Life in Wales

Sparks?

No.

In fact, once or twice, I looked out of the glass wall of the Atrium's 4th floor at the hotel towering opposite and wondered at the irony of its name spelled out in giant letters ... 'the big sleep'.

Ok, so it wasn't that uneventful and some telling points were made but I think it's fair to say the boss got less than a rough ride. Perhaps the members were saving up their best lines of attack for the Director General, Mark Thompson, when he appears before them next week.

They may just get one or two more when Professor Tony King's review of network news is published on Wednesday. But forget the trails: what did the committee want to know?

Let's kick off with how many of the BBC's programmes on the network are made in Wales?

Ah well, it depends what you mean by "Made in Wales". Until now a drama series like Life on Mars could be filmed and produced without an actor ever having to set foot this side of Offa's Dyke but because the executive's office was in Wales, it counted as made in Wales.

Not anymore, said Menna Richards, BBC Wales Controller. New yardstick, new rules. From now on if it's stamped made in Wales, it will be.

But figures and targets? By 2016, 50% of network productions made outside London; 17% in the nations; 5% in Wales. Given the new rules it's probably daft to try and compare like with like but it sounded like an increase from somewhere around 2.6% to 5%.

Good, said the committee but not good enough.

Forget Life on Mars, what about life in Wales? Where was Wales' answer to Ballykissangel? Where was the Monarch of the Valleys asked committee chair Alun Davies:

"You occasionally glimpse St Mary Street or the Bay there on Torchwood but what you don't have is a portrayal of life in Wales and in that sense, you know, Wales really is a forgotten nation when it comes to the BBC. You don't see the portrayal of ordinary, every day life in this country".

I spotted one cameramen, there to record proceedings and probably wishing he was in the tardis instead, nodding ever so slightly.

Menna Richards thought "the whole of the BBC would certainly agree that there is a long way to go on the whole notion of portrayal".

Peter Black had another go. He would BBC Wales avoid becoming overly reliant on Dr Who and Torchwood? After all you're down to just four specials already, he said - putting it, said Menna Richards, "in a more negative way than I might have done".

"That's my job" came the retort.

The answer was good planning, not resting on laurels and developing good people and good ideas. The member for South Wales West didn't seem entirely convinced.

Final Score?

Dr Who 14
Torchwood 17

Committee: 1
BBC: 1

Final quote?

"Portrayal" said the BBC's Director of Nations and Regions "Is a live issue".

Quite.

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