BBC BOOST ORIGINAL DRAMA OUTPUT

AS PART of their £120 million investment in new, original drama the BBC have announced they will now broadcast four episodes of ‘Eastenders’ a week.
The announcement is just one initiative in a slate of major dramas for 2001, including Arthur Conan Doyle’s ‘The Lost World’, which is to commence shooting in New Zealand shortly. Two other projects green lit under the investment are William Ivory’s wartime romance, ‘Night and Day’ and ‘The Project’, a contemporary film from Peter Kosminsky and Frances Barber.
Lorraine Hegessey (pictured), BBC One Controller, said: “Viewers love ‘Eastenders’ and this is part of our commitment to the loyalty of our audience, investing in the future of the programme and capitalising on its success. People have told us they’d like to see more of Albert Square, and we’ve responded to that. Investing in ‘Eastenders’ and other new dramas means that we will not be commissioning as many docusoaps as we have in recent years.”
Alan Yentob, Director of Drama, Entertainment, and Children’s, said: “We’re investing an extra £95 million in programmes for BBC One this year alone. These ambitious plans for Eastenders are part of a commitment to a wide mix of drama for 2001 and beyond. It’s an exciting period, with a bigger slate of productions than we’ve ever had before.”
Whilst scheduling information about the extra episode will not be revealed until later this year, Heggessey confirmed that the omnibus edition would remain. (CMcL)