Lindsay Salt outlines her vision for BBC Drama and announces a raft of new commissions

Published: 21 February 2024

Welcome, everyone. Thank you for coming.

The main purpose of tonight is to say a massive thank you to all of the exceptionally creative people in this room, and to celebrate the fantastic dramas you make for the BBC.

But it's also a chance for us to set out our plans for the future of BBC Drama and to invite you - every single person in this room - to be a part of them.

In today's age of competition and choice, we know it's more vital than ever for the BBC to define what makes us different…

…To cement our unique place in the drama landscape and explain what it is that we, more than anyone else, can do for you.

Some might think this is a challenge that has only become more difficult in recent years…

…But I believe that making the case for what makes the BBC special, what sets us apart, is easier right now than it has ever been.

And tonight I want to talk about why.

Moments that define British drama

When we think back to the best British drama over the decades, all of us will have our own list of iconic shows that spring to mind.

But sometimes it's the iconic moments that live with us most…

…Those pivotal, jaw-dropping moments of television that have us crying or laughing, gasping in shock or shrieking at the TV.

The moments that make us really feel something, that jolt us into consciousness…

The moments that speak to the BBC's unique ability to bring people together and make television history… Where you know millions of people around the country are sharing that same experience at the same time.

So, what are those moments for me over the years?

Well, it's Happy Valley and the shocking moment Tommy Lee Royce set himself on fire.

It's Pride and Prejudice and Mr Darcy's impromptu dip in his private lake.

It's the moment in episode 2 of Spooks when Helen Flynn has her head pushed into a deep-fat fryer… I definitely shrieked at that one.

It's the beautiful sex scene in Normal People that lasted 4 minutes and forty seconds…

…And the AC-12 interview scene that went on for nearly half an hour.

It's Zoe Slater shouting at Kat - 'You ain't my Mother'… And the brilliant response: 'Yes I am!'

…It's the three extraordinarily powerful endings to I May Destroy You.

These are the moments that electrify audiences. Where you can't look away.

You remember where you were when you watched them, you remember who you were with… And you talk about them for days and weeks.

They go on to become touchstones for British drama - referenced for decades to come.

Now, it might be easy to talk about these moments in hindsight, and say it's obvious they would work.

But before any of them could happen, there were daring, audacious writers who were determined to get them on screen…

…there were bold, unflinching producers encouraging them through…

…and there were drama commissioners who did not stand in their way.

Last year, Blue Lights came to our screens…

A relatively new cast, a Belfast location and the first returning series for writers Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson.

Some might have questioned whether it was going to connect with audiences in every part of the UK.

Well, it did: it launched to more than 7 million viewers and was in the top ten new drama series for 2023 across all broadcasters and streamers.

And when it came to episode three - in the harrowing scene where a father takes his teenage son to be kneecapped by appointment, some might have worried that audiences would retreat.

But the reality was the precise opposite.

Viewers found that moment important and necessary. It was authentic storytelling at its best and the people watching could feel that.

A situation that was painfully recognisable for one nation was shared and acknowledged by millions across the whole of the UK.

Another moment of huge impact, burnt into our consciousness.

We hear a lot about risk-taking in drama… There's no one in the industry who wants to stand up and say: "I'm all about not taking risks, actually".

But we all know there are different interpretations... Different levels of risk appetite, and different attitudes to risk every step of the creative journey.

So in today's landscape, I think it's worth taking a step back to interrogate what risk-taking really means today - in all of its forms.

As an industry are we getting bolder? Or are we in danger of going the other way?

From 'Peak TV' to 'Peak Caution'

About ten years ago, all the talk was that we had hit 'Peak TV'.

Some compared it with an overheated housing market. They warned that a crash was on the way.

In the last couple of years, we've certainly seen a correction.

Inflation, content and platform saturation, streamer retrenchment, the writers' strike… It's all fed a serious slowdown.

Five years ago, everyone was willing to make brave choices, to experiment, to try something a little unorthodox.

It was all about taking big swings and enjoying the unpredictability - the surprise hits.

But today there's much more short-termism. The big bets of the boom era are a thing of the past.

We've seen buyers retreat into cautious commissioning spaces. The industry as a whole has become - dare I say it - a little fearful.

I'm sure some of you will have seen James Graham's brilliant play, Dear England - about Gareth Southgate and the England football team…

… There's a line from that play that has stayed with me, where Gareth explains that: "Fear drops your IQ by 15%".

