Category: Factual & Arts TV; 91Èȱ¬ TWO
Date: 08.02.2006
Printable version
From May The Culture Show - 91Èȱ¬ TWO's arts magazine show - moves to a prime time Saturday night slot.
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It switches from Thursday at 7.00pm to Saturday at 8.00pm.
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Offering an alternative to entertainment and drama programming on other terrestrial channels, recent Saturday night arts programming on 91Èȱ¬ TWO has been well-received by audiences.
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Series such as Peter Ackroyd's The Romantics; The Secret of Drawing with Andrew Graham Dixon; or previously Venice with Francesco da Mosto, have shown there is an appetite for engaging, cultural television on Saturday nights.
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91Èȱ¬ TWO is also planning to develop themed evenings around The Culture Show and Saturday evenings offer the perfect scope and platform for such programming.
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The move reflects the fact that The Culture Show has been going from strength to strength since launching in November 2004.
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The show has featured interviews with big and surprising names from across the cultural spectrum including Salman Rushdie, John Le Carre, Harold Pinter, David Hockney, Laurie Anderson, Woody Allen, Daniel Barenboim, Bryn Terfel, Damien Hirst, Gwyneth Paltrow, Gilbert and George, Philip Glass, 50 Cent and Martin Scorsese on Caravaggio.
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The show also had the first television encounters with the Kaiser Chiefs and Anthony Hegarty among others.
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The Culture Show - presented mainly by Verity Sharp and Charles Hazlewood - covers every kind of culture from every corner of the UK and each week comes from a different area of the country.
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Topics and issues tackled recently include the politics behind big blockbuster art exhibitions - such as Turks: A Journey of a Thousand Years and China: The Three Emperors - and live music versus miming.
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When the show transfers to Saturday night it will also have a slightly shorter running time of 50 minutes rather than its current 60 minute duration.
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The extra hours of programming will be used to create special editions of The Culture Show.
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The channel will match the 29 hours it currently devotes to the programme each year.
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Roly Keating, Controller of 91Èȱ¬ TWO, said: "This is a vote of confidence by 91Èȱ¬ TWO in a show which has gone from strength to strength.
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"In little more than a year The Culture Show has become the vital centrepiece of 91Èȱ¬ TWO's arts coverage, covering a wide range of stories with confidence and curiosity.
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"The moment is right for it to take pride of place in our new-look Saturday schedule."
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The Culture Show will also become one of the first programmes to feature as a broadband experience on 91Èȱ¬ TWO's new-look website - bbc.co.uk/bbctwo - as part of the 91Èȱ¬'s TV Plus trials, which aim to find new ways to engage audiences with programmes and enhance their viewingÌýexperience.
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It will give viewers the opportunity to view each item from The Culture Show separately, watch the big interviews again, and hear The Culture Show critics' views on the latest film releases, exhibitions and music.
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