BBC to Cut 450 Jobs Across Regional Services

The BBC has been blasted by a government minister for only serving the 'metropolitan elite' of Manchester.Culture minister John Whittingdale told Commons the broadcaster was not providing enough for people who live in smaller towns, such as Cleethorpes.Whittingdale, who is overseeing talks on the future of the TV licence fee, said the BBC "must represent all of Britain" and "people have expressed concerns about cuts to regional programming".He said: "It is absolutely essential they try to

Jake Kanter International TV EditorThe BBC is planning to move ahead with a significant redundancy scheme in its news division after putting the savings plan on hold at the height of the coronavirus crisis.The British broadcaster announced in January that it would cut 450 jobs in its newsroom, but the measures were paused in March.

Stormzy‘s recent £10 million donation to fight racial inequality in the UK.Last month, the rapper announced the cash injection over 10 years to “organisations, charities and movements that are committed to fighting racial inequality, justice reform and Black empowerment within the UK”.He added that, despite the 10-year time frame , this action will form part of a “lifetime commitment” to supporting these causes, both financially and otherwise.Now, the BBC charity has announced it will donate the

Presenter Cat Deeley was once a regular fixture on British TV, the host of Fame Academy, Star in Their Eyes and SM:TV Live. However, in 2006 she upped sticks and headed across the pond to LA where she has found success using her talent to present shows out there, returning to England sometimes to work on the occasional show.

Variety Staff Follow Us on TwitterAlthough the COVID-19 outbreak has not yet completed its lethal sweep, the U.K.’s public broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation is aiming to tell “the definitive story of the coronavirus pandemic in Britain.”The broadcaster has commissioned its own BBC Studios Documentary Unit to deliver a feature-length documentary “Britain vs Coronavirus.”“Interweaving archive and compelling master interviews with many of the key decision-makers in the crisis, the

Jake Kanter International TV EditorThe BBC has announced that it is planning to make 450 people redundant across its workforce in the English regions as part of its latest round of cost-cutting.The BBC needs to save £925M ($1.2B) by March 2022 as it grapples with the financial constraints of a licence fee deal it struck in 2015 and a drop in income due to the coronavirus pandemic.The 450 redundancies are part of BBC England’s £25M contribution to this overall target and represent 15% of its