James Corden has urged the BBC to make sure young writers, directors and actors are still funded to make new shows once BBC3 is made online only.
The BBC will stop broadcasting the youth-oriented channel from February, but the comedian turned talk-show host said it would not matter if people were watching on smartphones or laptops as long as there were still resources to help new talent break through.
“It’s not a question of does it exist on television or doesn’t it exist on television,” Corden told the Radio Times. “It’s a question of whether there’s still the budget and funds to make television shows and support new writers.
“It’s a wonderful place to learn your craft and make shows that might be elevated to BBC1 or BBC2 ... The future of the BBC is the next generation. I just hope there’s a plan in place to maintain an outlet for new young voices to be heard.”
Corden got his break on BBC3 show Gavin and Stacey but is now a fixture of US TV at the helm of CBS’s The Late Late Show. He is also hosting his ninth series of A League of Their Own on Sky1, with former sports stars Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff and Jamie Redknapp returning as team captains along with actor Jack Whitehall as a regular panel member.
Whitehall’s career was also given a boost by BBC3 through the sitcom Bad Education. He told the Radio Times that the corporation dedicated plenty of resources to programmes featuring “white people walking around in bonnets” but needed to ensure “they keep enough money in their pot” for TV made by and for younger people.
“It needs to be distributed across the board and not all weighted towards BBC1 dramas aimed at an older audience,” he said.
In November, the BBC Trust approved plans to take BBC3 off air by February as part of plans to save £30m, some of which will be redirected into its BBC1 drama budget. The BBC has promised to continue providing shows aimed at the channel’s young audience online with a budget of £30m, about £6m of which is earmarked for short form content.
The BBC has been told by the trust to ensure that longer programmes commissioned for the online-only BBC3 are also shown on BBC1 or BBC2 at a variety of times rather than being pushed into graveyard slots late at night. It has also been told to show more TV aimed at young people on BBC1 and BBC2 in addition to what it makes for BBC3.
The BBC is spending almost half of its paid-for advertising budget for the current financial year on telling the public about the switchover, but Trust research has shown that up to 80% of the 925,000 people who use no other BBC TV could switch off following the shift.
Writing about the BBC3 move to online last month, controller Damian Kavanagh name-checked Gavin and Stacey, which ran for three series until 2010, as the sort of show the online channel will continue to make. Though no plans for a fourth series have been revealed, Corden has previously said he hopes to return to the show.
The hit BBC3 shows that kickstarted the careers of their stars and creators
The Mighty Boosh
The BBC3 comedy brought Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding’s psychedelic humour to the masses over three series, leading to live tours of the UK and US. It also featured one of the first on-screen roles for Matt Berry, playing bombastic zoo owner Dixon Bainbridge. Following supporting roles in comedies including the IT Crowd, he got his own show, Toast of London, which recently finished its third series.
Being Human
The supernatural sitcom about a flat-sharing werewolf, ghost and vampire helped launch a slew of careers. Aiden Turner cemented his status as a heartthrob with a topless scything scene in this year’s remake of Poldark, and in the BBC’s Boxing Day’s drama, And Then There Were None. Russell Tovey, already a familiar face from The History Boys play and film, continues to feature in meaty roles, most recently Banished, about an Australian penal colony. The show’s pilot also included Andrea Risborough and Claire Foy, who went on to stellar careers.
Pulling
Co-written by Sharon Horgan and Dennis Kelly, the critically acclaimed BBC3 comedy won Horgan a British Comedy award for her performance as Donna. Kelly has since co-written Matilda the Musical with Tim Minchin, and Channel 4 drama Utopia. Horgan returned to UK screens with Catastrophe, created and written with US standup Rob Delaney. A second series aired in October.
Nighty Night
Audiences first experienced the full force of Julia Davis dark humour with her BBC3 show Nighty Night. She has since won a Bafta for Hunderby, her Sky Atlantic comedy in which she plays a woman shipwrecked on the English coast in the 1830s.
Russell Howard’s Good News
Standup Howard followed up a BBC Six Music radio show with an irreverant news roundup for BBC3 in 2009. Its ninth series transferred to BBC2 in 2014, followed by a tenth earlier this year. Howard has also become a regular on panel shows such as Mock the Week while continuing to pull in crowds for his live shows.
Little Britain
After its first outing on BBC3, Little Britain became a huge success on BBC1, pulling 9.5 million viewers in its third series. As a double act Matt Lucas and David Walliams continued to produce hits such as airport sitcom Come Fly With Me. Walliams has also become a judge on Britain’s Got Talent and a successful children’s author.
Gavin and Stacey
The double Bafta-winning Gavin and Stacey offered new success for established faces such as Allison Steadman and Rob Brydon while kickstarting the careers of relative unknowns. Co-writer Ruth Jones, who played Nessa Jones, went on to write and star in Sky comedy Stella, while James Corden and Mathew Horne continued a successful run as a double act. But while Horne has found moderate success (including appearing with Jack Whitehall in Bad Education) Corden’s star has shone brightest with his US breakthrough as host of The Late Late Show earlier this year.
