The BBC's director general says he is exploring options to keep the recording of The Archers in the West Midlands, but added there was other studio space around the country that could be used. Plans to build a bespoke studio for the long-running Radio 4 soap at the BBC's new flagship Tea Factory building in Digbeth, Birmingham, were shelved this week as part of a wider drive to cut costs. Matt Brittin, who met with West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker on Wednesday, said the broadcaster needed to save money but they were working together to look at future recording locations.
The Equity entertainment union said cast members were "angry at the proposals and will fight them". The drama, set in the fictional West Midlands village of Ambridge, celebrated its 75th anniversary earlier this year. Brittin said The Archers was "going strong and... going nowhere" but acknowledged the BBC was "living in financial constraints" and had to make £500m worth of savings.
"So what we've said is, we're not going to build a £1.5m bespoke studio for that production, which is something we might have afforded previously. "But what we are going to do is make sure The Archers continues to exist here." He added: "We're going to explore how we can best house The Archers where they need to be and at the moment, we have other studio space around the country which could accommodate them." The region's mayor Richard Parker has said he is disappointed by the news and he wants the recording to remain in the city. "The Archers was born in Birmingham and is a key part of our broadcasting heritage," he wrote in a statement on Tuesday.
"We have the talent and the facilities here. There is no good reason why we should lose a programme that has called Birmingham home for decades." Equity said the proposal was short-sighted and would leave the West Midlands, and the BBC, poorer. Actor Tony Turner, who plays Vince Casey in the soap, said the proposals were troubling.
He said the show's history meant it had "a commitment to Birmingham, and we're proud of that, and we'd like to stay here". Speaking during a visit to the BBC's current Birmingham base at the Mailbox, Brittin described the programme as "magic" and said there was still time to explore other options before the broadcaster moved to the new Tea Factory site in 2028. "We shouldn't really go behind the curtain, but we need a drama studio and that's different from a radio studio normally, and we've got others that we could use," he said.
"We've also got the opportunity to explore here in the West Midlands alternatives and that's what we'll do now." The BBC has increased its production spend from £24m to £40m in the West Midlands and recently signed a "strategic partnership" with Birmingham City University to help train new talent, he said. He added the mayor and other organisations in the region were "brilliant partners for us". "We are at a time of big change.
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