curated an ambitious and engaging schedule aimed at reflecting Scotland in the 21st century, while satisfying our appetite to see the best of what’s
on offer from around the rest of
the world.”
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