RTS London Podcast

"It’s 12 noon in London, 7am in Philadelphia... And around the world, it’s time for Live Aid..."

On the 38th anniversary of Live Aid on 13 July 1985, RTS London presents this wide-ranging, full-length interview with Harvey Goldsmith CBE by broadcaster Andrew Eborn.

Harvey Goldsmith is an iconic and visionary figure known for his exceptional work as a producer and promoter of rock concerts, charity events, and television broadcasts. Working with most of the world’s major artists, Harvey has successfully managed, produced, and promoted shows that have shaped the music industry. Among his extraordinary achievements, Harvey orchestrated two of the most monumental music events ever held: Live Aid and Live 8. These ground-breaking spectacles have solidified his reputation as a trailblazer in the field, leveraging the power of music to inspire global audiences and support meaningful causes.

In the fascinating interview, Harvey discloses how childhood formed his character, his early career leading to an accidental start in the music business, the secrets behind Live Aid & Live 8, Wham! in China, Pavarotti in the Park, F1 in London, the secrets to televising music events, successful negotiation, and the future of the music business.

A Barnestorming Production for RTS London     
© Harvey Goldsmith 2023

When it comes to game shows and reality TV formats, taking a popular series from one country and making a new version is fairly easy. But remaking scripted formats has always been a harder nut to crack. 

From homegrown hits Doctor Foster and Liar to global phenomena like Call My Agent! and Skam, scripted formats are traveling further than ever. With streaming services battling for more localised content, they're also a multi-billion dollar business.

Yet for every successful remake, whether The Office or Shameless, there are countless dramas that haven’t cut through the cultural divide. Add in the accepted position that “comedy doesn’t translate,” and this begs the question, what makes a good or bad adaptation, and who gets to decide? 

In this session, RTS London brings together a panel of leading experts to answer this, alongside what formats sell, how scriptwriters can address the challenge of creating cultural relevancy while keeping the values of the original, and why in the age of global media consumption, do broadcasters still need to adapt when they can just dub or use subtitles.

They’ll also explore the reaction towards remakes in fan communities, whether having the original creator be involved impacts success, and what role the choice of platform/channel has on the form and style of the adaptation. 

Chair:
Dr. Andrea Esser, Professor of Media and Globalisation, King’s College London 

Panel:
Sumi Connock, Creative Director for TV Formats, BBC Studios
Marianne Furevold-Boland, Head of Drama, NRK, and Producer, Skam
Sabrina Duguet, EVP Asia-Pacific, All3Media International
Matt Baker, Writer, Professor T, Before We Die, and Suspect

Producer: Damien Ashton-Wellman

RTS London marks the BBC's centenary with a look at the BBC's history, the celebrations planned and the inspiration for the next generation.

Created 100 years ago, on 18th October 1922, the BBC transformed people's lives at the turn of a dial, bringing voices out of the ether and conjuring up the magic community of radio. The TV services followed and now, many aspects of our lives are inextricably linked to broadcasting. It is how we remember where we come from and who we are — from the Moon Landing to the 9/11 attacks, Monty Python to Strictly, and Live Aid to London 2012.

In this RTS London event, Head of BBC History Robert Seatter charts the story of a broadcaster and a nation, reflecting the story of our lives across ten eventful decades. He looks at how the BBC is celebrating its centenary and how it can inspire upcoming generations to join the national and global conversation, building on the foundations of public service broadcasting.

Host:
Lettija Lee, Presenter

Speaker:
Robert Seatter, Head of BBC History
Peter Rippon, Executive Editor, BBC Archive

Producer: Carol Owens

Starring Emmy-nominated Carice van Houten (Game of Thrones, The Fifth Estate, Race) and Golden Calf winner Halina Reijn (Bodies, Bodies, Bodies, Black Book, Valkyrie, Instinct), Red Light is an immersive thriller that portrays how three women's lives unexpectedly intersect when a well-known philosophy professor suddenly goes missing. Sylvia (van Houten), an aging sex worker, runs a brothel with her toxic partner in Antwerp’s Red Light District. Esther (Reijn) is a well-known opera soprano who comes from a well-educated background. Evi (Maaike Neuville) is a cop trying to combine a major case with her role as a wife and mother. Their stories intertwine to liberate themselves from the situations they’re each trapped in.  

Following an exclusive screening of the first episode, there will be a panel discussion and Q&A with stars and series Co-Creators Carice van Houten and Halina Reijn, alongside director Wouter Bouvijn (The Twelve). This event is supported by Walter Presents, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the UK, and the Diplomatic Representation of Flanders in London. 

There will be a drinks reception held after the Q&A. Tickets include a complimentary drink after the session.

Red Light launches on Channel 4 on Sunday 9th October at 11pm while the entire box set will also be available to binge via Walter Presents on All 4. 

Chair:
Walter Iuzzolino, Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer, Walter Presents 

Panel:
Carice van Houten, Co-Creator, Creative Producer, and Actor
Halina Reijn, Co-Creator, Creative Producer, and Actor
Wouter Bouvijn, Director

Producer: Damien Ashton-Wellman

How do you produce a live topical Sunday morning discussion show out of Northern Ireland, with a studio in London and support from teams across the UK?

The BBC recently awarded the tender to produce Sunday Morning Live, its flagship BBC One religious and current affairs discussion programme, to Tern TV and Green Inc, two companies working together to make this important commission from Northern Ireland.  

This Production Focus session brings together key members of the production team to explore the challenges and opportunities of producing this successful live strand. With production happening across three nations - their joint production base in Northern Ireland, the studio in London, and crew and support teams in Glasgow, Manchester, and Sheffield – the panel will talk about how they coordinate the various elements and locations involved and the balance between planning ahead yet responding to breaking events by the hour.  This session promises to be an informative and entertaining insight into bringing such a complex live show to air every week.