It really made me think. There's so much pressure on all of us to get it right… A sense that if a show isn't an instant hit, that it must be a failure.

So it's no surprise that across the industry there's more of a focus on data, and big stars, and 'bums on seats'.

Financial pressures and commercial imperatives mean that others are defaulting to safe bets.

But, as Gareth warns us, the worst time to make decisions is when we're scared.

I worry that risk-taking is becoming a dirty word... And that, in less than a decade, the industry might be moving from 'Peak TV' to 'Peak caution'.

The BBC taking risks others won't

But not the BBC.

Our mission means we've always had a responsibility to back the UK's best storytelling, and champion the brightest, bravest talent. At every stage of their career.

From Theresa Ikoko to Sally Wainwright, Steven Moffat to Tony Schumacher, Paris Lees to Heidi Thomas, Russell T Davies to Daniel Lawrence Taylor, our job is to back writers' versality, and allow them - actively encourage them - to evolve. To be ever-playful.

Partly it's the sheer breadth and range of what we can commission.

This is one of our superpowers… It means we can take more risks - commissioning shows that shouldn't work on paper. Take on subjects that others might walk away from.

And our thinking is long term… We're not interested in regurgitating a show that was a hit yesterday, it's about backing the shows that will go on to define the best-in-class mainstream in the future.

Normal People, Happy Valley, Mood, Boiling Point, The Gold, Boat Story, The Responder, I could go on - they've all broken boundaries, they've all gone places other shows wouldn't have dared to go.

Of course, for the BBC, a long-term approach to backing and building shows is nothing new.

Look at how Steve Knight's Peaky Blinders nearly tripled its audience over six series, and Jed Mercurio's Line of Duty nearly quadrupled… Both building from early days on BBC Two to huge mainstream audiences on BBC One and iPlayer…

Doctor Who celebrated its 60-year anniversary last year and has never been more ambitious and brave.

But there's something about this moment, the current climate in our industry, that makes our approach to risk even more essential.

While others might become more cautious, we will go further to take the risks others won't - to task all the producers and creatives in this room to keep pushing those boundaries, and to venture into the creative unknown.

And real risk-taking is also about protecting those dangerous moments in scripts, those moments where you sit up and think: 'Wow, I've never seen that before' or 'Are you allowed to do that?!'.

It's about realising that our job as commissioners is backing that authorship, the authorship that sits at the heart of truly game-changing drama…

…And never, ever diluting those vital moments that I referenced earlier, the moments that go on to become landmark and genre-defining.

The moments that made me want to join the BBC.

As BBC Drama commissioners, we won't blink or shy away where others might. We won't interfere out of fear that we might get things wrong.

I believe we're the only place that can promise true boldness and braveness in all our decision-making.

In an era of caution, it's our time to shine.

Redefining 'state of the nation' drama

So what will this look like?

Over the next few years, I want the BBC to redefine 'state of the nation' drama…

…I want us to use our appetite and ability to take risks to shake up what 'state of the nation' really means, and re-purpose it for new audiences.

It's a phrase that - in my opinion - has become a little dusty and old-fashioned.

Sometimes associated with shows that are earnest or overloaded with messages. Static when it should be dynamic and vibrant and necessary.

It should mean stories that are honest and emotional, revealing and messy… It should reflect something different to different age groups and communities.

Dramas such as State of Play, Three Girls, Our Friends in the North are state of the nation dramas to me, but so too are dramas such as I May Destroy You and This is Going to Hurt.

They can be playful in their exploration of modern dilemmas and issues.

All of these may be tonally different but they all have an urgency, an immediacy. They all provoke reflection - about who we are as a society and who we are as people. They're all dramas that are both timely and timeless.

That's why my first priority for drama is currency.

That means work that feels alive, that lives in and interrogates the present.

Slices of life that speak to the human condition, in order to tell us something important about the UK right now.

We want to use the scale of the BBC to start big conversations.

And we want to be super ambitious and have fun while we're doing it… Because - as I said - state of the nation can be all tones. It can be joyous, vibrant and entertaining too.

That's why I'm delighted to be able to announce a new commission this evening…

Some of you may have picked up on a clue earlier: it's James Graham's Dear England… And, yes - we're daring to take on football in drama!

Because state of the nation drama should be about creating - to quote the play again -"an experience that lasts in the collective consciousness of our country".

I'm also delighted to announce The Ministry of Time, an adaptation of Kaliane Bradley's novel, adapted for screen by Alice Birch.

