Hole In The Wall first commission for talkbackTHAMES Scotland
talkbackTHAMES today announced that it is opening a production base in Glasgow.   The first commission to come out of talkbackTHAMES Scotland will be the Saturday night hit Hole In The Wall for BBC One.

The show will feature a brand new line up with Anton Du Beke as host and team captains Joe Swash and Austin Healey.  The series will comprise of 10 x 30 mins episodes, plus a one-off compilation show and will air on BBC One later in the year.  Commissioned by Mark Linsey, BBC Controller of Entertainment and Alan Tyler, Executive Editor, Entertainment, BBC Scotland, Executive Producer is Suzy Lamb and the Series Producer is Glenn Coomber.

talkbackTHAMES has recruited May Miller (former Creative Director of Arts and Factual Entertainment at BBC Scotland) as Head of talkbackTHAMES Scotland and Jane Quigley (former Head of Jones the Film, Scotland) as Head of Production, talkbackTHAMES Scotland.  They will run the day to day operations reporting into Lorraine Heggessey and Sara Geater and will work closely with the talkbackTHAMES’ editorial teams.

Lorraine Heggessey, CEO, talkbackTHAMES said: “This is an exciting move for talkbackTHAMES.  Both May and Jane have a fantastic track record and knowledge of the production capabilities in Glasgow. The UK production industry has been far too London centric for far too long and we are committed to nurturing talent from Scotland. We are really excited about Hole In The Wall and we are already developing a range of other programme ideas that would work from there.”

Alan Tyler, Executive Editor for Entertainment, BBC Scotland added: “We are delighted that Hole In The Wall is returning to network BBC from Glasgow’s PQ studios and look forward to working with talkbackTHAMES Scotland to develop the next generation of hits.”

talkbackTHAMES has accepted a £75,000 RSA grant offer from the Scottish Government to assist in setting up the office and are working closely with Scottish Development International who continue to provide essential advice and logistical support.

Enterprise Minister, Jim Mather said: “talkback THAMES’ decision to expand its operations here is excellent news for the Glasgow economy.  During this global slowdown, every extra pound spent in Scotland’s economy can help new ventures stimulate job creation and increase sustainable economic growth.  As the Scottish Government works to position Scotland’s economy for a strong recovery, it is vital that we take advantage of schemes like Regional Selective Assistance to encourage fresh investment, through projects of this kind. I wish all at talkbackTHAMES every success for the future.”

As part of talkbackTHAMES’ commitment to Scotland, the company has donated £8,000 in support of a scholarship on the new MA in Television Fiction Writing course being delivered by
the Cultural Business Division at Glasgow Caledonian University.  The course begins in September 09 and further details are available at www.gcal.ac.uk.

The office is currently located STV in Glasgow.   Hole In The Wall will be filmed at BBC Pacific Quay, Glasgow.