The Stage

BBC has more money for daytime drama following Neighbours move

Published Thursday 2 April 2009 at 15:34 by Matthew Hemley

BBC controller of daytime Liam Keelan has ruled out filling the gap left by Neighbours’ move to Five with another soap, saying the money saved will be used to make more original UK drama in the channel’s off-peak schedule.

Speaking today at the launch of Moving On, a new series of five contemporary daytime dramas that will be stripped across a week on BBC1 in May, Keelan said losing Neighbours to the rival broadcaster had actually ended up being beneficial to the Corporation.

He said it had “freed up” a lot of money, which will now be used towards bringing more drama to the daytime schedules, with Keelan claiming he would like to have at least one drama series that is broadcast over a week every season.

“We are the only broadcaster to show UK originated drama in daytime. One of the benefits of Neighbours leaving daytime to go to Five is that it freed up a lot of money that can be ploughed back into originated uk drama. And we would not have been able to do this [Moving On], I don’t think, were it not for the fact Neighbours left,” he said.

He added that a replacement to Neighbours “was definitely talked about a year or so ago” but said: “We already have Doctors in the schedule, and if another soap was on screen and that meant we could not do things like Moving On, then that would be a real shame actually.”

Keelan also revealed he had recently commissioned a daytime drama that will be broadcast to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War, which he said would consist of five episodes over a week.

“It’s a drama focused on the people who were left behind - the Land Girls,” he said.