Part romance, sci-fi and thriller, it offers a look at modern life through the eyes of characters who have been plucked from history and transported to the UK today.

My second priority for BBC Drama is character.

Some of you have heard me say this before…

I think the industry has tipped too far towards flashy concepts over true characterisation in recent years.

And how often have we seen a great pitch that runs out of steam at the end of the first series?

We want to redress the balance, embrace the medium of television and find the next Catherine Cawoods, Luthers, Villanelles, Tommy Shelbys, Sherlocks, Doctor Fosters and Sister Juliennes!

Vibrant, recognisable, truthful, knotty characters that speak to the heart and end up feeling like family or friends. Even when they're badly behaved!

I want us to create the new generation of iconic characters. And I'm proud to announce some of these new characters tonight:

There's Chance, who is a brave, stubborn, funny, lovable underdog for our times. She sits at the heart of Kayleigh Llewellyn's new show The Dream Lands, based on the book by Rosa Rankin-Gee.

And I'm pleased to say, off the back of the success of Abi Morgan's The Split, we now have The Split Up, penned by Ursula Rani Sarma, which will introduce us to a whole new family - The Kishans.

My third priority for BBC Drama in the years ahead is something deceptively simple: empathy.

I read an article in Time over Christmas on the best resolutions for wellbeing in 2024…

…One of the big recommendations was: do something to connect with someone from a different background from you…

…Try to read their emotions and understand their perspective.

The more we can do this, according to experts, the stronger our social relationships and the happier we are in our daily lives.

This strong sense of empathy is exactly what great dramas allow - to walk in another person's shoes, to feel what it might be like to be someone totally different to you.

It's why drama has the power to move us like nothing else.

Look at the response to the incredible The Sixth Commandment from Sarah Phelps last year.

It was a drama that was almost unbearably delicate and devastating, because it was grounded so deeply in empathy.

We all thought about our own parents or grandparents who might be lonely or in need of companionship, the older people we love, but maybe don't call often enough.

It made us feel, and it made us think.

But it can only have that impact if we prioritise heartfelt, human experience and emotion over safe choices and quick wins.

I'm aware that I've used the world 'heart' a lot tonight. But I'm not going to make any apology.

I believe too much of the industry has put head over heart in recent years… The rational squeezing out of the unknowable and unpredictable.

I want the BBC to invest in characters that audiences might not automatically relate to at first but will come to understand and connect with closely and powerfully over time…

…To look at the world through different eyes and perspectives and get emotionally involved.

I want us to commission from the heart, to create TV for the soul.

There are many more commissions we're announcing today that I hope can start to show that commitment to currency, character and empathy in action…

…Including dramas written by Richard Gadd, Aimee Lou Wood and Ralph Davis, Charlotte Reagan, Janice Okoh, Jordan Tannahill, Stephen Butchard and William Mager.

And I'm pleased to say that six of these are the writer's first series commission.

Alongside these new shows, I'm really proud to be able to announce that - even before the second series has aired - we've recommissioned Blue Lights for series three and four - highlighting our commitment to backing and building shows for the long term.

So. I began tonight by talking about moments…

But as Director of Drama, the moments that make our team proudest of all are not in our shows themselves… They're when we hear brilliant creatives say that the support and freedom they get from the BBC is utterly unique.

Declan Lawn saying he didn't think any other broadcaster would just say: "Go and tell your story about your place in your own voice".

Nicôle Lecky praising us for really getting what she wanted to do with Mood… For taking a risk on a show that joyfully broke form to tell a raw slice of British life in a totally new way.

Blazing a trail… And winning a BAFTA along the way.

And just last week, James Graham telling me that the experience of writing Sherwood series 1 and 2 for the BBC has been the most rewarding of his creative life so far.

Real risk is a leap of faith. And if the BBC won't do it in today's cautious landscape, who will?

It might sometimes be messy, emotive, instinctive. It might not always pay off. We may fail or take wrong turns along the way.

But in five years' time I hope we will be able to point to a record of risk-taking at the BBC that has helped reshape the drama landscape at a critical time.

I hope we will have redefined and properly shaken up what 'state of the nation' means - for audiences of all ages.

I hope we've kickstarted new trends in mainstream drama, and introduced a new cast of iconic BBC characters into the rich cultural life of this country.

And I hope we've seen more electrifying, genre-defining TV moments on the BBC, to inspire the next generation of world-class creatives to be properly ambitious.

Thank you.

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