BBC coming of age in the North – Salmon

MEDIACITY has been the catalyst for a “digital and creative explosion” across the North, according to the BBC’s Director, England Peter Salmon.

Speaking exclusively to TheBusinessDesk.com, he hailed the pool of talent in the North West and said the move to Salford Quays in 2011 – which he helped mastermind– is now bearing fruit.

“The talent and the skills here in the North West have always been here, but quite latent,” he said, before being interviewed in front of an audience of academics and local business leaders at the University of Bolton.

“There has always been a fantastic creative sector win the region anyway, with likes of Granada.

“But we’ve upped our investment and our game, so it’s wonderful to get out and meet other partners who are also expanding and regenerating. It’s brilliant to see towns like Bolton booking and to get a sense of the ambition of the place.”

Burnley-born Salmon acknowledged the upheaval caused by the move to MediaCity – especially for up to a third of its staff who moved up from London.

“We turned a lot of people’s lives upside down,” said Salmon. “We recruited, 1,000 new people, largely from the North and the BBC has really benefited from that refreshment and a new DNA.

“As a consequence of being Salford and in MediaCity, we already make a lot more of our programmes right across the North of England.

“Take Bolton, we’ve managed to get Bolton’s finest Peter Kay to make his first sitcom for the BBC (Peter Kay’s Car Share).

“We recently recorded a wonderful drama series called Ordinary Lies here in Bolton, starring Jason Manford and lots of other great people. It was big hit on BBC1.

“I think we’re now starting to access pools of talent and places that just weren’t under our noses before. It’s under our noses now. You can’t miss the fact that the north has got great cities and towns and spectacular countryside.”