Insiders: The TV Podcast

This week, Peter and Jimmy discuss the appointment of Priya Dogra as the new Chief Exec of Channel 4. Her commercial background will doubtless be vital in helping C4 to navigate the commercial challenges it faces. But how will she approach and articulate her editorial vision for the channel? We talk all the latest twists and turns in the Netflix / Paramount bidding war for Warners. And we give ourselves an early Christmas gift by watching the "With Love, Meghan" Christmas special on Netflix and The Liz Truss Show on YouTube - do they actually have rather more in common than you might imagine? 

Plus, the politics of personalised parking spaces, Peter’s deeply disappointing school trip to Coventry, and is everything (including this podcast) always too long? 

Jimmy Mulville is the co-founder and Chief Executive of Hat Trick Productions. His list of hit shows includes Have I Got News For You, Father Ted, Derry Girls, Outnumbered, and Episodes. In the US Hat Trick launched Whose Line Is It Anyway in 1997 which ran on ABC for seven years and was the first British series to be recreated for American network television by a British producer.

Peter Fincham ran TalkBack, where he executive produced many of their biggest shows including I’m Alan Partridge, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and Da Ali G Show. He went on to be Controller of BBC1, then he was Director of Television at ITV, before returning to the independent sector as the co-CEO of Expectation, the company behind Clarkson's Farm and Alma's Not Normal.

New episodes every Friday.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@InsidersTVPodcast

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @InsidersTVPod

Insiders: The TV Podcast is an Expectation and Hat Trick co-production.

The producer is Owen Braben.

This week, the pod comes live from the Content London TV conference. We discuss the latest in the BBC leadership saga, and ask whether you need to be a bit of a bruiser in the mould of Christopher Bland or Marmaduke Hussey to be a really effective BBC Chair? And Peter and Jimmy answer some great questions from the Content London audience - does indie production have a sustainable future; is legacy TV in terminal decline; and what’s the best (and worst) way to develop an idea? 

Plus, an unlikely duet with Myleene Klass, Peter’s Dickensian Christmas, and what the Americans really mean when they say “let’s circle back”.

Jimmy Mulville is the co-founder and Chief Executive of Hat Trick Productions. His list of hit shows includes Have I Got News For You, Father Ted, Derry Girls, Outnumbered, and Episodes. In the US Hat Trick launched Whose Line Is It Anyway in 1997 which ran on ABC for seven years and was the first British series to be recreated for American network television by a British producer.

Peter Fincham ran TalkBack, where he executive produced many of their biggest shows including I’m Alan Partridge, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and Da Ali G Show. He went on to be Controller of BBC1, then he was Director of Television at ITV, before returning to the independent sector as the co-CEO of Expectation, the company behind Clarkson's Farm and Alma's Not Normal.

New episodes every Friday.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@InsidersTVPodcast

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @InsidersTVPod

Insiders: The TV Podcast is an Expectation and Hat Trick co-production.

The producer is Owen Braben.

It’s another guest ep!

This week Peter and Jimmy are joined by Andy Wilman, the genius producer behind Top Gear, The Grand Tour, and Clarkson’s Farm. 

Andy tells the story of the extraordinarily ordinary Top Gear pilot, and traces how the series grew into a record breaking TV behemoth, before unravelling slowly… and then all at once. We discuss the Top Gear team's move to Amazon and The Grand Tour (and how close Richard and James really were to staying at the Beeb). And we ask whether the Clarkson / Wilman Top Gear really had to end the way it did? 

Andy’s new book, Mr Wilman’s Motoring Adventure, is available now in all good bookstores, and would make an excellent Christmas present. Get it while stocks last. Maybe buy two, just to be safe. 

Jimmy Mulville is the co-founder and Chief Executive of Hat Trick Productions. His list of hit shows includes Have I Got News For You, Father Ted, Derry Girls, Outnumbered, and Episodes. In the US Hat Trick launched Whose Line Is It Anyway in 1997 which ran on ABC for seven years and was the first British series to be recreated for American network television by a British producer.

Peter Fincham ran TalkBack, where he executive produced many of their biggest shows including I’m Alan Partridge, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and Da Ali G Show. He went on to be Controller of BBC1, then he was Director of Television at ITV, before returning to the independent sector as the co-CEO of Expectation, the company behind Clarkson's Farm and Alma's Not Normal.

New episodes every Friday.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@InsidersTVPodcast

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @InsidersTVPod

Insiders: The TV Podcast is an Expectation and Hat Trick co-production.

The producer is Owen Braben.

This week, Peter and Jimmy discuss the latest fallout from the Panorama edit row, not least the Culture Secretary's suggestion that the next DG should have a news and current affairs background. Is that really the lesson to be learned from this, and what the BBC needs right now? And we talk Sky’s move to buy ITV’s broadcast business. However compelling the business case might be, isn’t it an immutable fact that consolidation of broadcasters inevitably means fewer customers for indies to sell to?

Plus, all the things wrong with country music, Peter’s special loathing for the word “curate”, and what Scotland’s World Cup success tells us about the importance of live TV. 

Jimmy Mulville is the co-founder and Chief Executive of Hat Trick Productions. His list of hit shows includes Have I Got News For You, Father Ted, Derry Girls, Outnumbered, and Episodes. In the US Hat Trick launched Whose Line Is It Anyway in 1997 which ran on ABC for seven years and was the first British series to be recreated for American network television by a British producer.

Peter Fincham ran TalkBack, where he executive produced many of their biggest shows including I’m Alan Partridge, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and Da Ali G Show. He went on to be Controller of BBC1, then he was Director of Television at ITV, before returning to the independent sector as the co-CEO of Expectation, the company behind Clarkson's Farm and Alma's Not Normal.

New episodes every Friday.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@InsidersTVPodcast

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @InsidersTVPod

Insiders: The TV Podcast is an Expectation and Hat Trick co-production.

The producer is Owen Braben.

This week, Jimmy and Peter unpack the extraordinary events of the last seven days at the BBC. With Tim Davie and Deborah Turness both offering their resignations, we discuss how the BBC got itself into this mess, and where it goes from here. 

And, as the pod comes live from the Belfast Media Festival, we ask whether there’s still an unconscious bias when it comes to nations and regions commissioning, and what more can be done to make sure broadcasters and producers really make the most of the vast pool of talent in Northern Ireland. 

Plus, the runners and riders to be the next DG (maybe Jimmy or Peter fancy it?), and long-suffering producer Owen makes an appearance. 

Jimmy Mulville is the co-founder and Chief Executive of Hat Trick Productions. His list of hit shows includes Have I Got News For You, Father Ted, Derry Girls, Outnumbered, and Episodes. In the US Hat Trick launched Whose Line Is It Anyway in 1997 which ran on ABC for seven years and was the first British series to be recreated for American network television by a British producer.

Peter Fincham ran TalkBack, where he executive produced many of their biggest shows including I’m Alan Partridge, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and Da Ali G Show. He went on to be Controller of BBC1, then he was Director of Television at ITV, before returning to the independent sector as the co-CEO of Expectation, the company behind Clarkson's Farm and Alma's Not Normal.

New episodes every Friday.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@InsidersTVPodcast

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @InsidersTVPod

Insiders: The TV Podcast is an Expectation and Hat Trick co-production.

The producer is Owen Braben.