This session is a co-production between RTS London and RTS Yorkshire. 

Chair:
Dr. Fiona Thompson, TV Exec and Academic

Panel:
Brendan Hughes, Exec Producer and Head of Tern TV, Belfast
Stephen Stewart, Exec Producer and Founder of Green Inc
Neil Dimmock, Executive Editor
Rosina Davis, Production Manager

Producer: Phil Barnes

What’s next for the future of content? Bring yourself up-to-date with news from the world's leading media, entertainment and technology show. 

For those who weren't able to attend this year's show held 9-12th September, this panel discussion, co-hosted with the IET, is the next best thing. It promises to be an informative and lively discussion on the key trends, products and research covered.

The IBC Conference is an unrivalled global destination for discovering and debating the many different challenges and opportunities facing the electronic media and entertainment industry, both in its sessions and in the range of networking opportunities it affords. Meanwhile, the IBC Exhibition covers up to fifteen halls across the RAI Conference Centre and hosts thousands of exhibitors spanning the media, entertainment and technology industry, combining a world-class exhibition with specially curated feature areas and events.

Hosted by the award-winning presenter and journalist Nadine Dereza, our panel of experts will guide you through the most exciting exhibitors, and give you an overview of the hottest sessions. and timely topics featured in the conference. Following the session, there will be a drinks reception. Please book complimentary tickets through our partners at the IET through the link above. 

Panel:
Neal Romanek, Editor in Chief, FEED magazine
Muki Kulhan, IBC Accelerator Innovation Co-lead
Mehboob Siddiqui, Client Partner, NTT Data UK
Russell Trafford-Jones, Chair IET Media Technical Network
Jonathan Chappell-Seetayah, IP Broadcast Project Engineer, Timeline TV, and RTS Young Technologist of the Year 2022

Producer: Terry Marsh

Professor Brian Cox fulfils a childhood dream: 

Back in 1980 twelve-year-old Brian Cox wrote to NASA asking for photos from some of their missions to the planets. The images they sent him from Voyager and the Viking mission to Mars inspired him to become the physicist he is today.

Now watch as he has the chance to visit NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab to witness the workings of the Mars mission as it guides the Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity helicopter (the first powered aircraft we have ever sent to another planet) across the surface of Mars. Seven Days on Mars, a feature-length documentary for BBC Two follows Professor Cox’s visit as, just over a year after touching down on the red planet, Perseverance embarks on the most demanding part of its mission to date – striking out at ‘top speed’ for the sites most likely to reveal signs of life.

This Production Focus brings together the production team to explore their approach to filming such a unique event, the background to gaining this special access, and the technical and editorial challenges of bringing such an exciting story to life.

Chair:
Ash Potterton - Executive Producer, Arrow Media

Panel:
Professor Brian Cox CBE, Physicist and TV Presenter
Michael Lachmann, Director of Seven Days on Mars
Dr Vandi Verma, Chief Engineer, Perseverance Robotic Operations, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Producers: Terry Marsh & Phil Barnes

Join RTS London for this exclusive in-person Q&A of Walter Presents’ new crime drama Snow Angels (Snöänglar) — a daring character-driven crime drama about motherhood as three women — a mother, a policewoman, and a child nurse’s — fates become intertwined following the disappearance of a 5-week-old infant.

Panel:
Mette Heeno, Creator and Writer
Anna Zackrisson, Co-Creator and Director
Josefin Asplund, Lead Actress

Chair:
Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen, Professor in Scandinavian and Comparative Literature, UCL School of European Languages, Culture and Society / Founder of the original Nordic Noir Book Club in London

Producers: Damien Ashton-Wellman and Philip Barnes

Virtual Christmas Lecture by Dame Esther Rantzen DBE followed by Q&A hosted by Paul Jackson.

Dame Esther Rantzen is a legend of British broadcasting and became a household name appearing in more than 2,000 TV programmes including documentaries, talk shows, reality shows and quizzes; most notably presenting the BBC’s “That's Life!” for 21 years, from 1973 until 1994.

A creative producer as well as a presenter, she invented the documentary series "The Big Time" which discovered Sheena Easton, created the "Children of Courage" segment of "Children in Need" and invented "Hearts of Gold" which ran for seven years, honouring unsung heroes and heroines. 

She is a regular contributor to "The One Show", political and news programmes on many different topics especially those relating to broadcasting, growing old ungracefully, and to the abuse of children and older people.  She writes for newspapers and magazines and is the author of five books including a history of Childline, and one novel.  

Dame Esther has been recognised for her contribution to television and society. She was awarded an OBE for services to broadcasting in 1991, a CBE for services to children in 2006, and in the 2015 New Year Honours, was made a Dame for services to children and older people through Childline and The Silver Line.

She’s played Dick Whittington in Bognor and rather rashly took part in "Strictly", "First Dates" and "I'm a Celebrity".  Now Dame Esther has agreed to give the RTS London Christmas Lecture.   

Producer: Philip Barnes

RTS London and RTS Scotland come together to proudly present a virtual panel discussion on the importance of sustainability and how it's currently implemented in the world of television. 

Fresh in the minds of many following the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow this November, the session will look at both the making of and the consumption of TV — from production level to the digital footprint from audiences. 

Host:
Richard Parsons, COO of International Production, Sony Pictures Television 

Panel:
Kevin Keane, Environment & Transport Correspondent, BBC Scotland News
Chloe Fletcher, Sustainability Data Scientist, BBC R&D
Carys Taylor, Director, Albert
Joanna Langan, Production Manager, Raise The Roof Productions

Producers: Liz Cooke & Aradhna Tayal