Channel 4 Privatization Latest: Scottish Conservatives Urge Nadine Dorries To Keep ‘It’s A Sin’ Broadcaster In Public Hands

Nadine Dorries’ views on the UK’s beleaguered national broadcasting corporation have been polarising since she was promoted to the role of Culture Secretary in September 2021, but in an interview with the Sunday Times, she emphasised her wish to protect the BBC into the future.

Award-winning director Sam Pollard (MLK/FBI, Citizen Ashe) is helming an untitled doc about the life and legacy of NBA legend Bill Russell for Netflix, the streamer announced today.

Amazon Prime Video has signed a multimillion pound deal with Pinewood’s Shepperton Studios to take facilities for the next decade, and will therefore be producing projects next door to Netflix.

Times Radio to talk about the Online Safety Bill, Dorries was asked about Jimmy Carr’s “disgusting” joke about the holocaust, where he refers to the death of thousands of travellers killed by the Nazis as a “positive”.Dorries explained that changes to the Online Safety Bill, which will make online harassment and abuse a criminal offence carrying jail sentences of up to five years, wouldn’t cover Carr’s comments because it doesn’t cover On-Demand services like Netflix because they are “separately carved out of this bill.”She went on to add that “we are looking at a future bill coming forward soon, looking at measures to bring into scope organisations like Netflix because what Jimmy Carr said was both shocking and abhorrent and unacceptable.”Nadine Dorries says a bill to regulate video on demand platforms will follow the online safety bill "very shortly".The culture secretary gave her reaction to comments made about the Holocaust by Jimmy Carr on his Netflix special.@jennykleeman | @lukejones03 | @NadineDorries pic.twitter.com/TF1qzPCw3O— Times Radio (@TimesRadio) February 5, 2022She then added: ‘We don’t have the ability now, legally, to hold Netflix to account for streaming that but very shortly we will.”In a separate interview with Sky News, Dorries said that the proposed Media Bill would look to “make the kind of comments that Jimmy Carr made, subject to a new law which would impose sanctions on those organisations.”In 2017, Dorries tweeted that “left-wing snowflakes are killing comedy”. Speaking on BBC Breakfast, she responded that “What Jimmy Carr did last night is not comedy.

Sir Keir Starmer, the UK’s opposition Labour Party leader, will tonight urge the screen industries to “speak out in defence of the values of public sector broadcasting against the government’s attacks.”

after Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced MPs in the House of Commons following the publication of Sue Gray’s report into alleged illegal gatherings at Downing Street.Part of the exchange between Labour leader Keir Starmer and Johnson saw the Prime Minister incorrectly accuse Starmer of failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile when he was head of the Crown Prosecution Service.Channel 4 News presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy interviewed Dorries and asked why Johnson had used “fake news” and an “old meme repeated by conspiracy theorists” against Starmer in the House of Commons.Dorries shook her head and rolled her eyes when asked saying: “I don’t know, I don’t know the details…” she repeated before saying “the prime minister tells the truth,” despite repeated challenges from Guru-Murthy.On social media, users were quick to point out the sharp comparison’s to Tate’s character Lauren, a stroppy teenage school girl whose catchphrase was “Am I bovvered” and “are you disrespecting me?”You can see some of there reaction and comparisons here:Check out this excellent (but doctored) @krishgm interview with Tory MP Nadine Dorries.

Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio has said economic and geographical inequalities have led to a “polarized creative community” within the British TV and film sector.

Manori Ravindran International EditorU.K. Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries opened the virtual Creative Coalition Festival on Tuesday with a rallying speech about the creative industries, but stayed quiet on all matters relating to the future of broadcasters Channel 4 and the BBC.In what appeared to be a pre-recorded segment, Dorries talked up the music sector as examples of the U.K.’s “creative powerhouse,” referencing Coldplay and Adele’s new albums as well as Dua Lipa’s hit song “Levitating.” “It’s our writers and musicians and designers and composers who are the most celebrated around the world today and do the most to sell the U.K.

The UK’s Culture Department is planning to carry out a colossal review into creative industries in the nation, incorporating film and TV.

The UK government has forged a £21M ($28M) Global Screen Fund to help build the nation’s reputation for independent film internationally.

BBC over Netflix last year, according to a report.A study from media analyst Enders Analysis (via Deadline), which set out to research Netflix’s growth in the country over the last decade, found the proportion of total UK viewing to Netflix was seven per cent in 2021, compared to 22 per cent for the BBC.ITV and YouTube beat Netflix too with 16 and 14 per cent respectively. Channel 4 was level with the streaming giant at seven per cent.According to the report, Netflix’s proportion of UK viewing has risen over the past decade, although it remained broadly flat last year.

Former Channel 5 Director of Programmes Dawn Airey has been appointed Interim Chair of Channel 4 and will likely steer the network through the upcoming privatization decision.